''Having Wonderful Crime'' is a 1945 American

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characteristi ...

and

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 Eddie Sutherland from a screenplay by

Howard J. Green Howard J. Green (March 20, 1893 – September 2, 1965) was an American screenwriter who worked in film and television. He was the first president of the Screen Writers Guild and a founder of the subsequent Writers Guild of America, West. Caree ...

, Stewart Sterling, and Parke Levy, based on the novel of the same name by Craig Rice. In her series novels the main character was named John J. Malone, but for some reason the lawyer's name was changed for this film. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, it opened in New York City on April 12, 1945. The film stars Pat O'Brien,

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor, and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild fro ...

, and

Carole Landis Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer. She worked as a contract player for Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her breakout role was as the female lead in the 1940 ...

Plot

Michael J. Malone, a lawyer and detective, keeps getting drawn into the mischief of his recently married friends, Jake and Helene Justus. The film opens as they run from the police and manage to hide in the theater of a magic show, where Movel, the magician, makes a disappearing act. After Movel fails to reappear, the audience panics and the police are called. However, Jake Justus, Helene Justus, and Michael J. Malone manage to escape the theater before the police arrive. As part of their escape, Malone insists on joining Jake and Helene for their honeymoon. While driving to the hotel, Helene was driving carelessly and accidentally ran another car off the road. Gilda, the driver of the other car, was one of Movel's assistants. Gilda's travels with a large trunk, which makes Malone suspicious of her but they decide to give Gilda a ride anyway. At the hotel, Gilda sees a mysterious man and faints. The trio take Gilda up to their room so she can get some rest and recover. While Gilda is sleeping Jake and Malone decide to look inside of Gilda's trunk. They find many of Movel's funny props, and after searching through the trunk for a few minutes, they discover a check for $50,000 made out to Movel from Elizabeth Lenhart. Malone and Jake then go to Elizabeth Lenhart's house to investigate while under the guise of window washers. At the same time, unbeknownst to Malone and Jake, Helene was speaking to Elizabeth Lenhart. After Helene informed Elizabeth Lenhart that she suspects that Movel has been murdered by his assistants, Elizabeth Lenhart writes a check for $50,000 to hire a lawyer to defend the assistants. However, the check later becomes blank because Elizabeth used invisible ink. Later that day Malone meets Winslow, the owner of the hotel, at the boathouse. Winslow confesses that he killed Movel in order to retrieve the $50,000 check. Winslow then holds Malone at gunpoint and forces him to step into a trunk. Then Winslow throws the trunk and Malone into the lake. After Jake and Helene come searching for Malone, Winslow attempts to kill them too by trapping them in a boat while the exhaust fills the cabin. However, Malone managed to escape from the trunk because it has a trick door at the bottom. So, Malone escapes and then frees Jake and Helene as well. The film then closes, as Malone walks into the hotel with the police to arrest Winslow.Sutherland, A. Edward, director. ''Having Wonderful Crime''. RKO Radio Pictures, 1945, https://archive.org/details/HavingWonderfulCrime.

Cast

References

External links

* *{{tcmdb title, 14295 1945 films 1940s screwball comedy films 1940s comedy mystery films American black-and-white films American screwball comedy films American comedy mystery films Films scored by Leigh Harline Films based on American novels Films directed by A. Edward Sutherland Films set in hotels RKO Pictures films Films based on works by Craig Rice 1945 comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films