{"id":9631,"date":"2009-09-20T12:20:30","date_gmt":"2009-09-20T19:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9631"},"modified":"2021-11-16T21:24:05","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T04:24:05","slug":"slight-case-of-murder-a-1938","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9631","title":{"rendered":"Slight Case of Murder, A (1938)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Sure, I&#8217;m legit. I&#8217;m in favor of law and order.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/slight-case-murder.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/slight-case-murder.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-9632\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAt the end of Prohibition, a bootlegger (Edward G. Robinson) goes legit but struggles to sell his awful-tasting beer. As his business tanks, he goes more and more into debt, and soon owes nearly half a million dollars. Meanwhile, his daughter (Jane Bryan) becomes engaged to a state trooper (Willard Parker), and he must deal with four dead bodies that show up in his summer house after a local heist.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Black Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Bootlegging<\/li>\n<li>Edward G. Robinson Films<\/li>\n<li>Gangsters<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Social Climbers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nEdward G. Robinson has great fun spoofing his infamous gangster persona in this light-hearted Warner Brothers satire, based on a play by Damon Runyon and Harold Lindsay. In an extended plot device that defies all logic, Robinson&#8217;s tee-totaling crime boss Remy Marco is so feared by his minions &#8212; and apparently by the world at large &#8212; that not a soul is willing to tell him how truly awful his bootleg beer is. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson2-1024x751.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"469\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66580\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson2-1024x751.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson2-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson2-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson2-768x564.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson2-368x270.png 368w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson2.png 1405w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As a result, his post-Prohibition sales rapidly plummet over a period of several years, at which point Robinson &#8212; who has been eagerly embracing the opportunity to &#8220;go legit&#8221; and climb the social ladder &#8212; finds himself broke, but apparently not <em>too<\/em> broke to host a gala affair at his second house in the country, where all sorts of trouble ensues. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Party.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Party-1024x740.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"463\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66585\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Party-1024x740.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Party-300x217.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Party-128x92.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Party-768x555.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Party-374x270.png 374w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Party.png 1433w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s silly, innocuous fun, with plenty of Damon Runyon&#8217;s distinctive dialogue thrown in to move things along at a zany clip. Ruth Donnelly is drolly amusing as Robinson&#8217;s wife, who struggles to affect an air of distinction befitting her new station, while Robinson is simply delightful. This one&#8217;s worth a look. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Edward G. Robinson as Remy Marco<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson3-1024x745.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"466\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66583\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson3-1024x745.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson3-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson3-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson3-768x559.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson3-371x270.png 371w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Robinson3.png 1411w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ruth Donnelly as Mrs. Marco<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Donnelly.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Donnelly-1024x751.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"469\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66581\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Donnelly-1024x751.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Donnelly-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Donnelly-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Donnelly-768x564.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Donnelly-368x270.png 368w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Slight-Case-of-Murder-Donnelly.png 1405w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Consistently clever dialogue\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Robinson&#8217;s humorous performance <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0030764\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1938\/02\/28\/archives\/the-screen-the-strand-enjoys-a-slight-case-of-murdera-new-russian.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2039guy.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down to fourth review)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/90494\/a-slight-case-of-murder#articles-reviews?articleId=72468\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/a-slight-case-of-murder-1\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Sure, I&#8217;m legit. I&#8217;m in favor of law and order.&#8221; Synopsis: At the end of Prohibition, a bootlegger (Edward G. Robinson) goes legit but struggles to sell his awful-tasting beer. As his business tanks, he goes more and more into debt, and soon owes nearly half a million dollars. Meanwhile, his daughter (Jane Bryan) becomes engaged to a state trooper (Willard Parker), and he must deal with four dead bodies that show up in his summer house after a local&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9631\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9631"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78481,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9631\/revisions\/78481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}