Hey, Boris!

 

 (imdb)

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER, BORIS KARLOFF-1949-A lawyer named Strickland is murdered. The chief suspect is bellhop Freddy (Lou) who's helped out by hotel detective Casey (Bud) after he's fired by his manager Melton (Alan Mowbray). Inspector Wellman (James Flavin) has plenty of other suspects: suspected husband poisoner Angela (Lenore Aubert), Swami Talpur (Boris Karloff) and Hanley Brooks (Roland Winters). The funniest part is Talpur trying to hypnotize Freddy into committing suicide and when Freddy dresses as a maid (he and Casey have to hide some dead bodies) and he is chatted up by the night watchman (Percy Helton). Also with Mikel Conrad and a bit by Bobby Barber. 

Director Charles Barton made 9 movies with Abbott & Costello including perhaps their best one A & C MEET FRANKENSTEIN (also featuring Lenore Aubert) in 1948. Ironically, he would also direct the team's final film together DANCE WITH ME, HENRY in 1956, usually considered one of their worst. In the '30's he was assistant director of The Marx Brothers movies MONKEY BUSINESS and HORSE FEATHERS.

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Stanley Before The Bowery

DESTINATION MURDER-1950-Stanley Clements (6 years before replacing Leo Gorcey in The Bowery Boys series) is Jackie Wales, a telegram delivery boy who kills a man for club owner Mr. Armitage (Albert Dekker) who likes to talk in the third person. The dead man's daughter Laura (Joyce MacKenzie) suspects Jackie and begins dating him. Later she gets a job as a cigarette girl in the club where manager Stretch Norton (Hurd Hatfield) puts the moves on her. Armitage's mistress (Myrna Dell) gets Jackie involved in blackmail and eventually his own murder. It turns out Norton is actually the brains of the operation. 

After Jackie's killed (it's not shown; his character seems to have just been written out) it turns into a revenge love story focusing on Laura and her relationship with Norton. 

 Star Joyce MacKenzie played Jane to Lex Barker's Tarzan in TARZAN AND THE SHE DEVIL. James Flavin is a police lieutenant and John Dehner is another suspect. Future star of THE WEREWOLF Steve Ritch has a bit role. 

A great vocal band Steve Gibson's Red Caps plays in the club. You can read about them here: http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/redcaps.html

There's actually a lot of strange twists in this little murder mystery directed by Edward L. Cahn a few years before he made some of the greatest low budget horror and Sci-Fi movies of all time.

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