London by Night

George Murphy is Denis, newspaperman in London. he's in a pub in london when all hell breaks loose. when a couple of locals are necking in the park, a man with an umbrella is spotted running around, late at night, and the locals are sure he's up to no good. bring in scotland yard. and when the clues lead to the Herrick mansion, Denis tries to figure out how Patricia Herrick (Rita Johnson) might be involved. finally, there's a demand for money. Denis and scotland yard backtrack and try to follow the clues. but it's not who they think! Murphy had only been in the biz a couple years when he got this starring role. directed by Wilhelme Thiele. had to leave germany, as Jews were not welcome there under adolph. Story by playwright and story man Will Scott. it's a shortie from MGM, apparently from the play "The Umbrella". and Murphy was actually a U.S. Senator!

There's not much to this. A reporter is detained from a trip to Paris due to a series of murders he initially has not interest in. He gets hooked up with a rich girl who likes adventure and this almost gets her killed. The murderer runs around with an umbrella which identifies him but also keeps him from being apprehended (it is foggy, after all, and everyone seems to have the same umbrella). There are some pretty good performances by Leo G. Carroll and George Zucco. George Murphy pulls things off pretty well, but the whole plot is too transparent. There is also an interesting romantic development between the two leads. The ending leaves a bit to be desired, but it does have some plausibility. Nevertheless, the film is interesting, atmospheric in places, but pretty unremarkable.

London By Night (1937)

** (out of 4)

Mystery film from MGM has London being stalked by a mad killer who uses an umbrella as his disguise to prevent being seen. A local reporter (George Murphy) links up with a rich woman (Rita Johnson) to try and figure out who the mysterious figure is. Apparently the working title of this film was THE UMBRELLA MAN was the working title for this film and that probably would have fit it a lot better. I've seen so many mysteries like this over the years to the point where I'm feeling there aren't too many out there left for me to watch. This one here is about middle ground as there's nothing too bad but there's nothing too good either. The one thing the director does get right is the atmosphere as the film has a very dark and fog filled look to it. This here is a major plus as is the casting of George Zucco in the role of a good guy. You don't get to see that very often so it was nice to see it here. He's pretty good in the role as is Virginia Field and Leo G. Carroll in their parts. I wasn't too interested in either league, which was one of the film's faults and I'd also say the identity of the killer was given away rather early even though the "secret" is held to the end. I think most will be able to figure things out. If, like me, you've seen the majority of these types of movies then you might as well check this one out as well. If you haven't seen too many of what the genre has to offer then there are many others you should check out before catching this one of TCM.

London by Night (1937) was a B movie, set in London (read: back lot of MGM) and starring George Murphy, Virginia Field, Rita Johnson, Leo G. Carroll, George Zucco, Montagu Love, and Corky. This film is actually based on a play that was never produced.

Murphy plays Michel Denis, a newspaperman in London who, in the morning, is leaving for a vacation in Paris. He and his buddy, a dog named Jones, decide to stay in London, however, to help solve a series of murders by a man carrying an umbrella.

Along the way, he meets a pretty socialite (Johnson), who lives in a house that includes her father (Zucco) and a butler (Carroll).

The atmosphere is captured with lots of fog and some dreadful Cockney, the worst offender being the usually likable Virginia Field. She overdid her role as a barmaid big time.

George Murphy was an actor of terrific charm, and he brings it on here. The dog who plays his dog, Corky, is terrific.

Pleasant.

Here is a film that brought waves of nostalgia to an old movie buff who usually never forgets a film but often cannot remember the titles of something I have not seen in 50 years. I viewed it by chance on TCM and as soon as I saw the Umbrella Man I knew it was an old favorite from childhood. I am constantly drawn to any film about London and this was no exception. It contains much of the usual elements of period London, the constant fog, Big Ben, elegant town house, eerie Thames River, bumbling police, pub, two lovely ladies and a semi-comical newspaper man protagonist. However it was the bone-chilling Umbrella Man that made the indelible imprint on my young mind years ago. Now the film seems silly and outdated and not the least bit scary, oh but what fun to see again.

The film contained credible performances with a somewhat predictable plot. With a little bit of rewriting and a skilled director I think this film would be a great candidate for a serious remake.