User reviews

The movie starts with Attorney Craig Carlson dictating the circumstances of his own upcoming murder into a tape recorder. Through a series of flashbacks we find out that he has a problem - his best friend's wife (Lansbury) comes to him for help in a divorce. Then another problem - he falls in love with her. Then another problem - she shoots her husband in self-defense. Now he has to defend her from a murder rap.

He gets her acquitted and they get engaged. All is well!! Of course not - why would the movie be over in twenty minutes? Let's just say that his tidy little circumstances rapidly grow complicated. His awareness of his changing situation, and his reaction to it, make for an interesting psychological development.

Burr was a good actor and the camera focuses in on his brooding face. It takes a while to find out that Lansbury's performance is more subtle than you might think.

The movie is economically directed - witness how the attorney picks up his gun in the opening shots. No dialog, just a brief sequence of visuals, and the plot advances. Well written, with good supporting performances, including a youngish and slim Denver Pyle. Nice unknown movie.

It's a pity this little (apparently independent?) film noir has not merited a decent restoration and DVD reissue (no one apparently bothered to renew the copyright so scratchy prints were out for a while in 1995 on VHS on "Nostalgia Family Video" and it has been anthologized in a DVD box of "13 Murder Movies"), because the elements in the film are considerably above the "B" film it's usually assumed to be and later work of those involved would be undeniably important. It isn't a great film, but given those elements, it certainly is an interesting one.

The basic flashback form of the story telling is an echo almost too close for comfort of 1944's classic DOUBLE INDEMNITY - with the characters dictating the explanation bound for similar fates; in fact, in the film's chief failing, the original ad campaign for PLEASE MURDER ME! gave away virtually every aspect of the plot, leaving audiences only the enjoyment of *how* the characters got where they had been told the characters were going. There were no surprises.

Top billed (her first role in that position?) Angela Lansbury was in the middle of a long and (mostly) distinguished movie career mainly playing "bad girls" - years before her Broadway and television career nearly eclipsed her earlier 100+ films - except perhaps for her definitive evil mother in MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. She appeared to be taking a break from small but important roles in major studio films to see if she could carry a lead herself in this independent. PLEASE MURDER ME! didn't get her major studio leads, but her supporting roles in everything from THE RELUCTANT DEBUTANTE to BLUE HAWAII continued to be either out of the top drawer or she made them seem they were until she decamped for Broadway and the lead in the musical MAME which forever changed HER career.

Third billed Dick Foran had had the lead in a wartime revival of Rogers & Hart's A CONNECTICUT YANKEE on Broadway, but had mostly switched over from Hollywood roles in minor films to TV work by this shot at an important role in PLEASE MURDER ME!, but it was RAYMOND BURR, perennial film heavy (his greatest movie role was almost certainly the husband across the way in Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW two years before, who was also working more and more in TV who really made PLEASE MURDER ME! memorable.

It is almost certain that it was this role which got Burr his big shot as TV's PERRY MASON the next year. It may even have been a knowing tryout. He was nothing like the 1930's movie Perry Mason, the suave if slightly oily Warren William who was closer to the Perry Mason which Erle Stanley Gardner actually wrote, but watch Burr playing attorney Craig Carlson in PLEASE MURDER ME! It's the full blown Mason 20+ years of TV viewers would get to know intimately. All the mannerisms and line readings are there. Rather than the stock "heavy" which had been Burr's trademark, this was a persona of warmth and trust that anchors the film and makes the slightly strained story believable.

One can only hope that one of the ongoing DVD issues of PERRY MASON TV seasons will eventually pick up the public domain PLEASE MURDER ME! as a "bonus" feature - despite Attorney Carlson's position at the final fade out, it clearly belongs as part of the Burr/Mason canon.

In the mean time, I'm glad IMDb provides links to the film on the "Internet Archive" for those who can't find one of the PD releases. It's worth a look.

Fascinating.

Don't know where this picture originated. There is no studio at the beginning of the credits and it doesn't look like a TV production, although several of the players went on to successful careers in Television. Besides Burr and Lansbury, John Dehner and Denver Pyle did lots of TV work on many different shows. It also May have been a 'B' from an obscure studio and played with a weak 'A' picture.

In any case, the end result is a watchable film well-acted by some old pros and without any outlandish plot device acting as a Deus Ex Machina - surprisingly well-written. The engrossing storyline makes up for some dead time in the middle. Not a bad effort all around.

