Murder Will Out (1930)

67 mins | Melodrama, Mystery | 6 April 1930

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Chicago Tribune
13 May 1930
p. 37
Film Daily
20 Apr 1930
---
New York Times
14 Apr 1930
p. 24
Variety
7 May 1930
p. 43
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTOR
Clarence Badger
Dir
PHOTOGRAPHY
John Seitz
Dir of photog
SOUND
Rec eng
SOURCES
LITERARY
Based on the short story "The Purple Hieroglyph" by Will F. Jenkins in Snappy Stories (1 Mar 1920).
LITERARY SOURCE AUTHOR
DETAILS
Release Date:
6 April 1930
Production Date:

Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
First National Pictures, Inc.
10 May 1930
LP1343
Physical Properties:
Sound
Vitaphone
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
67
Length(in feet):
6,200
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
Language:
English
SYNOPSIS

Leonard Staunton, engaged to Jeanne Baldwin, daughter of a U.S. Senator, is preparing to spend a weekend at the Baldwin estate when Alan Fitzhugh, a club-member, arrives with a note, imprinted with a purple hieroglyph, in which he (Fitzhugh) is threatened. Staunton, telling Jeanne of the plot, stays with Fitzhugh until after midnight, but the next day Fitzhugh's mutilated body is found. Following the funeral, Dr. Mansfield, one of the pallbearers, accidentally smokes a poisoned cigarette; and Staunton, Jeanne, and Detective Condon take him to his home for an antidote; his body disappears, and footprints lead to a slipper with a purple hieroglyph. Numerous other blackmail threats follow, and Jeanne is kidnaped. En route to the ransom rendezvous, Staunton is captured in a speedboat, but a U. S. submarine saves the day and the criminals prove to be none other than Fitzhugh, Mansfield, and Lieutenant ...

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Leonard Staunton, engaged to Jeanne Baldwin, daughter of a U.S. Senator, is preparing to spend a weekend at the Baldwin estate when Alan Fitzhugh, a club-member, arrives with a note, imprinted with a purple hieroglyph, in which he (Fitzhugh) is threatened. Staunton, telling Jeanne of the plot, stays with Fitzhugh until after midnight, but the next day Fitzhugh's mutilated body is found. Following the funeral, Dr. Mansfield, one of the pallbearers, accidentally smokes a poisoned cigarette; and Staunton, Jeanne, and Detective Condon take him to his home for an antidote; his body disappears, and footprints lead to a slipper with a purple hieroglyph. Numerous other blackmail threats follow, and Jeanne is kidnaped. En route to the ransom rendezvous, Staunton is captured in a speedboat, but a U. S. submarine saves the day and the criminals prove to be none other than Fitzhugh, Mansfield, and Lieutenant Condon.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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