''Who Killed Aunt Maggie?'' is a 1940 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

Arthur Lubin Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, '' Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the '' Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV ...

and starring John Hubbard,

Wendy Barrie Wendy Barrie (born Marguerite Wendy Jenkins; 18 April 1912 – 2 February 1978) was a British-American film and television actress. Early life Barrie was born in London to English parents. Her father, Francis Charles John Graigoe Jenkin KC ...

and

Mona Barrie Mona Barrie (born Mona Barlee Smith; 18 December 1909 – 27 June 1964) was an English-born actress, active on stage in Australia before establishing a career in the US, and in Hollywood films. Career Born Mona Barlee Smith in London to comedi ...

. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures.

Plot

Radio-mystery script writer Sally Ambler is about to be married but quarrels with her fiancé Kirk Pierce after he finds a story that she wrote to be too contrived. The wedding is postponed when a telegram arrives from Sally's aunt Maggie in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

informing Sally that her uncle Charlie has died. Sally is followed to Atlanta after a phone call from Dr. Benedict warns Kirk of danger lurking for Sally when she arrives there. Sally discovers that her uncle's corpse is missing and that he may have been murdered. Sally is the sole heir after Aunt Maggie is strangled, and her cousin Eve ends up dead as well after finding a secret room. Dr. Benedict is revealed to have been behind the plot. After he is apprehended just in time, Sally and Kirk return home but argue again during their wedding ceremony over which kind of mystery plot is too unbelievable.

Cast

* John Hubbard as Kirk Pierce *

as Sally Ambler *

as Eve Benedict *

Joyce Compton Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Henry and Golden Compton. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not ...

as Cynthia Lou *

Walter Abel Walter Abel (June 6, 1898 – March 26, 1987) was an American film, stage and radio actor. Life Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine (née Becker) and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy of ...

as Dr. Benedict *

Onslow Stevens Onslow Stevens (born Onslow Ford Stevenson; March 29, 1902 – January 5, 1977) was an American stage, television and film actor. Early years Born in Los Angeles, California, Stevens was the son of British-born character actor Houseley St ...

as Dunbar * Elizabeth Patterson as Maggie *

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

as Sheriff

Production

The film was based on a bestselling 1939 novel by Medora Field, a writer for the '' Atlanta Journal Magazine''. Field's close friend

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...

encouraged her to write the book after Field had urged Mitchell to submit her manuscript for ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' to Macmillan in 1935. Republic Pictures bought the film rights in 1940. Stewart Palmer was assigned to write the script in June 1940. The studio briefly considered renaming the film ''Belle of Atlanta'' before settling on the book's original title. The cast and crew were set by late August, with John Hubbard borrowed from

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter, ...

. Filming was completed by September.

Reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' called the film "one of those good, old time mystery thrillers."Eerie Film Entertains Scott, John L. Los Angeles Times 25 Oct 1940: A10.

References

External links

''Who Killed Aunt Maggie?''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
at BFI
Review of film
at Variety {{Arthur Lubin 1940 films 1940 mystery films Films directed by Arthur Lubin American mystery films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films