This is a small film, in that the stars weren't big-name stars of the day. PLEASE MURDER ME stars Raymond Burr (just before he made it big as Perry Mason), Angela Lansbury and Dick Foran--all capable actors, though hardly starring actors of the day. Despite this lack of star power and an apparent small budget, it's not a bad film--especially when there is a twist and the plot quickly changes about midway through the movie.

The film begins as Burr is sitting in his office in the darkness--dictating to a tape recorder that he's about to be murdered. Both the lighting and the idea of a man talking about his impending demise are very much in keeping with a Film Noir piece--as is the direction the film goes in the second half. As for the first half, it starts off with Burr telling his best friend that he has fallen for this friend's wife and wants to marry her! Oddly, instead of punching Burr in the face, the guy says he'll get back with Burr in a few days. However, after a few days, his wife shoots him--claiming he was trying to kill her. Did she do this in self-defense and what will her lawyer (Burr) do? While some of this is a bit predictable, it certainly all isn't and makes for a nifty little film. It's not 100% believable, but given that it's so entertaining, why worry about this? If you are interested in seeing it, it's in the public domain and can be downloaded for free from the IMDb site.

By the way, look for Denver Pyle in a small role as a detective testifying in court. It's interesting because Pyle lacks his usual heavy Southern accent and he seems quite at home playing a man living in the big city.

A mysterious stranger walks the seedy streets of a big city in a trench coat with the brim of his hat down low. The stranger stops in front of a business that -literally- has a PILE OF GUNS in the window display case and purchases a weapon. The opening credits explode onto the screen like gunshots as we see a close-up of the stranger loading bullets into the gun. Then the stranger goes into his dark office, sits at his desk, and records this story on a reel-to-reel tape recorder ...

"In exactly 55 minutes I will be dead!"

That stranger is Craig Carlson (Raymond Burr), Attorney at Law.

Then the Flashback: Craig is a very close friend to Joe Leeds (Dick Foran). They were war buddies, and after 15 years of friendship Craig must break the news to Joe that he is in love with his wife Myra (Angela Lansbury). Joe takes the news surprisingly well and tells Craig that he needs some time to sort things out in his head about how to move forward. Craig sees Myra later that evening and confesses what he did.

Then we see Joe arrive home to find Myra in bed reading a book. He enters, the door shuts, and we hear a gunshot! Myra is arrested for murder!

A good chunk of the film is about the court case. Naturally, Craig is Myra's lawyer and she is acquitted. The jury bought the idea that she shot her husband in self-defense.

Now that Myra and Craig are free to spend their lives together, Myra becomes curiously distant, and Craig discovers that Myra has a special friend ... the artist Carl Holt. So, maybe she was really guilty as charged and Craig saved her from the slammer?

Since Myra can't be tried twice for the same crime Craig hatches an elaborate plan to bring her to justice. And it's an unusual plan that he knows will end with his death.

This is a fairly good 50's Noir with an interesting ending.

Recommended!

The story is told in recorded flashback a la Double Indemnity.

Raymond Burr plays a lawyer who defends his lover who has been accused of murder.

Burr brings looming veritas to the role.

Angela Lansbury plays the lover with restrained evil.

The court room sequence is very good. Perhaps Raymond Burr is practicing for his later role as Perry Mason.

John Dehner puts in a good performance as the prosecuting counsel.

The climax is a stunner.

Although it seems a cheap production, the camera work and lighting are effective.

The background music, though not outstanding, supports the action and atmosphere.

This is so far fetched. It's from the fall-on-your-sword school of film. Raymond Burr is manipulated by a woman, played by Angela Lansbury, into getting her off for shooting her husband and absconding with his money. Once he knows he's been duped, his whole rationale for existence is to exact revenge on the nasty wench. He is sort of a modern day Javert, putting honor ahead of everything else. In hight drama, we sometimes buy into this. It seems a bit much here. Now, the suicide angle can work to an extent. His actions caused the death of a life-long friend. He also was in love with Lansbury and is left empty. The fact is that no matter what he does to her, he is not going to be there to enjoy it. There are some pretty gaping holes in the plot as well, best laid plans and all that. When so many things could go wrong, a slight miscalculation can bring down the ship. Anyway, it was just a little too much self-sacrifice from my perspective. It's a pretty good looking movie and you can see Perry Mason emerging here, but that's about it.

