Tonight's Movie: Murder at the Vanities (1934) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

The pre-code backstage mystery MURDER AT THE VANITIES (1934) has just been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

This was my first time to see MURDER AT THE VANITIES, and I quite enjoyed it. It has flaws, to be sure -- chiefly in the colorless lead performers, Carl Brisson and Kitty Carlisle -- but its many delights outweigh the problems. And it surely must be one of the "pre-Code-iest" pre-Codes I've ever seen!

Star performers Eric Lander (Brisson) and Ann Ware (Carlisle) are schedule to marry after opening night of their new Earl Carroll show, but there are a number of problems going on backstage.

Supporting performer Rita Ross (Gertrude Michael) is angry Ann has taken both the starring role and Eric and threatens Eric with blackmail over a murder that his secret mother, wardrobe mistress Mrs. Smith (Jessie Ralph), committed decades before in Europe; Eric has hired a private detective (Gail Patrick) to assist with the situation, and there's also a young maid (Dorothy Stickney) who worships Eric hanging around suspiciously.

Meanwhile Detective Bill Murdock (Victor McLaglen) is extremely upset that stage manager Jack Ellery (Jack Oakie) forgot to set aside tickets for him to attend opening night.

During a production number with the mind-bending theme "Sweet Marijuana," blood suddenly drips down from the rafters onto a chorus girl's naked shoulders...that's the first of a couple of murders which keep the detective, the stage manager, and the examing physician (Donald Meek) very busy while trying to keep the show running.

This was a fun 89-minute film starting with the great Art Deco opening credits; it was stylishly directed by Mitchell Leisen and filmed by Leo Tover.

There's one interesting surprise after another, starting with spotting Lucille Ball among the chorus girls in an opening number; other chorus girls are said to be Ann Sheridan and Virginia Davis of Disney's "Alice" silent comedies. Toby Wing is an absolute hoot in comic relief as the chorus girl both Oakie and McLaglen have their eye on.

And the men's chorus line? It includes Dennis O'Keefe and Alan Ladd. I never picked out O'Keefe, who is usually easy to spot as a chorus dancer or extra because of his height, but I think I saw Ladd.

I'm not sure what was a bigger shocker, that a Duke Ellington production number was titled "Rape of the Rhapsody," or that the number ends with Charles Middleton (Ming the Merciless of FLASH GORDON) pretending to mow down the entire chorus with a machine gun. The fact that the chorus is filled with black dancers makes it even stranger from a modern perspective. And no one will be surprised to learn that someone is shot for real in this scene...

It's simply wild fun, and for every boring minute or two with Brisson and Carlisle there are several fun bits to follow. I mean, Gail Patrick as a private investigator?! I was not expecting that, and I loved it.

The movie was released in May 1934, which means its pre-Code moments just made it in under the wire before the Production Code began being enforced in July 1934. The movie is so filled with risque bits that I'm not certain it could have been released a few months later. I'd describe this as an essential pre-Code for anyone who wants to understand that era of filmmaking; some of the dancers' positions alone are...surprising.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray is from a new 2K master. The disc includes a commentary track by film historian Anthony Slide and a gallery of trailers for five additional films available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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