just watch it!

Am I Missing Something?

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Associate producer: Edward F. Cline. Producer: A.M. Botsford. Copyright 25 September 1936 by Paramount Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Rialto: 20 November 1936. 7 reels. 69 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A gangster beats a murder rap, only to be gunned down by either a mystery woman or possibly a reporter. COMMENT: A typical Paramount "B" in that most of the action (and exhilaratingly fast-paced action it is too) is saved for the final reel. Elsewhere, we have to make do with a rather talky screenplay enlivened by a few wisecracks from somewhat dull hero Lew Ayres (assisted by the delightful Joyce Compton) yet weighed down by the dead hand of Frank Sheridan as a continuously ranting-to-little-effect police chief. Onslow Stevens delivers an effective study of a personable yet ruthless gangster and it's good to see Ernest Cossart making hay in an unusual role as his attorney. Cult favorite Gail Patrick is in there pitching too. Director Barton makes the most of a conspicuously uneven script which often descends into static chatter as soon as the story gains interest. These dull passages enable even less astute audiences to detect a few gaping holes in the plot. Still, the grand chase climax and revelation make up for most of the inertia. Best acting? I'd pick Joe Sawyer over Paul Kelly any day. Admittedly, despite his smallish role, Joe has the sharper lines.

This is not one of the best mystery films from the 1930s - but it's not the worst. The film is kinda cute and kinda fun but nothing special - it's a run-of-the-mill, typical 1930s comedy-crime mystery (it's not tagged a comedy there is quite a bit of comedy in this film - in particular the shower scene).Basically a murder was caught on film by one of the news photographers the question is: is it one of the photographers or one of the women in the room? Meg Archer being the prime suspect.It's one of those okay afternoon type of films when nothing else is on or if you are just wanting something a little different to watch - but the film is nothing brag about.5/10

Murder With Pictures finds Lew Ayres and Paul Kelly as a pair of breezy reporters who are tracking the same story, namely the acquittal of murder by gangster Onslow Stevens. It seems as though a key witness Gail Patrick is located and arrives too late to testify. Stevens is giving a bash and he invites the press to the party.Where his high priced defense attorney Ernest Cossart is shot to death after apparently recognizing someone in the room. Suspicion falls on Patrick, but Ayres shields her and starts his own investigation with Kelly dogging his every move. A couple of murders later and it's all solved.Ayres gives a nice account of himself in a film which if done at Warner Brothers would have starred James Cagney with Kelly in the Pat O'Brien part. The how is not terribly original, this particular murder gambit was used before and after still it is done with style. As for the motives, Murder With Pictures is a story of greed and revenge.One cliché seems to be present a lot in these kind of films. The cops are always wrong and the hero always sorts it out. I've seen it in God knows how many films, but in real life I've seen it to be true. Not that the police are dumb, but what people have a problem being is flexible. More than cops will get wedded to a certain notion and then just won't change no matter how the facts are explained to them. In solving cases that's a natural barrier. In my former job with New York State Crime Victims Board I've seen it happen more than once.It was also nice to see Gail Patrick for once not playing the second lead or the other woman. Murder With Pictures is a nice, fast moving and entertaining film and it's a pity it seems to have dropped into obscurity. The fact that it also has dropped into the public domain may gain it new viewers and fans who've not seen it as of yet.

This is a B-movie from Paramount. How it has lapsed into the public domain, I have no idea--but regardless it's available for download from the link on its IMDb page.The film stars a young Lew Ayers as a smart-mouthed newspaper photographer (as bit of a cliché). When a murder occurs, a lady who is the police suspect (Gail Patrick) asks Ayers to hide her. This is one of the oldest and worst clichés of murder mystery films as in real life no one would shelter a murder suspect no questions asked! And, if they were dumb enough to do this, then the murder suspect would most likely kill them for their trouble! But, in B-movie fashion, you know she CAN'T be the killer. The rest of the film, Ayers investigates and proves that the handsome hero is ALWAYS smarter than the stupid cops (yet another familiar cliché)--led by Joe Sawyer as the investigator (a rather familiar role for him). And how does he intend to do this? Yep, one of the oldest plot ideas--with a supposed photo that will prove who the murderer is! As you can tell from my description, the film abounds with clichés--the sort that fans of classic films will quickly recognize. Because of this, the film is not exactly original act. However, the acting and overall polish of the movie are nice--making it at least a tolerable time-passer.