''Murder by Invitation'' is a 1941 American

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by

Phil Rosen Philip E. Rosen (May 8, 1888 – October 22, 1951) was an American film director and cinematographer. He directed more than 140 films between 1915 and 1949. He was born in Malbork, Marienburg, German Empire (now, Malbork, Poland), grew up ...

and starring

Wallace Ford Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-fac ...

Plot

The relatives of Cassandra "Cassie" Denham, an old unmarried lady living in New York who is reputedly good for three million dollars, try to make a judge declare her unable to take care of herself financially. The attempt fails, and in charge of handing in the petition is Cassie's nephew Garson Denham, a lawyer. Instead he summons a newspaper reporter, Bob White (

), and his girlfriend, Nora O'Brien (

Marian Marsh Marian Marsh (born Violet Ethelred Krauth; October 17, 1913 – November 9, 2006) was a Trinidad-born American film actress and later an environmentalist. Early life Violet Ethelred Krauth was born on October 17, 1913, in Trinidad, British ...

), and tells them he has been invited to stay a week at Cassie's estate up in the mountains. The invitation states that any relative not arriving at the specified time will be excluded from the will. Garson believes his aunt is mentally unsound and plans to kill them all during the stay. Despite this Garson and his wife, his brothers Tom and Larry and their mother Martha keep the appointment. As they arrive Cassie tells them that they are there so that she can learn which one of them should inherit the bulk of her fortune. She also tells them that she keeps all of her money at the house. That night Garson is stabbed to death in the library. Bob and Nora receive the news of his death and show up at the estate with a photographer to write about the killing. Sheriff Boggs is already questioning everyone at the house about their whereabouts during the night, and Bob, Nora and the photographer are all invited to stay at the estate by Cassie. The next night, Larry is killed in the library, and the sheriff continues his investigation. The dead bodies disappear and turn up again in Bob's closet, but they disappear before he is able to show them to the others. Later, Eddie sees the bookshelf in the library open revealing a secret doorway and as Cassie comes out from one side, he walks in via the reverse side of the bookshelf, unseen by her, into a secret passage. Cassie asks Eddie to guard a small box with her valuables, offering him $10,000 to do so, and says she suspects her neighbor, Trowbridge Montrose, of being involved in the killings. The neighbor is supposedly in love with Cassie. Tom is the next stabbed whilst he is talking to Mary in the garden. However, the assailant is unknown as everyone present at the property appears to possess an alibi for the time of the attack. Cassie is determined to catch the killer and tells Bob of a plan she has, saying she will see to it that everyone is outside and then set the house on fire to see who tries to run in and save the money within from destruction. When the house is in flames, Mary, Cassie's house servant, suddenly panics and angrily confronts her employer, stating that she should have the money for working for her for several years and tolerating her imperiousness, saying she was entitled to inherit something, and hysterically admits committing the murders, implicating also her accomplice, Michael, the chauffeur, whom she has secretly married. She is arrested, and after a chase through the woods the chauffeur is also apprehended by Bob armed with a revolver. Trowbridge then proposes to Cassie; Eddie presents the box to Cassie and gets his money, but the twist in the tale is that it turns out to be old

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

currency, and quite worthless. Cassie then reveals that all of her 'fortune' is in the same denomination, but Trowbridge announces that it is unimportant as he has enough for them both to live upon. The film ends with Bob also getting the girl in the form of Nora.

Cast

as Bob White *

as Nora O'Brien * Sarah Padden as Aunt Cassandra ("Cassie") Hildegarde Denham * Gavin Gordon as Garson Denham *George Guhl as Sheriff William Boggs *

Wallis Clark Wallis Hensman Clark (2 March 1882 – 14 February 1961) was an English stage and film actor. Biography Clark was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, the son of William Wallis Clark (1854 - 1930), an engineer. Prior to acting, Clark was an en ...

as Judge Moore *

Minerva Urecal Minerva Urecal (born Florence Minerva Dunnuck; September 22, 1894 – February 26, 1966) was an American stage and radio performer as well as a character actress in Hollywood films and on various television series from the early 1950s to 1 ...

as Maxine Denham *J. Arthur Young as Trowbridge Cadwallader Montrose *

Herb Vigran Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances. Early years Vigran was a native of Cin ...

as Eddie *

Phillip Trent Phillip Trent (October 16, 1907, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania – January 24, 2001, Englewood, New Jersey) was an American stage and film actor. He began his career on Broadway and starred in nine stage productions. He appeared in numerous films dur ...

as Larry Denham * Dave O'Brien as Michael, the Chauffeur *

Hazel Keener Hazel Keener (October 22, 1904 – August 7, 1979) was a motion picture actress from Fairbury, Illinois. She was raised in Davenport, Iowa. Keener won a national beauty contest sponsored by the Chicago Tribune and used her success to begi ...

as Mary Denham *

Isabel La Mal Isabelle LaMal (July 16, 1886 – July 20, 1952) was an American film actress. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, she appeared in over 95 films between 1928 and 1951. LaMal is best known for her appearance as Mrs. Bedford, socialite owner of pr ...

as Martha Denham *

Lee Shumway Lee Shumway (March 4, 1884 – January 4, 1959), born Leonard Charles Shumway, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1909 and 1953. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Los Angeles, California. Select ...

as Eric, the Gardener * John James as Tom Denham * Kay Deslys as Katie, the Cook

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murder By Invitation 1941 films 1940s comedy mystery films American black-and-white films Monogram Pictures films 1941 comedy films American comedy mystery films Films directed by Phil Rosen 1940s English-language films 1940s American films