''The Corpse Came C.O.D.'' is a 1947 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

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 Henry Levin, produced by

Samuel Bischoff Samuel Bischoff (August 11, 1890 – May 21, 1975) was an American film producer who was responsible for more than 400 full-length films, two-reel comedies, and serials between 1922 and 1964. Life Born to a Jewish family in Hartford, Connec ...

and starring

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included '' Jezebel'' and '' Dark Victo ...

and

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

. The comedic mystery is notable for featuring cameos by Hollywood gossip columnists appearing as themselves: Harrison Carroll,

Jimmy Fidler Jimmie Fidler (August 26, 1898 – August 9, 1988) was an American columnist, journalist and radio and television personality. He wrote a Hollywood gossip column and was sometimes billed as Jimmy Fidler. Born James Marion Fidler in St. Lo ...

, George Fisher,

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

, Erskine Johnson,

Louella Parsons Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger; August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was an American movie columnist and a screenwriter. She was retained by William Randolph Hearst because she had championed Hearst's mistress Marion Davies and s ...

, and

Sidney Skolsky Sidney Skolsky (2 May 1905 – 3 May 1983) was an American writer best known as a Hollywood gossip columnist. He ranked with Hedda Hopper (with whom he shared a birthday) and Louella Parsons as the premier Hollywood gossip columnists of the first ...

. The movie is based on a novel by columnist Jimmy Starr, who also appears in the movie.

Plot

Two reporters who are in love (Brent and Blondell) compete with each other when covering the story about the discovery of a corpse found at the mansion of a famous Hollywood movie actress.

Cast

as Joe Medford *

as Rosemary Durant * Adele Jergens as Mona Harrison *

Jim Bannon James Shorttel Bannon (April 9, 1911 – July 28, 1984) was an American actor and radio announcer known for his work on the ''I Love a Mystery'' and ''Red Ryder'' series during the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Born in 1911 in Kansas City, Misso ...

as Det. Lt. Mark Wilson *

Leslie Brooks Leslie Brooks (born Virginia Leslie Gettman; July 13, 1922 – July 1, 2011) was an American film actress, model and dancer. Early life Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, her parents brought her to Southern California at an early age, where aroun ...

as Peggy Holmes * John Berkes as Larry Massey, Photographer * Fred F. Sears as Det. Dave Short (as Fred Sears) * William Trenk as Fields * Grant Mitchell as Mitchell Edwards * Una O'Connor as Nora * Marvin Miller as Rudy Frasso

References

External links

* * * *
''The Corpse Came C.O.D.'' (1947) and the Hollywood Gossip Columnists
Immortal Ephemera 1948 films Columbia Pictures films American black-and-white films Films set in Los Angeles 1940s crime comedy films Films scored by George Duning 1940s English-language films Films about journalists American crime comedy films American comedy mystery films Films produced by Samuel Bischoff Films based on crime novels 1948 comedy films 1947 comedy films 1947 films Films directed by Henry Levin 1940s American films {{comedy-crime-film-stub