The Corpse Came C.O.D.

The title of this film pretty much says it. A box arrives at a movie star's home and the delivery man says it's cash on delivery. She pays and when they open it, the body of a Hollywood costumer is inside. She then phones a local Hollywood gossip columnist (George Brent) and asks for his help. When he comes to her home and sees the body, he calls the cops. However, despite working through proper channels, the columnist decides to investigate the case for himself. After getting bashed on the head a few times, finding ANOTHER body and nearly getting killed, he continues his silly quest instead of leaving everything to the law...the more prudent path. Along for the fun is another rival reporter (Joan Blondell).

While reporters investigating crimes makes zero sense, as do a few other plot elements, the film IS entertaining. Plus, Brent and Blondell are such professionals that they manage to take silly tripe like this and make it watchable. Plus at least this mystery film has a nice twist near the end!

ADELE JERGENS is a pampered movie star who gets a crate delivery that turns out to have a body inside it--a studio costume designer she had recently argued with. She tries to persuade newspaper man GEORGE BRENT not to tell police right away, but he does and the plot gets a little more absurd after that, with JOAN BLONDELL as another newspaper reporter looking for a scoop.

The comedy aspect is anything but subtle as Blondell and Brent seem to be trying to upstage each other for laughs as the story strives for a good blend of mystery and mirth. Since it becomes obvious early on that most of the comic elements are pretty stale, you have to pin your hopes that the mystery element will be handled a lot better.

LESLIE BROOKS is attractive as a studio secretary with she and ADELE JERGENS providing the glamor appeal as stunning blondes. As fumbling reporters turning sleuth to solve the case, Blondell and Brent try hard but are less than amusing as they look for leads.

The plot thickens with the murder of a studio publicity director, but the accent still remains on comedy until the merry mix-up is solved after Brent has several run-ins with the killer.

Not too bad as these programmers go, with the final ten minutes filling in a lot of background info that's kept "in the dark" for most of the running time. Brent proves his comedy flair needed some fine tuning but Blondell is one step ahead of him in that department. GRANT WITHERS makes a good red herring in a minor role.

Despite an intriguing opening sequence referred to in the title, THE CORPSE CAME C.O.D. is simply a potboiler mystery that is too thin to be stretched into a movie almost 90 minutes. Movie star Adele Jergens receives the body of her fashion designer in a c.o.d. shipment of fabrics delivered to her home. The movie is alas an uninspired comedy-murder mystery with the aging George Brent in the lead (who was never very charismatic even in his youth as leading man to Bette Davis and other movie queens). The always dependable Joan Blondell shows up somewhat late in the proceedings (this would be the 41-year-old star's last romantic lead before moving into character parts) but she isn't able to make much out of this stale story. Adele Jergens is quite beautiful but not too interesting. One of the few bright spots is handsome tough guy Jim Bannon as a no-nonsense detective. Una O'Connor has a bit part where she does her scared screech shtick and then disappears from the rest of the movie.

The movie was based on a potboiler novel by Hollywood columnist Jimmy Starr. Covering it's bases and perhaps fearing the wrath of jealous rivals, the opening segment features cameos from virtually every such reporter working the Hollywood scene at the time including Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper as well as Starr.

Alas, THE CORPSE CAME C.O.D. is a complete stiff as a film. The first time I attempted to watch it, I was so bored I couldn't get past 40 minutes. The next day I decided to watch the rest of it and had to go back a bit to what I'd already seen because it was so dull I forgotten much of what I had already viewed.

Warner Brothers turned out lots of these comedy/mysteries. After a while, they seem to blend into one another. This has a lot of the same elements. But it has some unique ones too. And it's not from Warner's: It's from Columbia.

George Brent looks as if he'd been filmed for "Hollywood Babylon." He is always a good actor and is fun here as a news hound. But he bears little resemblance to the leading man he played earlier that decade at Warner's. Joan Blondell is a rival newswoman. As always, she is delightful. No, she doesn't look the way she did in the Busby Berkely or earlier Cagney movies. But she always looked great. And I never saw her turn in a bad performance -- even in Hugo Haas's "Lizzie." Adele Jergens p a very glamorous movie star. Talk about perfect casting! The title corpse comes C.O.D. to her Hollywood estate. The movie is concerned with finding out why and courtesy of what evildoer.

When watching this movie, it is easy to lose interest early in the script. But if you can hold on and watch to the end, you will be treated with a tale that makes for a pleasant watch.

The movie has all the feel of any other 1940's style comedy/mystery that pairs a man and a women working together to find a murderer. It has the fast pace talking, the 'one-better' scenes and the mysterious fist-a-cuffs in the dark-- all part of the same style. What sets this movie apart from others is that it has the two stars working separately on a case and coming up with the solution to a clever story. Add the surprise twist to the plot and you have a better movie than expected. However, the film does have it flaws.

The problem is that the first half of the film does little to stir interest. Yes, there is a murder and a suspect must be found. But the way the script quickly introduces characters to the plot causes much confusion. As the viewer is trying to cope with the task of remembering the main characters, the script continues bringing people to the cast that may, or may not, have anything to do with the story. It becomes crowded and confusing to the point of losing interest.

But if you can make it through the first half, you will be treated to a nice story that will remedy the interest. At times, the movie can be a little silly but overall it was an enjoyable departure from the norm.