"The King Murder" is available on DVD from Alpha Video. Like most of Alpha's films, this one has a rather rough print--a bit blurry (looking as if copied from a videotape or just a very used print) and with poor sound (there's too much background hiss). Unfortunately, this is likely the only way you'll find the film so you'll need to accept it, warts and all. Fortunately, as the film progresses, the sound quality at least improves though at the end it suddenly became worse.This story was apparently based on a famous murder case of the era involving a blackmailer named Dot King. Interestingly, the studio (Universal) didn't disguise this very well, naming the character Miriam King.Miriam has made a career out of seducing rich married men. Then, once she has incriminating information, she blackmails them into paying her not to produce this information to their wives. After her latest shakedown, Miriam ends up dead and the police are trying to figure out what happened. It isn't easy, as she's gathered a lot of enemies over the years.Conway Tearle plays Detective Barton--the man assigned to work on this murder case. Interestingly, despite the subject matter being rather salacious and the recentness of the actual murder, the film did NOT seem exploitational in the least. Likewise, it was handled in a quiet, cerebral fashion and the overall film was far better than I'd expected--especially since it was from tiny-budget Chesterfield Productions. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that the pawn broker seemed incredibly broadly portrayed---extremely Jewish--most likely in keeping with stereotypes of the day. Worth seeing even with the lousy print.

Well this one was quite absorbing right up to the end with the revelation of the murder weapon and the killer. A poisoned Victrola needle - What!!?? How clumsily inept would you have to be to scratch yourself with one of those, especially on top of your hand the way cop Dugan was dispatched. And did Van Kempen (Robert Frazer) purposely wound himself with the same needle? I'm not going back to find out; by that time I thought the suspense of setting up all the other suspects was pretty much wasted.You see, the exposition of the story was pretty intricate for an early 1930's flick, and there weren't the type of plot holes you could usually drive a getaway car through. There were plenty of suspects who would have had a reason to get Miriam King (Dorothy Revier) out of the way, who by the way was a fairly accomplished juggler the way she handled her men. Say, wouldn't it have been great if Chief Barton (Conway Tearle) had put the finger on Elizabeth Hawthorn in that billiard scene right near the end? I thought that was the direction they were going, especially the way she might have telegraphed her guilt when she first learned of Miss King's murder. I think that would have been a more satisfying conclusion than watching Van Kempen lay out the whole story as he died in the ambulance.My best takeaway from the picture is right up there in my summary line, the bit about 'not talking to a gaga', spoken by Miss King before she met her demise. Couldn't help but relate to the current antics of pop celebrity Lady Gaga who's a walking definition of the word - self absorbed, infatuated and silly all at the same time.

It's a remarkable fact that some of the "B" directors like Richard Thorpe adapted to sound much faster than acclaimed "A" leaders like John Ford and Howard Hawks. Thorpe's Border Romance (1929) is very competently made indeed, and in this 1932 production he could still give some of the masters a keen lesson in pacing. Indeed, the first two reels move with such celerity that the average viewer needs to be really on his toes to keep up with the plot. And at this stage it's worth paying attention, because the sultry Dorothy Revier is right up there on the screen. When she is killed, the pace slows somewhat when the focus shifts to Marceline Day (who is too rake-thin for my taste) and plodding-as-she-goes hero, Conway Tearle. Nonetheless, the mystery is still intriguing enough, and Thorpe makes good use of Universal's standing sets to give the movie a bit of class. Natalie Moorhead is exotic enough to command a bit of interest, and an outstanding cameo by Rose Dione also helps. Alas, as usual in many of these Poverty Row thrillers, the solution to the mystery is somewhat contrived. Also disappointing is the revelation of the actual killer. In fact the whole climax is a letdown. One gets the impression that the producer ran out of money at this stage and simply wound the film down. Curtain!

This is about philandering. It has at the center, a gold digger who is using planned extortion to get what she wants. She sets herself up, leaving little choice among her victims. Of course, the men are truly culpable and deserve much of what they get. The conclusion is pretty far fetched. If you are old enough to own a phonograph (turntable) you will get my point. The bad guys are depending a lot on some pretty random incompetence. This is interesting and has a few twists and turns, so it's not bad, but the conclusion is unsatisfying. The character of the young woman is pretty well portrayed and the acting isn't too bad. Still, it could have been better with a little more imagination.