Joseph Cotten stars as Whitney "Cam" Cameron, the uncle to two adorable tykes. As the movie opens, the girl dies, and as it turns out, she was poisoned deliberately. Suspicion falls on Cams' sister-in-law Lynne (Jean Peters of "Pickup on South Street"), because she stands to gain the most from the death. Cam has his doubts, and will continue to have them for much of the story. Lynne just doesn't seem the type, appearing to have been a very devoted maternal figure to these kids.
It's that element of doubt that is the focal point of this routine but engaging mystery flick from 20th Century Fox. The filmmaking is reasonably stylish; Andrew L. Stone directs from his own script. Cotten does a decent job in the lead, but he's outshone by the pretty Peters, who is revealed to be quite a cool customer. Some viewers may feel that the conclusion is rather pre-ordained, but getting there is still fairly enjoyable. The finale consists of a showdown between Cam and Lynne where he waits to get some sort of reaction from her, but she never seems to be anything other than innocent.
A very strong supporting cast makes this easy enough to watch: Gary Merrill as Cams' attorney friend Fred Sargent, Catherine McLeod as Freds' wife Maggie, an author of pulp fiction, and Jack Kruschen and Barney Phillips as detectives. Jonathan Hole (as Dr. Stevenson), Mae Marsh (as the housekeeper Anna), Walter Sande (as the district attorney) and Carleton Young (as a ships' detective) are among those appearing uncredited.
At a mere 77 minutes, "A Blueprint for Murder" tells a sometimes tense story (with no filler) that goes on no longer than it needs to.
Six out of 10.
It's that element of doubt that is the focal point of this routine but engaging mystery flick from 20th Century Fox. The filmmaking is reasonably stylish; Andrew L. Stone directs from his own script. Cotten does a decent job in the lead, but he's outshone by the pretty Peters, who is revealed to be quite a cool customer. Some viewers may feel that the conclusion is rather pre-ordained, but getting there is still fairly enjoyable. The finale consists of a showdown between Cam and Lynne where he waits to get some sort of reaction from her, but she never seems to be anything other than innocent.
A very strong supporting cast makes this easy enough to watch: Gary Merrill as Cams' attorney friend Fred Sargent, Catherine McLeod as Freds' wife Maggie, an author of pulp fiction, and Jack Kruschen and Barney Phillips as detectives. Jonathan Hole (as Dr. Stevenson), Mae Marsh (as the housekeeper Anna), Walter Sande (as the district attorney) and Carleton Young (as a ships' detective) are among those appearing uncredited.
At a mere 77 minutes, "A Blueprint for Murder" tells a sometimes tense story (with no filler) that goes on no longer than it needs to.
Six out of 10.