A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
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71% of users liked it
(325 ratings)
Slight Case of Murder is a breakneck-paced comedy starring Edward G. Robinson as a tough but good-hearted bootlegger. When Prohibition is repealed, Robinson faces a financial crisis: His beer tastes so awful that no one wants to drink it legally. As an additional headache, Robinson is under scrutiny… More Slight Case of Murder is a breakneck-paced comedy starring Edward G. Robinson as a tough but good-hearted bootlegger. When Prohibition is repealed, Robinson faces a financial crisis: His beer tastes so awful that no one wants to drink it legally. As an additional headache, Robinson is under scrutiny from the Law, which is waiting to slip the cuffs on him for the slightest infraction. He arrives at his rented Saratoga mansion with his wife (Ruth Donnelly), daughter (Jane Bryan) and adopted son (Bobby Jordan), only to discover that a killer has left four corpses in his bedroom. Robinson and his stooges are forced to hide the bodies before his future son-in-law (Willard Parker), who happens to be a cop, tumbles to the dilemma. Based on a stage play by Howard Lindsay and Damon Runyon, A Slight Case of Murder a just as entertaining in the 1990s as it was fifty years ago (please ignore a tepid 1953 musical remake titled Stop, You're Killing Me). Surprisingly, this film was not a favorite of star Edward G. Robinson, who felt that director Lloyd Bacon rushed through the material without taking full advantage of its comic potential. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Lloyd Bacon
- Genres
- Drama, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Feb 26, 1938 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Outdated mildly amusing black comedy that spoofs the gangster film.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
There are probably more outright laughs in the last half of A Slight Case of Murder than in most modern comedies you'll find playing at your local multiplex....
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
It works as a parody of old gangster movies; it works as a screwball comedy of the era; and it remains as funny today as when it was made.
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Cast
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Edward G. Robinson
as Remy Marco
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Jane Bryan
as Mary Marco
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Allen Jenkins
as Mike
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Ruth Donnelly
as Nora Marco
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Willard Parker
as Dick Whitewood
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John Litel
as Post
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Edward S. Brophy
as Lefty
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Harold Huber
as Guiseppe
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Eric Stanley
as Ritter
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Paul Harvey
as Mr. Whitewood
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Bobby Jordan
as Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom
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Joe Downing
as Innocence
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Margaret Hamilton
as Mrs. Cagie
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George E. Stone
as Ex-Jockey Kirk
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Bert Hanlon
as Sad Sam
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Jean Benedict
as Remy's Secretary
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Harry Seymour
as The Singer
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Betty Compson
as Loretta
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George Lloyd
as Little Dutch
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Duke York
as Champ
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Pat Daly
as Pete Ryan
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Harry Tenbrook
as A Stranger
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Wade Boteler
as 3rd Policeman
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Joe Caits
as No Nose Cohen
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Ralph Dunn
as 2nd Policeman
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John Harmon
as Blackhat Gallagher
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Ben Hendricks Jr.
as 1st Policeman
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John Hiestand
as Radio Commentator
- Carole Landis
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Bert Roach
as Speakeasy Proprietor
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Myrtle Stedman
as Nurse
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Loia Cheaney
as Nurse
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Harry Cody
as Pessimistic Patron
