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A Tragedy at Midnight

  • 1942
  • Approved
  • 1h 8m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
196
YOUR RATING
Margaret Lindsay in A Tragedy at Midnight (1942)
ComedyCrimeMysteryThriller

This Republic murder mystery starts with a radio broadcast by Greg Sherman who solves cases on the air that the local police cannot solve. As he names the perpetrator of a recent murder we s... Read allThis Republic murder mystery starts with a radio broadcast by Greg Sherman who solves cases on the air that the local police cannot solve. As he names the perpetrator of a recent murder we see the criminal, who is listening to the show, become alarmed and start to make his escape... Read allThis Republic murder mystery starts with a radio broadcast by Greg Sherman who solves cases on the air that the local police cannot solve. As he names the perpetrator of a recent murder we see the criminal, who is listening to the show, become alarmed and start to make his escape. The scene shifts to the police department where the chief, fearing for his job, assigns ... Read all

  • Director
    • Joseph Santley
  • Writers
    • Isabel Dawn
    • Hal Hudson
    • Sam Duncan
  • Stars
    • John Howard
    • Margaret Lindsay
    • Roscoe Karns
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    196
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joseph Santley
    • Writers
      • Isabel Dawn
      • Hal Hudson
      • Sam Duncan
    • Stars
      • John Howard
      • Margaret Lindsay
      • Roscoe Karns
    • 14User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos2

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    Top cast66

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    John Howard
    John Howard
    • Greg Sherman
    Margaret Lindsay
    Margaret Lindsay
    • Beth Sherman
    Roscoe Karns
    Roscoe Karns
    • Det. Lt. Cassidy
    Mona Barrie
    Mona Barrie
    • Alta Wilton
    Keye Luke
    Keye Luke
    • Ah Foo
    Hobart Cavanaugh
    Hobart Cavanaugh
    • Charles Miller
    Paul Harvey
    Paul Harvey
    • Landeck
    Lilian Bond
    Lilian Bond
    • Lola
    Miles Mander
    Miles Mander
    • Dr. Hilary Wilton
    William Newell
    William Newell
    • Swanson, Greg's Agent
    Wendell Niles
    Wendell Niles
    • Show Announcer
    Archie Twitchell
    Archie Twitchell
    • Henry Carney
    Sam Ash
    Sam Ash
    • Detective
    • (uncredited)
    Alan Baldwin
    • Bellhop
    • (uncredited)
    Janet Beecher
    Janet Beecher
    • Third Mrs. Charles Miller
    • (uncredited)
    William 'Billy' Benedict
    William 'Billy' Benedict
    • Newsboy
    • (uncredited)
    Sam Bernard
    Sam Bernard
    • John
    • (uncredited)
    Lucile Browne
    Lucile Browne
    • Nurse
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Joseph Santley
    • Writers
      • Isabel Dawn
      • Hal Hudson
      • Sam Duncan
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews14

    6.2196
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    Featured reviews

    3m2mallory

    Don't watch it on Netflix

    In the best of circumstances, meaning complete and uncut, "A Tragedy at Midnight" still could not be called a good movie. The writing is awful, the direction slipshod--shots rarely match, and in some scenes the actors don't seem to realize they're on camera; they stare down until their cue comes, at which time they suddenly leap into character--and the acting in many cases is pure burlesque. Most Abbott and Costello movies are more realistic. The goal was obviously to do a screwball mystery, ala "The Thin Man," with a little "Ghost Breakers" thrown in, but the characters here act like imbeciles. Having said that, the version of this film that is readily available on Netflix makes matters even worse by having had about one-quarter of its original running time chopped out, so as to fit into an hour time slot for television. This 53 minute version makes no sense--none--since the eliminated footage was apparently all exposition. What's left of the film involves a radio sleuth who makes the cops look like idiots (no big task here), and wakes up one hungover morning next to the corpse of a woman, not his wife. Can he solve the mystery, clear himself, elude the police, appease his wife, and still make his Wednesday broadcast? John Howard and Margaret Lindsay have very little chemistry, and Keye Luke's servant role makes the work of Mantan Moreland look dignified. There is also a huge cast of solid solid character actors, mostly wasted in virtual extra roles. Republic should have stuck to serials.
    5happytrigger-64-390517

    Crime comedy

    Entertaining crime comedy with a radio detective and his girlfriend (called Mommy, very bad idea in my way) about a crime of a woman found stabbed in Mommy's bed. It's kind of Thin Man adventure, quite silly. I really love the shadows scene. Not a must.
    9stltape

    A radio detective and his wife anger the police by solving crimes before they do.