... and I say that because the actors, usually good in what they do, seem so flat here. That's usually the director's fault.

Attorney Craig Carlson (Raymond Burr) tells his best friend, successful businessman Joe Leeds (Dick Foran) that he and Joe's wife Myra (Angela Lansbury) are in love and that she wants a divorce so that she can marry Craig. Joe says he is surprised by this revelation and needs a few days to decide what to do. Those "few days" pass, and end with Joe lying dead on his bedroom floor, shot to death by Myra who claims self-defense, saying Joe got violent over the impending separation and attacked her. Craig defends her and gets her acquitted. But then somebody who worked for Joe hands Craig a letter, written by Joe the night that he died, and it puts an entirely different spin on the situation.

This was made the year before Burr became famous as Perry Mason, and there are things in common with this performance and his performance as Mason. His character is pensive but gloomy, befitting a noir. The courtroom scenes are the only place where Burr becomes animated, and I could see flashes of his Perry Mason character here. I really don't feel any chemistry between Burr and Lansbury like I did between Burr and Barbara Stanwyck in "Crime of Passion", made later the same year, but when the story moves past that, his grim conviction works very well. Part of this could be because Lansbury has a rather stern screen presence, or maybe it's the bad direction I mentioned. This one has flashes of Double Indemnity with a wonderfully brief ending that leaves much to the imagination.

This film is in the public domain and thus there are no restored copies that I've run across, thus the film is dark and at times the dialogue is tough to hear. Yet the rather intriguing premise of the script makes it probably worth your while. Also note that the supporting actors who appeared here - Dick Foran, John Dehner, Robert Griffin, and Denver Pyle - all made appearances on Perry Mason over the years. I wonder if there was a connection with this film?

This is a pretty darn good crime noir. Angela Lansbury really had a fine performance here as Myra Leeds. Myra is a money hungry woman and will use men to get what she wants. Raymond Burr is super in this too as Myra's lawyer Craig Carlson, Craig is another man in-love with Myra and her attorney who helps to acquit her for murder of her husband. Once the trial is over things really pick up as Craig finds out more information, information that proves Myra is guilty of murder - yet she cannot trialed twice for the same murder. Craig feels guilty for her acquittal but what is he to do about it? You'll have to watch to find out and the title of the film will make sense then.

This one I found worthwhile, really good and kept me interested from start to finish. I can easily recommend this film to fans of crime fiction and film noirs.

8/10

Anyone who is in love with Raymond Burr's 'Perry Mason' will find this old film very interesting. One can see the birth of Perry while watching the film. Besides that, it is actually a decent plot, with fine acting by some of our best known television stars and supporting actors from classic television. The film isn't very long, so you won't have time to get bored. I enjoyed it very much. Thumbs up for this one.

Fair little thriller concerns an alleged battered wife (Landsbury) who's supposedly killed her wealthy husband (Foran) in self defence, acquitted of his murder thanks to her romantic liaison with the man's war-time best friend and now eminent attorney (Burr). But Landsbury's gold digging past is about to emerge and Burr concocts an outrageous plan to expose her as a murdering black widow.

Decent cast showcases Burr rehearsing the familiar court-room proceedings that would soon matriculate into "Perry Mason" fame, while John Dehner plays a capable DA and Lamont Johnson features in an acting role as Landsbury's artist 'friend' before he turned to directing. You might also notice future "Dukes of Hazzard" Denver Pyle early in the picture as a detective, and then if you're keen-eyed, "Batman"'s 'Aunt Harriet' Madge Blake in a very minor role playing a maid.

Economical treatment coasts along leaving little room to properly establish a water-tight plot, generating more than a few contrivances that barely paper over the cracks. Notwithstanding, if you're prepared to overlook a few conveniences "Please Murder Me" still offers a strong cast and mild entertainment for a modest 75 minute investment.

A wife kills her husband, while she carries on an affair with his best friend who also happens to be a defense attorney.

Inexpensive little programmer that would work just as well as a movie made for TV. Still it has a good tight script, with a few twists, and two fine actors. It's Raymond Burr a year before Perry Mason and I expect his courtroom scenes here did a lot to win him the lead in Mason. He carries them off with real authority. Then there's Lansbury as the calculating ice queen, and I stopped counting her smiles after one. She does make a convincing spider woman, however.

