MovieChat Forums > Quiet Please: Murder (1943) Discussion > A Nice Little 'B' Picture.

A Nice Little 'B' Picture.

posted 17 years ago by antpaste
3 replies | jump to latest

Those were the days when "B" pictures -- which no longer exist -- were sometimes better than the "A" pictures they shared billing with.

Charming George Sanders plays the part of a murderer who gets more and more excited the closer he comes to danger.

This being the 1940's and with the motion picture "code" it is never mentioned what kind of excitement Sanders feels, but by watching the film today, it is very obvious.

The only kink in this story is the fact that the hard-boiled private detective (Richard Denning) falls in love with the woman (Gail Patrick) he is supposed to be following. This device, first featured in the story "The Maltese Falcon" and which now has become a cliche, has never really worked convincingly.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 14 years ago

Never worked convincingly? What kind of toilet paper you been smoking. Why compare this fun, though trivial piece, with "The Maltese Falcon"? There is nothing wrong with Falcon and this "cliche" as you call it, of detective falling for woman, is what makes much of noir art. Think of "Body Heat" or can you think? What a maroon!

How shall the stars on the cheeks of this mandrill find a number?

[–] DS3520 13 years ago

This has to be one of the most ridiculous pictures that the very talented George Sanders ever had the misfortune to be associated with! A convoluted whodunit revolving around rare books, the picture is a continual yawn that makes no sense, and is notable for its trite dialogue. The only "mystery" about this picture is how 20th Century-Fox saw fit to thrust it on the screen!