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Mystery at the Burlesque

Original title: Murder at the Windmill
  • 1949
  • Approved
  • 58m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
169
YOUR RATING
Mystery at the Burlesque (1949)
DramaMusicalMystery

A man watching a musical show at the Windmill theatre is shot apparently from the stage. The cast continues the performance so that the detective can solve the murder.A man watching a musical show at the Windmill theatre is shot apparently from the stage. The cast continues the performance so that the detective can solve the murder.A man watching a musical show at the Windmill theatre is shot apparently from the stage. The cast continues the performance so that the detective can solve the murder.

  • Director
    • Val Guest
  • Writer
    • Val Guest
  • Stars
    • Garry Marsh
    • Jack Livesey
    • Jon Pertwee
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    169
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Val Guest
    • Writer
      • Val Guest
    • Stars
      • Garry Marsh
      • Jack Livesey
      • Jon Pertwee
    • 16User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos5

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    Top cast28

    Edit
    Garry Marsh
    Garry Marsh
    • Detective Inspector
    Jack Livesey
    Jack Livesey
    • Vivian Van Damm
    Jon Pertwee
    Jon Pertwee
    • Sergeant
    Eliot Makeham
    Eliot Makeham
    • Gimpy
    Diana Decker
    Diana Decker
    • Frankie
    Donald Clive
    • Donald
    Jill Anstey
    • Patsy
    Jimmy Edwards
    • Self
    Margo Johns
    • Box Office Girl
    • (as Margot Johns)
    Genine Graham
    • 1st Usherette
    • (as Genine Grahame)
    Pamela Deeming
    • Pamela
    Peter Butterworth
    Peter Butterworth
    • 1st Policeman
    Ivan Craig
    • 2nd Policeman
    • (as Ivan Graig)
    Johnnie Gale
    • Johnnie
    John Powe
    • Commissionaire
    Mary Vallange
    • 2nd Usherette
    Constance Smith
    Constance Smith
    • Cloakroom Girl
    Barry O'Neill
    • Police Surgeon
    • (as Barry O'Neil)
    • Director
      • Val Guest
    • Writer
      • Val Guest
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews16

    5.4169
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    Featured reviews

    5guswhovian

    Murder in the front row

    When a man is killed at the Windmill Theatre during a performance, the police have to discover which of the actors and stagehands is a murderer.

    Murder at the Windmill is bad. Apparently someone thought the film would be better with musical numbers, so there's a couple randomly shoehorned in at various intervals. The numbers are horribly staged, and the songs are terrible. You also get to suffer through a terrible comedy routine by Jimmy Edwards and some guy doing a Jimmy Stewart impression.

    Jon Pertwee is the only good actor in the bunch, giving a fun comedic performance as one of the policemen. The rest of the cast is pretty unmemorable, with the exception of Diana Decker, who is horrendously annoying. Peter Butterworth has a bit part as a policeman.

    Unless you're a diehard Jon Pertwee fan, I'd avoid this one.
    6Sleepin_Dragon

    A sweet and breezy musical mystery.

    A Detective and his Sergeant investigate a murder at The Windmill Theatre, how in Earth was a man killed in the front row during a performance, surely one of the cast must have committed the act? The cast perform the show for The Police to determine when, where and whodunnit.

    It's a charming film, a comedy, musical whodunnit. It's sentimental, funny and really sweet. Expect laughs, entertainment and a raft of famous faces. The identity of the killer almost becomes insignificant as you're lost in a raft of musical numbers and dances.

    The best scene is surely the alluring tableaux, in 1949 that would have been incredibly risqué, it's somehow sexy, but classy and captivating, she had some real talent.

    Some very fine performances, as a massive Jon Pertwee fan, I loved seeing him in an early role, it's crazy how much he and his son look alike.

    Cameos for Peter Butterworth, who appears in some very funny scenes.

    Charming.

    6/10.
    6greenbudgie

    The Windmill never closed

    The Windmill Theater in London claimed they never closed. They certainly didn't on this night as all the performers and stagehands are kept behind after a member of the audience is shot through the heart. The CID Inspector insists they re-enact part of the show again. And that is the part when the police suspect the murder victim was shot from the stage.

    You will need to be prepared for some song and dance numbers watching this. I was concentrating on the acts to see if I could detect the point at which a shot could have been fired at the audience. There are wise-cracking chorus girls but no famed Windmill nudity to be had. For a large part this can be seen as more of a slice of theater history than a mystery. But chances are you won't detect the murderer if you make the same mistake as I made.

    There is an indication of what the Windmill Revues were like in the 1940s. American film stars of this period are impersonated on stage in one of the numbers which I thought was impressive. Among the performers is Jimmy Edwards who thrived on a terrible stage act for years which you can now see for yourself. Jon Pertwee is another known face as the police sergeant. And then there's Garry Marsh as the CID chief who British mystery fans will recognize from his many supporting roles in the 1930s and 1940s.
    1JANMAYFEB1

    Unbelievable Waste of Celluloid

    I believe this is the single worst movie I have ever seen. I kept hoping something would improve. Cant believe I sat through the whole thing. The acting was astonishingly horrible. The script ridiculous. The conclusion was improbable and not worth having suffered through all the previous minutes.
    1Prismark10

    Murder at the Windmill

    The actual Windmill theatre is London had a racy reputation. As this movie was made in 1949, the censorship laws meant it could only touch upon this with one fan dance.

    The movie begins with an audience member found dead at the end of the show.

    The police are called in which includes the unassuming Detective Sergeant (Jon Pertwee) anda blustering Detective Inspector. It seems the dead man was shot.

    So the entire's night performances is recreated to smoke the murderer out. This includes dancers, singers and a very long, dragged out an unfunny comic routine by Jimmy Edwards. He should had been caned by someone!

    Basically this contrived movie is a way to recreate a sanitised revue of the Windmill. I guess people were easily pleased in the old days.

    The murder mystery itself is an afterthought. Even with the vintage theatrical performances this was a poor movie.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965)
    Musical
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Described by Jon Pertwee as "My earliest film of any merit."
    • Connections
      Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: Murder at the Windmill (1968)
    • Soundtracks
      Two Little Dogs
      Written by Val Guest

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    FAQ15

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 16, 1950 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Murder at the Windmill
    • Filming locations
      • Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK
    • Production company
      • Angel Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 58m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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