Murder by Television (1935)

Sadly Over-hyped

Good idea lost in the noise

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Take a script overloaded with technological terms that will make no sense to the average viewer and throw in pacing that moves like overweight turtles and snails, and you have essentially the most boring "Z" grade programmer ever made. A few minor amusing moments of stereotypical racist humor (featuring Hattie McDaniel as a pop-eyed maid as well as an Asian butler) and Bela Lugosi playing probably his least well defined character are the only things that will be of interest to most classic movie fans. Of course, the glitch in a scene which has Hattie disappearing into thin air ("Gone With the Wind"?) is of unintentional amusement as well.The basic plot concerns the gathering together of businessmen interested in viewing a new invention called television and their excitement over the musical acts leads to shock when one of the businessmen, speaking on the advantages of T.V., suddenly falls dead. Of course, everybody is questioned, and of course, McDaniel shows fright as she faces the inspector's third degree. "Is my face red?", she asks one of the attendees after being interrogated. June Collyer is second billed (after Lugosi) for playing a do-nothing ingénue, while Lugosi, in his few scenes, is the only real element of class the film, basically becoming the string which ties the convoluted plot together.

"Murder By Television" is neat little murder mystery done on a low budget with some interesting ideas.The plot centers around two competing television systems from James Houghland (Charles Hill Markes) and Dr. Henry Scofield (Huntley Gordon). Arthur Perry (Bela Lugosi) at first refuses to be Scofield's "man on the inside" with Houghland. But then he returns and is ready to accept the bribe.Houghland has arranged a demonstration of his system which is able to transmit images from the four corners of the world. During the demonstration, Houghton suddenly collapses and dies and key documents relating to the system turn up missing.Several suspects turn up and its up to Police Chief Nelson (Henry Mowbray) to sort things out. Perry is a chief suspect especially since he is observed hiding some mysterious documents. Houghland's daughter, June (June Collyer) and her boy friend are under suspicion as well, as Dr. Scofiield. When Perry turns up murdered, everything is thrown into confusion and then...................................................Although the star of this film is Lugosi, and he does OK in a demanding role, the best parts of the film are when the marvelous Hattie McDaniel as the cook and Alleng Jung as the servant are on screen. They add an welcome element of humor to the story.The sequences involving the demonstration of the television system, I found intriguing and strangely prophetic. The pictures are shown on a "big screen" TV not unlike those of today, and the transmissions from all over the world predict satellite TV transmissions of today. Very imaginative for a low budget 1935 mystery.The Charlie Chan series was very popular at this time and this little film follows many of the kind of plot elements of those films...the gathering of all suspects in one room, for example.Interesting and memorable for its depiction, whether accidental or not, of television systems almost 70 years in the future.

Which is what comedian Joey Bishop was quoted as saying when informed that Bela Lugosi had died. And Bishop didn't even know Ed Wood was working on Lugosi's comeback film, and Bela was already dead. He also probably didn't even know of Ed Wood.Lugosi also returns from the dead in "Murder By Television." It seems that Professor James Houghland (Charles Hill Mailes), after years of research, has perfected revolutionary improvements in television, but he refuses all offers from companies that want to buy his inventions, and several unscrupulous promoters plan to get them by other means.On the night of the first public demonstration of his inventions, several well-known television experts, excluding David Susskind, are at Houghland's home. The first broadcast is an unqualified success, or at least as much of a success as could be mustered up in a William M. Pizor production. As the second broadcast is about to begin, probably an old British movie featuring a man named Buffy who wants to play tennis, Houghland falls dead, and the police headed by Chief Nelson (Henry Mowbray) arrive, and no one is permitted to leave the house, which is an order not needed as this is a one-set movie and all the actors are on a day-player contract.Several of the guests are suspected: Arthur Perry (Bela Lugosi), Hougland's assistant, because he was out of the room when the lights were turned on after the murder; Donald Jordan (Charles K. French), because he tried to bribe Perry to steal the secret; Richard Grayson (George Meeker), an ambitious, young television engineer, because he had promised to secure the secret for his company, and Dr. Henry Scofield (Huntly Gordon), because he refuses to explain a mysterious telephone call that he made shorty before the murder. Or, since Logosi, French, Gordon and Meeker are all present, the usual list of suspects. But they don't have to be rounded up in this film.Investigation discloses that Houghland's plans have been stolen along with the revolutionary tube that held the secret of the invention. Houghland's Chinese servant/butler Ah Ling (Allen Jung, who was unforgettable as "Big Stoop" in "Terry and the Pirates) accuses Perry of the tube theft. Perry disappears. Perry is found dead, stabbed through the heart by Ah Ling's wooden stake...uh...wooden knife.But, as Joey Bishop said, don't worry he'll be back.

Essentially a locked-room mystery, this is about as bad as they get, even for the 1930s. Lugosi is weirder than usual as one of several businessmen interested in a new method of electronic television (which was nothing more than a novelty at the time) that allows broadcast around the world. Oddly prescient (it's even projected onto a large screen), the technology is otherwise hilarious, particularly in the explanation of the murder technique.The acting is lame (especially the stereotyped servants), the staging hokey, the dialog boring, and the mystery ridiculous. Avoid this turkey unless you're just completing your tour of Lugosi's work or are interested in the 1930s vision of the near future.