Mystery Broadcast

Mystery Broadcast is a fun and fast film starring Ruth Terry, Frank Albertson, and Mary Treen.

Radio personality Jan Cornell (Ruth Terry) announces that she is going to solve a cold case, that of the Crying Pines Murder, the death of a woman named Fenwick. One of the actors, Mida, seems to find this news unsettling and begs off. She calls Jan later and asks to see her, but Jan reaches her too late - she's been murdered.

A competitor radio detective, Mike Jerome (Frank Albertson) works with Jan and the sound effect person, Smitty (Treen) to investigate the old and new murder, since they're both connected. The big scene up at Crying Pines as they try to make a recording - on a record - of the pines in the wind was the best, very creepy.

Directed by George Sherman, this was most enjoyable and very '40s. Terry, Treen, and Jerome made a delightful team. Surprisingly good.

A couple of radio mystery hosts try to solve an old real murder.

Before discussing the movie, I wish to point out that the sound track on the presentation I watched was set too low. I missed a lot of the dialogue, but did not feel it was worth making more than the usual effort -- setting the sound as high as possible, which was still not enough -- to ensure I heard everything. While this movie was clearly one of Republic's efforts to make a good movie, it did not seem much more than a programmer. That's a pity, because there are some first-rate performers in the roles, including Frank Albertson, Nils Asther, Mary Treen and Paul Harvey. The camerawork by William Bradford is appropriately creepy, and director George Sherman keeps this moving along. But mysteries require a lot of talk, and when the voices are inaudible, there isn't much left.

"Jan Cornell" (played by Jane Wyman lookallike Ruth Terry), a 'radio detective', tries to solve an old murder case ("The Case of the Crying Pines"). Aided (?) by the sound effects girl and "Michael Jerome" (another 'radio detective'), the trio explore a "haunted house", and interview the original people involved. Strangely enuff (or, perhaps NOT so strangely) the suspects

wind up dead before they can tell the trio what they want to know.

It's a shame that this is a relatively-unknown mystery, 'cos it's and EXCELLENT film (and, Ruth Terry is certainly CUTE!). See this one, if you can find it!

Trying to boost her ratings, a radio show mystery writer, Jan Cornell (Ruth Terry), promises to solve a real life murder on the following week's program. With the help of her soundman . . . er, make that soundwoman . . . she sets out to investigate. When one of her witnesses turns up dead, Jan realizes she's on the right track.

Despite the poor image and sound quality of the transfer I watched, Mystery Broadcast was still an enjoyable experience. It's pretty obvious right from the start that director George Sherman didn't have much of a budget to work with. Calling it a "B" is an understatement. Still, Sherman crafted a funny, suspenseful film that moves at a fantastic pace for its all too brief 63 minute runtime. There's a lot packed into just over an hour. Most of the fun comes from watching Terry and co-star Mary Treen (who steals almost every scene she's in) navigate the variety of sometimes spooky situations they find themselves in. The bit with the old, dark house and the crying pines is especially memorable. Terry and Treen work off each other expertly in these scenes. The ending is clever, even though there's no way you can play along and guess the killer's identity. The plot has the murderer sort of out themselves. Overall, a solid little film that should appeal to any fan of old mystery/comedies.

7/10

There's much to enjoy in this very good example of a "B" movie whodunnit. It's fun trying to figure out who the killer is as things move along toward the final climatic scene.

The female writer of a radio series about unsolved crimes makes an on-air announcement that during next week's show she will solve an old murder mystery and expose the murderer on-air. Following along with her as she searches for clues to the murderers identity while two other people also get murdered by the same killer is just plain good old fashioned fun. Enjoy....