gridoon2024 Review of Murder at the Vanities

Murder at the Vanities (1934)

Daring and unique musical / mystery combo

[6/10 · 28 January 2012]

I doubt anyone had ever tried anything like this before - a musical murder mystery - and probably very few tried it afterwards; I did see a film with a similar recipe about a month ago ("Murder In The Blue Room", from 1944), but that one was a low-budget production with only three musical numbers; here, the numbers are many, long and lavish. The songs themselves are not especially memorable, with the exception of "Sweet Marijuana", and the astonishingly titled "The Rape Of The Rhapsody"!! The mystery is complicated enough to make you wonder just what the hell is going on, and the film also captures the hectic backstage atmosphere of the premiere night of a grand-scale theatrical show; there are even some touches of surrealism ("Mildred LaRue! Mildred LaRue!"). Gertrude Michael sinks her teeth into the role of a bad-to-the-bone diva and is more fun to watch than good-girl Kitty Carlisle. Probably considered racy in 1934, the film is rather tame by today's standards, but it's still worth your time. **1/2 out of 4.