The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

The Murder of Dr. Harrigan (1936)

** (out of 4)

Fast paced Warner mystery has Dr. Harrigan being murdered in a hospital right before he's about to do surgery on a man who has also disappeared. Dr. Lambert (Ricardo Cortez) and Nurse Keating (Kay Linaker) decide to do some investigating on their own and realize that just about everyone in the hospital is a suspect and that Harrigan was working on a new form of anesthetic. THE MURDER OF DR. HARRIGAN isn't the best murder-mystery out there from Warner but even with all its flaws it's still worth watching thanks in large part to the nice cast of characters. Cortez is always hit and miss among film buffs but I thought he was rather charming here. The actor certainly didn't have to over extend himself but he did enough to at least keep you entertained in his character. Linaker, just signed off of Broadway, is actually very good in her part but sadly the screenplay gives her very little to work with. Character actor Joseph Crehan does a fine job at the main detective investigating the case and we also get fine support from Robert Strange, Phillip Reed and Anita Kerry. Then there's Mary Astor who according to the trivia section of IMDb turned down the lead part and to punish her the studio gave her a supporting bit. The role is certainly below her talents but she's good in the part and certainly helps make the film better. With that said, the plot here just isn't interesting enough to really pull you in and I'd argue that the direction isn't up to par either. Still, fans of the cast members will still want to check it out.