Classic comedy starring Fred MacMurray as a pollster who shows up at a hillbilly family's house looking for another pollster who went missing in the area. He finds himself knee-deep in trouble with the hillbillies, who are a clan of criminals looking for some money that only their dying grandmother knows the location of -- and she only wants to tell Fred. Things get even more crazy when Helen Walker shows up, claiming to be the Bonnie Parker-esque member of the family who recently escaped from prison.It's a very funny movie with MacMurray in rare form as the poor guy who stumbles into a weird situation and can't wait to get out of it. The bit where he pretends to talk to a ghost to fool the dumb twins is priceless. At one point in the movie there's a clever gag where MacMurray's character comes upon an idea involving an organ because he saw the same bit in The Ghost Breakers, which was another Paramount comedy directed by George Marshall. Another great scene has MacMurray doing his version of Dorf decades before Tim Conway. Helen Walker is lovely and does a fine job but her part is mostly a straight one with few laughs. Marjorie Main is wonderful as a sort of dark version of her famous Ma Kettle character. Peter Whitney is lots of fun playing a set of dimwitted but violent twins. The rest of the cast includes Porter Hall, Jean Heather, Barbara Pepper, and a scene-stealing Mabel Paige as the grandmother. It's a good comedy with a terrific cast. Probably could've trimmed ten minutes in the middle but it doesn't hurt the pace too much. Definitely worth a look.

This film was an insult to anyone's intelligence.Fred MacMurray collects statistics regarding rural areas and comes up a bunch of hillbilly murderers who are seeking a fortune buried somewhere.Helen Walker comes along and pretends to be the head gal of the clan who just broke out of jail. Turns out that she isn't Bonnie and is only there to clear her father's name. Her father was working in the bank on the night of the robbery and was accused of being part of the robbery team.Marjorie Main is the common old hag with two idiotic sons and a granddaughter who sings constantly. Main walks around with a whip and shoots a gun a lot as well. She is vile as her character is the beginning of a kinder Ma Kettle 2 years later, in 1947, and later.Bad enough, the film gets even worse with chase scenes, the real Bonnie showing up, people getting hit over the head and choked. The barn scene finale at the end becomes annoying.

Murder, He Says (1945) *** (out of 4) Fun Paramount flick about pollster Pete Marshall (Fred MacMurray) who heads out to the Ozarks to see what happened to a previous pollster who traveled to the area and disappeared. Soon he winds up on the Fleagle estate, which is ran by Ma (Marjorie Main) and his twin, idiot sons (Peter Whitney). Soon the pollster is working with a woman (Helen Walker) who is trying to locate some stolen money, which is also wanted by the redneck family. MURDER, HE SAYS was originally meant to be a vehicle for Bob Hope but he ended up backing out and MacMurray would end up with the part. When you see the title and MacMurray's name attached to it you'd expect some type of noir but instead we're left with a spoof of the "old dark house" genre and even though many elements don't work there are still enough that do to make this worth watching. It seems many people will call this a masterpiece but while I wouldn't go that far I still think it's pretty good in its own right. I think the movie's biggest problem is that there are a few dry moments that seem to run on way too long and this includes the ending, which takes way too much time to happen. I found the entire chase sequence at the end to be a bit too weak and without any major laughs except for the final scene in the film. Before that the laughs are rather hit and miss but when they work they really work. One of the highlights of the film is a scene where the rednecks force the pollster to show them where the money is. He really doesn't know but he plans on fooling them so he can make an escape and how he does this was very funny. Another very good sequence happens when one of the twins has a bad back, which when hit pretty much paralyzes him but the pollster hits the wrong one, which just causes more problems. MacMurray actually does a pretty good job in his role as he's quite believable in the part but it's also rather fun seeing the tough guy play a chicken. Walker gets some very good moments and makes for a good love interest and Main is also good in the part, which many will probably mistake for one of the Kettle films. Whitney easily steals the film playing both twin brothers and you couldn't help but laugh each time he was in action.

Fred MacMurray gives his funniest performance as a pollster who gets tangled up in the plots of maniacal hayseeds in search of stolen money.The plot is beyond description with so many twists and turns it keeps you guessing. The pacing is brisk and the film is filled with slapstick, in-jokes, puns, and references to other films. This is a very modern, very black comedy, and it's totally hilarious.MacMurray was always a smooth comedy leading man but here he's outright funny and loose. Helen Walker is also very good as one of the Bonnies. Marjorie Main is hysterical as she prowls around with her whip. Peter Whitney is excellent as the twins. Jean Heather has her best role. Porter Hall is always a treat. And Mabel Paige positively GLOWS as Grandma.A must see film! And remember: honors flysis, income beezis!!