Adventures of Kitty O'Day

Watched this film on TV and found this film one big COMEDY with also murder, steam rooms, message parlors, dead bodies appearing in almost every room of a hotel. Jean Parker,(Kitty O'Day)," Dead Man's Eyes" ran around and sounded like Lucille Ball and always had a hat on her head no matter where she was; in elevators where a man was electrocuted. Kitty also ran around in circles with Peter Cookson,( Johnny Jones),"Detective Kitty O'Day", who was trying to keep Kitty safe and out of his way so he could solve a crime and at the same time try to keep her safe. This film was so way out in left field, I could hardly believe that anyone would find this film entertaining. I love old time films from way back when, but this particular film I really could have avoided watching.

I had a lot a fun watching both Kitty ODay films, they didn't take themselves seriously so why should we? The leads had wonderful chemistry which went a long way in enjoying the seemingly endless body count that they both had the bad luck to run into! It was unfortunate that the running length was so short. Had it been a bit longer, it may have helped add some depth to the mystery and some additional characters so there were more suspects to choose from. Kitty Oday walked a fine line on being loud and annoying but her boyfriend Johnny was able to reel her in from time to time. He was a great character, thrown into this strange situation and wanting to get out while Kitty jumps in deeper without learning how to swim first! I had never heard of these films until I saw them on Turner Classic Movies and I wish they would have made more.

While this is a decidedly minor comedy whodunit, it makes for a mildly diverting entertainment. I found it refreshing to see Jean Parker playing comedy for a change instead of being sweet-Sweet-SWEET in yet another weeper. Peter Cookson, as boyfriend Johnny, seemed to be doing a fair imitation of Cary Grant; I had to look and see where he was from with that curious accent (Oregon) just to be sure that the resemblance wasn't simply a coincidence. Someone, either the director or Cookson himself, clearly had Grant's flair for the screwballs in mind while shooting Johnny. And it's actually quite fun! It's a silly little B-movie, but as long as you don't require your mysteries to make much sense it's perfectly watchable. And if you're a Parker fan her presence makes it quite enjoyable.

Jean Parker and Peter Cookson return to make another Monogram feature as secretary Kitty O'Day and her boyfriend Johnny an older and sillier edition of Nancy Drew and her boyfriend Ted. But as teens Bonita Granville and Frankie Thomas were a whole lot more entertaining and believable than these two. I'm trying to figure out how Parker ever held down a job as scatterbrained as she is.

She's losing this one because it's her boss who winds up dead. Parker works as a secretary for a hotel owner who gets himself killed. Problem is that every time she and Cookson decide to report the crime, the body disappears. She's driving homicide cop Tim Ryan to total distraction.

Not that Ryan's not busy because a few other murders happen along the way all connected to this one.

Sam Katzman over at Monogram was obviously looking for another movie series like Cisco Kid and the Bowery Boys. But two films and Kitty O'Day went to the dustbin of cinema history.

Dragging along her boyfriend Johnny, hare-brained secretary Kitty O'Day is unstoppable as she tries to determine her boss's murderer.

In her exuberance she and Johnny keep running into more corpses, as well as the unbelievably inept team of Inspector Clancy and his sergeant, Mike.

Their luck seems to run out, though, as they deliver themselves right into the hands of the murderer.

The Adventures of Kitty O' Day is a comedy-mystery with an emphasis on comedy which is quite zany and full of funny wisecracks- as for the mystery, it consists of the amateur sleuths disguising themselves as cleaners, ending up escaping from the police via the window ledge and stumbling on two corpses. It's a fun, zany film with good performances by all, especially Jean Parker.