    "A Tragedy AT MIDNIGHT" was a very entertaining mystery romance. John Howard and Margaret Lindsay made a great romantic detective team. Keye Luke, was also good as their ingenious servant, always on the spot to get them out of trouble.They were always one step ahead of the police in solving crimes and broadcasting solutions of crimes on their radio program, thereby frustrating the police who then wanted to get them off the air by finding something they could be arrested for.this appeared to be solved when our hero woke up one morning and found a woman with a knife in her back in his wife's bed.They then proceed to unravel the mystery. In some ways this picture is similar to the Thin Man series.

    I had a VHS copy of this film that I made off the air but the tape oxide eventually went bad. I hope the last remaining copy on nitrate based film is restored before the nitrate turns to powder. it would be a shame if the picture were lost.
    4planktonrules

    Nothing new here...though enjoyable enough.

    Greg Sherman (John Howard) is hated by the local police. It's because Sherman has a radio show about crime...and he often solves the crimes...leaving the police looking foolish. So, when a woman's body is found in his bedroom, the cops are deliriously happy. Whether he did it or not, it will likely hurt Sherman's popularity. So, Sherman does the standard cliche in a case like this...he slugs the cop who discovers it and sets about trying to solve the case himself (Note: kids, do NOT try this at home!). Can he manage to extricate himself or will Sherman end up in the hoosegow?

    In this story, Sherman is assisted by Beth (Margaret Lindsay) and Ah Foo (Keye Luke)...a ridiculously named lackey-type character. This is pretty sad, as Luke had a lovely voice and was a good actor, but here he talks like he just got off the boat from China. Fortunately, Luke did have a few good film opportunities apart from this film, such as a recurring character in the Dr. Kildare series.

    So is this B-mystery any good? Well, it's at least a very TYPICAL B...with the usual cliches and formula. Now to many viewers, this won't matter. But idiot cops, a body planted in the guy's room and his running from the law has a real 'been there, done that' quality about it for those who love B-movies. Because of this, I certainly don't think it's a must-see...though it is reasonably well made despite the rather lazy and by the book script.
    dougdoepke

    Obscure for a Reason

    All in all, the programmer's a pretty obscure entry in the amateur sleuth sweepstakes so popular at the time. Here it's radio crime broadcaster John Howard and his spunky wife Margaret Lindsey trying to figure out who put a dead woman in his bed, much to wife Lindsey's chagrin. The trail gets complicated, such that the whodunit part is secondary to colorful byplay. Happily though, Lindsey really shines; in fact, her smile alone lit up my gloomy living room. It's really her spark that carries the proceedings.Then too, the little byplay with the prissy hat designer remains a comedy highlight. Too bad Keye Luke's factotum has to call Howard "master". Still, he shows his jiujitsu skills in spades, and without use of a double that I could detect. Note, the naughty innuendo around finding a strange woman in the marital bed, even if it is a double one. Apparently, censorship relaxed a bit on this one. Note also presence of Roscoe Karns as the humorous cop Cassidy, a role similar to his TV Rocky King, Detective (1951-54). Nothing special about the 57-minutes, even though the cast does its best with what amounts to a murky script that's better in parts than as a whole.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      A nitrate print of this film survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archives, and is not listed for preservation.
    • Quotes

      Beth Sherman: Will you call me an uncomfortable cab? I'm worried about a dark horse and I don't want to relax.

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 2, 1942 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Ao Bater da Meia-Noite
    • Filming locations
      • Republic Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Republic Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 8 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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