Acusado de asesinato

This is much better than I had any reason to believe it might be.

It is almost a noir, but, aside from Virginia Grey, must of the cast don't really register very well.

A supporting turn by Lee Van Cleve, among others (David Brian, Sidney Blackmer, etc.) keep the movie moving along.

And there is Vera Ralston, singing ersatz cafe songs, and the glory of TruColor.

Still, why Eddie Muller hasn't championed the movie is beyond me, as he has justified far worse.

For some reason, I stumbled across the movie on The Criterion Channel, which keeps surprising me, as one of the best movie streaming services available.

A nightclub singer , Ilona Vance (Vera Hruba Ralston) is "Accused of Murder" in this 1956 Republic movie filmed in "Naturama." A shadt lawyer (Sidney Blackmer) is in love with Ilona. After she rejects him, he winds up murdered in his car.

Police Lt. Hargis (David Brian) doubts that Ilona is the killer - he's a little smitten with her. A hostess at the club (Virginia Grey) sees a man near the murder scene and tries to blackmail him (Warren Stevens). He gives her a good punch in the face and warns her not to tell anyone.

Though Ilona says she does not recognize the murder gun, a man sees the gun in the paper and identifies it as a gun an associate of his gave to Ilona. She insists that she is being framed.

This is a short film (76 minutes) and it goes nowhere. With the exception of Elisha Cook Jr., Virginia Grey, and Lee Van Cleef in supporting roles, the acting is flat.

Ralston's singing is dubbed, and the singer does not have a Czech accent.

Naturama was a wide-screen technique used by Republic Pictures. It evidently didn't catch on.

...for sure, but forgettable. Pretty good who done it yarn, though Vera Ralston is pretty bad. Enjoy seeing several actors you've seen before but may not remember their names.

A big time lawyer is shot on a street. The cops investigate, finding a tangled web of suspects, while the head cop gets involved with one of the suspects.

Thoroughly forgettable crime drama (not noir). Two reasons for watching might be to catch evil-eye Lee Van Cleef as a cop, of all things, and still early in his unusual career. Then there's Vera Hruba Ralston often mocked as Hollywood's worst actress. She's not too bad here as a lounge singer. Can't help but sympathize with her fruitless effort to become the Hollywood queen Republic's head honcho Herbert Yates insisted upon. And that's despite her not speaking English and having little talent. She does show some accomplishment here, however. Note, in passing, the spiffy suits the men wear, even the cops. Like maybe, they just came off the studio rack, which I expect they did. Too bad pedestrian Joe Kane directs without a single imaginative touch, while actor Brian literally walks through his cop part. Anyway, the cars are clean and shiny, the candy-box colors near perfect, and the run- time fairly brief. So it all swallows down easily if unmemorably.

Pretty mediocre murder mystery with Vera Ralston totally unappealing as nightclub singer. Her hand motions during her opening number are hilarious. David Brian makes a convincing cop if not a convincing lover. Sidney Blackmer's reactions to Ralston's singing are pretty funny too. Filmed in Naturama, whatever that is