There's little action, while the courtroom scene takes up a lot of time. Still the plot line is an interesting one of intrigue and misdirection. So there are compensations to the talky format. One does have to wonder, however, about attorney Carlson's (Burr) iron sense of retribution. It appears a key plot contrivance, but an interesting one given the circumstances of his guilt. Should mention, at the same time, the presence of the great John Dehner in the key supporting role of county DA. His is a familiar face from that time, and I don't think he ever turned in a second-rate performance, no matter the role. Anyway, it's highly obscure little movie, but not without compensations.

I bought this movie in a DVD collection called "Dangerous Dames" (6 movies on two DVDs). I agree with most of the previous comments provided re Please Murder Me. What I want to share is that Raymond Burr played this part as a possible audition for him to play Perry Mason the following year. I must admit that Burr and Angela Lansbury were great in this forgotten film noir. Interesting 2012 trivia - in early 2012, the Hallmark Channel HD has brought back Perry Mason in its chronological episode order. After two hours of the Perry Mason episodes, his Please Murder Me co-star, Angela Lanbury stars in two episodes of Murder She Wrote. I was not born when Mason was originally on the air and watched it in re-runs much later as a young teen when we only had 5-6 channels. Now I am thankful that they brought the Mason series back. Great channel programming and I wonder if Hallmark knows of this movie connection between the Burr and Lansbury.

This isn't a terribly original movie, but even though the pacing feels off and the dialogue is weak I still found it pretty watchable. The film starts well, offering a 50s b-movie noir sensibility that is intriguing, but it soon lapsed into a somewhat lackluster courtroom drama. The courtroom scenes feel like Perry Mason taken down a notch, though the movie certainly could have looked like a proof of concept for Raymond Burr's eventual casting in that role.

Angela Lansbury fails to exhibit the high drama I expect from her, which was a disappointment. She has star billing in the movie but it's not really a star role and there's no real character development.

There are some good ideas in the movie, but the director just didn't know how to use those ideas to their potential.

I might have enjoyed this movie a bit more if the print had been better - the picture is scratchy and some of the dialogue is almost inaudible - but even in a better print, this movie lacks that special something that makes the best noirs so compelling.

After receiving an acquittal for Myra Leeds (Angela Lansbury), the woman he secretly loves who, lawyer Craig Carlson (Raymond Burr) finds out that it wasn't such an open and shut case. She is guilty of murdering her husband (whom she'd been offered a divorce from), and Carlson's conscience won't allow her to get away with it. He now swears to devote his life to proving her guilt.

Oh man...

This is one of the most original murder mysteries I've ever seen. Even the beginning grabs you, as Burr goes into a pawn shop, buys a gun, then starts speaking into a tape recorder, explaining that in a short while, he'll be dead. From there, it just gets more and more interesting. This is super solid overall, as were the performances, which also included Dick Foran as the murdered husdand, and John Dehner as the D.A.

The overall rating is kinda average, but I'm so glad I didn't let that throw me off when I came looking up the synopsis before I watched. To say I was impressed by the story is an understatement. I'd love to see this one again someday once I've forgotten all the new revelations it throws at you.

Angela Lansbury is very good and Raymond Burr outstanding in Please Murder Me! It's a briskly paced film noir crime drama with an intricate plot, good cinematography and a good supporting cast. This was an inexpensive film to make (small cast, no location shooting) but it is better than many with big Hollywood budgets. The only drawback is that the print and sound are rough, in big need of restoration!

The most shocking thing about "Please Murder Me!" is to witness how Angela Lansbury depicts a crude and relentless shrew of a woman! I only know her as a sweet old lady, like the many times she played the character of Miss Marple, so it was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise to see her in an (early) role as villainess.

"Please Murder Me!" is a quick and dirty 50s film-noir. Extremely low-budgeted and simple, but very effective thanks to a suspenseful plot and strong performances. Cleverly copied from more famous film-noir classics (like the ones starring Humphrey Bogart), the movie opens with an intriguing monologue that immediately captures the viewer's full attention. A man, sitting the shadow of an already dark office, dictates into a tape-recorder that he expects to be murdered in exactly 55 minutes. Obviously, you want to know what happens next! I won't reveal much more because the plot is well worth discovering. It's not groundbreakingly original, mind you, but certainly offers 75 minutes of intense entertainment. And Mrs. Lansbury's character is one you'll love to hate.