Murder in the Blue Room

A party is thrown at a haunted house where a man was murdered in the "blue room" 20 years earlier. The room has not been opened since. That night, Larry (Bill Williams) spends the night there. In the morning, he has disappeared. The following night, Steve (Donald Cook) stays the night there with a similar outcome. On the 3rd night, it is the turn of the Jazzy Belles.....can they solve the mystery...?...

This is a quick paced mystery with musical numbers courtesy of the Jazzy Belles. They sing and dance for 2 numbers and have a 3rd dance routine, all of which are good and performed in an Andrews Sisters swing style. A 3rd song is sung by the party host Anne Gwynne and is dubbed by Martha Tilton - that's why it sounds so good! The mystery keeps you guessing and the film is played as a comedy ...... and there's a ghost....!

1944's "Murder in the Blue Room" was the second and last of Universal's two remakes of 1933's "Secret of the Blue Room," following 1938's "The Missing Guest." Using basically the same backstory as in "Guest," this version dispenses with the obnoxious reporter (remember Scoop?), substituting lighthearted comedy laced with four musical numbers, one mimed by Anne Gwynne, and the others sang by The Three Jazzybelles, last minute replacements for the absent Ritz Brothers (who never again starred in any more features). The setting is once again a seaside mansion just reopening after two decades, starring lovely Anne Gwynne as the hostess (replacing Constance Moore), and John Litel as her stepfather. Bill Williams plays the William Lundigan role of Larry Dearden, who learns of the 20 year old unsolved murder in the forbidding blue room, and insists on spending the night there, only to disappear before morning, the window left wide open above the raging sea. On the following evening, newshound Steve Randall (Donald Cook, nowhere near as intrusive as Paul Kelly) decides to sleep in the same salon, only for the dead body of Larry Dearden to mysteriously turn up in the bed, with no trace of Steve! Many familiar faces abound, such as Regis Toomey, Emmett Vogan, Victoria Horne, and Milton Parsons, whose chauffeur character is referred to as both Dracula and Frankenstein during the proceedings. As for the Jazzybelles, this was the only time they ever worked together, but all three were formerly part of vaudeville sibling acts. June Preisser, the short blonde, was a former MGM rival to Judy Garland, displaying her remarkable contortions in one incredible scene, next to brunette Grace McDonald, who played the female lead in Abbott and Costello's "It Ain't Hay" and Olsen and Johnson's "See My Lawyer" (both saw their screen careers end by the late 40's). Leading the way with all the best wisecracks is the tall blonde Betty Kean, half of a sister act with Jane Kean (THE HONEYMOONERS), who plays the part scripted for Harry Ritz (and becomes the first to meet up with a real ghost, not found in the other versions). Her career continued right up until her death in 1986, but this may have been her one shining Hollywood moment. Those familiar with "The Missing Guest" will already note one major change in the scenario, but this is clearly superior to its 1938 predecessor (though neither can hold a candle to the 1933 original, with its atmospheric Germanic castle and superb sets). Neither remake was part of television's SHOCK! package of 1957, but all three turned up with regularity on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater- "Murder in the Blue Room" aired Feb 15 1975 (following 1969's "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" and 1936's "The Invisible Ray") and Oct 12 1976 (following 1960's "First Spaceship on Venus"), not seen on TV since 1988.

This is a very hard-to-find 'old house film'....but SEE IT if you get a chance! The plot synopsis was given earlier, but i'd like to give my personal comments on it.

At first, the "Andrews Sisters clones" get on your nerves, but you grow to like 'em after a bit! Anne Gwynn is lovely, as always....

It's kind of a mish-mosh of musical, mystery, drama, but it WORKS!

See it if u can! MOST enjoyable!

A ritzy party celebrates a dusty old mansion's reopening. A ghost bursts in and scares everybody, but it's just a guest in a costume having a little joke. There's dancing and singing and we meet the usual characters:

Anne Gwynn, whose father died mysteriously in the house's "blue room" 20 years ago, at which time the place was shut up; mystery writer Donald Cook, who has been invited to the party to look into the legend of the blue room; and John Litel, who is Gwynn's stepfather and the house's current owner.

We also meet the Three Jazzybelles, a singing trio who've been hired to entertain and find it difficult to leave.

The plot is familiar but entertaining. One bold guest announces that he's sleeping in the blue room in order to disprove the ghost stories...and then in the morning, he's disappeared. Police detective Regis Toomey is called in and the rest of the picture is Toomey asking everybody questions, Cook and Gwynn doing their own investigating, and the Jazzybelles rummaging around the house looking for clues while also singing a couple of cute songs.

The music and plenty of silly dialog keep things light. The house full of dark shadows and secret passages is not all that scary but there are a couple of suspenseful moments. Cook and Gwynn are fine leads although we never get to know them particularly well. The rest of the cast is pretty predictable, I suppose, but deliver laughs as expected. Nothing too original or exciting but it is lots of fun.

Nobody made films like Universal Studios in the 1940s! They had a great stable of contract players, costumes by Vera West, and set designs that just scream of that decade! This film is a wonderful example of it all!

In an old mansion there is a mysterious bedroom, "the blue room," where a man died 20 years earlier,and now, anyone who spends the night in the room disappears!

Grace McDonald, Betty Kean, and June Preisser, as The 3 Jazzy-Belles, steal the show with their comic antics, jive dance routines and songs (Boogie Woogie Boogie Man is a highlight). Their roles originally were to be played by The Ritz Brothers! Thankfully (no offense to Ritz Bros. fans), that did not occur.

A fantastic murder-mystery-comedy-musical-combination that is truly fun! This film is a remake of two previous Universal movies THE SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM, and THE MISSING GUEST.