I'll Name the Murderer (1936)

66 mins | Drama | 27 January 1936

Director:

Raymond K. Johnson

Producer:

C. C. Burr

Cinematographer:

James Diamond

Editor:

Charles Henkel

Production Designer:

Vin Taylor

Production Company:

C. C. Burr Productions, Inc.
Full page view
SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
The Exhibitor
1 Mar 1936
---
Film Daily
24 Dec 1935
p. 12
Hollywood Reporter
18 Dec 1935
p. 3
DETAILS
Release Date:
27 January 1936
Production Date:
began 24 Dec 1935 at Imperial Studios
Physical Properties:
Sound
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
66
Country:
United States
PCA No:
1983
SYNOPSIS

When nightclub singer Nadia Renee is murdered in her dressing room at Luigi's, Broadway gossip columnist Tommy Tilton sets out to find the killer. The suspect with the most obvious motive is Tommy's college friend, Ted Benson, who had a youthful liaison with Nadia, but is now engaged to the wealthy Vi Van Ostrum. Nadia had intended to wreck Ted's marriage by publishing his old love letters, unless he paid her $10,000. Nadia told Tommy she was on the verge of recovering her stolen jewelry, however, and Tommy, sure of Ted's innocence, begins to suspect the murderer and the thief are the same person. Because Vi is so intent on clearing Ted, her father Hugo, who had been a victim of Nadia's blackmail himself, hires the shady and ineffective detective Lou Baron. Tommy, meanwhile, visits Baron, ostensibly to share information with him, but really because he is suspicious of Baron's insistence that Ted is guilty. Throughout Tommy's investigation, his "Tattle Tales Along Broadway" column is filled with information about the case and subsequent warnings for the anonymous criminal not to leave town. When Valerie Delroy, a dancer from Luigi's who was to meet with Tommy, is found drowned in the river carrying a written confession of guilt for Nadia's murder, Tommy has Ted put in prison in order to protect him. Baron then gives Tommy information which shows that Luigi had gone bankrupt. With the help of a sassy female news photographer named Smitty, Tommy finds out that Nadia was really Marina Farina, a singer at Rossi's in Chicago. Nadia was Rossi's alibi in an earlier murder and blackmailed him ...

More Less

When nightclub singer Nadia Renee is murdered in her dressing room at Luigi's, Broadway gossip columnist Tommy Tilton sets out to find the killer. The suspect with the most obvious motive is Tommy's college friend, Ted Benson, who had a youthful liaison with Nadia, but is now engaged to the wealthy Vi Van Ostrum. Nadia had intended to wreck Ted's marriage by publishing his old love letters, unless he paid her $10,000. Nadia told Tommy she was on the verge of recovering her stolen jewelry, however, and Tommy, sure of Ted's innocence, begins to suspect the murderer and the thief are the same person. Because Vi is so intent on clearing Ted, her father Hugo, who had been a victim of Nadia's blackmail himself, hires the shady and ineffective detective Lou Baron. Tommy, meanwhile, visits Baron, ostensibly to share information with him, but really because he is suspicious of Baron's insistence that Ted is guilty. Throughout Tommy's investigation, his "Tattle Tales Along Broadway" column is filled with information about the case and subsequent warnings for the anonymous criminal not to leave town. When Valerie Delroy, a dancer from Luigi's who was to meet with Tommy, is found drowned in the river carrying a written confession of guilt for Nadia's murder, Tommy has Ted put in prison in order to protect him. Baron then gives Tommy information which shows that Luigi had gone bankrupt. With the help of a sassy female news photographer named Smitty, Tommy finds out that Nadia was really Marina Farina, a singer at Rossi's in Chicago. Nadia was Rossi's alibi in an earlier murder and blackmailed him into marrying her. Tommy reveals through his column that Luigi is really Alfredo Rossi, thereby causing the murderer to believe Tommy is on the wrong track. Meanwhile, Tommy has retrieved Nadia's jewels from Baron's office safe and, after his column reports that they have been found, Tommy takes them home as bait for the killer. Baron then arrives at Tommy's house to get the jewels and Tommy forces his confession. Police chief Flynn arrests Baron, and Smitty gets a picture of the murderer, as well as a date with Tommy.

Less

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

TOP SEARCHES

The Terminator

A full-page advertisement in the 24 Feb 1984 DV announced the recent start of principal photography, referring to the film by its working title, Terminator. ... >>

The Long Haul

Onscreen credits contain the following written acknowlegment: "The producer gratefully acknowleges the assistance and facilities made availabe to the producer by Leyland Motors Limited." Tom Morahan's onscreen credit reads ... >>

Incendiary Blonde

The working titles of this film were The Smoothest Gal in Town , The Life of Texas Guinan and Texas Guinan . The film opens ... >>

That Forsyte Woman

The working title for this film was The Forsyte Saga . According to a pre-release news item in Time magazine, M-G-M decided to change the title ... >>

The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.