Murder in Times Square (1943) User Reviews (6)

Beware of the evil eye on Broadway.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 24 May 2017]

Esther Dale's "Longacre Lil" may look like the sweet Apple Annie, but her grizzled appearance is where those similarities end. When playwright Edmund Lowe refuses to honor Lil with a gift, murders start to occur all around him, all from the same way the murder in his Broadway hit occurred: murder by snake bite. Lowe has a lot of explaining to do, but so does Dale who continues to stalk Lowe and is around every time a murder is discovered.

The mixture of mystery and theater, set in the theater capitol of the world, is an interesting setup and has the mark of another Columbia mystery series that never got off the ground. Lowe, emulating the recently deceased John Barrymore, is part ham actor, part Perry Mason, and clever enough to make this B movie intriguing. Marguerite Chapman is the lovely stage co-star frustrated by the offstage intrigue. Dale hams it up as if she knew it was her last bow and that Easter would be her own closing night, chowing down on the ham as quickly as it could be unwrapped.

The Crossroads Of The World

[boblipton · 6/10 · 3 August 2020]

After a lifetime of struggling, Edmund Lowe's "I am an obnoxious genius" act has finally paid off, and he's looking at a long, prosperous run. However, as he confesses to Texan Bruce Bennett, there to act as his sounding board, it is just an act, meant to keep his name in the papers. When a corpse turns up, everyone on Broadwayis happy to pin it on him, especially when pay-off racketeer Esther Dale doesn't get her cut.

It's a look at Runyonesque Broadway from the sleazy side, andthe mystery is all right. It also gives a bunch of minor players a paycheck, including James C. Morton's last. With a plethora of youngsters at the starts of their careers, including Veda Ann Borg and Gerald Mohr, it offers a cramped, uncomfortable view of the crossroads of the world.

Intriguing little mystery

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 3 March 2023]

Edmund Lowe plays a now successful playwright/actor with a hit on Broadway that has a plot concerning snake venom. Lowe manages to make an enemy of some old Broadway bag (Dale) who is considered a lucky charm by many of his contemporaries. After he tells her to get lost, he lightly punches someone in a altercation and the man dies - of snake venom poisoning. The cops can't find any evidence on him so he's released. Lowe then learns that his fiance (Veda Ann Borg) is in love with someone else. He winds up dead due to guess what. Yes, snake poison. Eventually the police arrest him but he escapes and turns detective to find the real culprit.

I found this 1943 mystery quite unusual, mainly due to the characters such as the old lady seen as a lucky charm and Lowe's character. He's plays a hammy actor and acts arrogant and superior, but this, as he tells a friend, that this is an act just to stay in the limelight and fit in with luvvies. Makes a change from a straightforward suave hero you usually find as a hero. It's intriguing little b-mystery that has some nice twists and a suspenseful finale.

Interesting mystery, but much is left unexplained....

[normv · 15 August 2001]

An egotistical playwrite (Edmund Lowe) write a play wherein snakes play a vital part. He becomes infamous (and wanted by the police) when several of his close friends die of "snake bite".

This is an interesting, intriquing story, but MUCH is left unanswered; for example, the weapon that simulates "snake bite" is never shown OR explained and the murderer was nowhere NEAR his first victim!

Forget the "logic" and just enjoy this film!

Murder in Times Square

[CinemaSerf · 5/10 · 7 December 2023]

We start with a play closing to a standing ovation on Broadway. Suitably proud, playwright "Cory" (Edmund Lowe) heads out for some after show drinks and that's where he encounters "Longacre Lil" (Esther Dale). She's a local "character" who is after a few dollars. He tells her to get lost and she reciprocates with a curse. Bunkum, thinks he - until later that evening when his is being arrested by the police for murder after accidentally causing a man to fall. Luckily for him, "Supai George" (Bruce Bennett) is on hand and points out that the man was poisoned by a dose of deadly snake venom. The cops are still wary of "Cory" but off he goes into the night determined to find out just what old "Lil" is up to. Oh, and did I say - his fiancée is already married to someone else! Anyway, it seems that this kind of poison is the preferred weapon of choice for someone as soon the bodies start piling up and our writer's future is looking distinctly gloomy. It's a bit all over the place this, but the story has loads of twists and turns and "Lil" turns out to be quite a savvy piece of work as we slaughter our way through an hour towards a denouement that is almost incidental to the story. Indeed, this is more of a collection of mediocre individual acting performances this - rather than a coherent attempt to tell a story and though nobody is ever really quite sure what the reasoning is behind the crimes, that doesn't stop us having an amiable enough ping at the theatre types. Instantly forgettable, but not dreadful.

Murder in Times Square

[pm690 · 10/10 · 4 January 2008]

This was considered a "B" picture when Columbia pictures released it in 1943 so it lacked the usual promotion. Edmond Lowe is at his best in this role as an actor turned detective. Although another critic on this web page made the comment that the murder weapon is not shown, it is clearly shown by the murderer when he prepares the snake poison for another victim and is very similar to the murder weapon utilized in "The Falcon Out West". I first saw this movie while growing up in San Diego on television and consider it to be as good as the "Thin Man" movies, etc. Rated "G" for all ages. The plot is that Edmond Lowe is a struggling stage actor/writer in New York City and finally hits it big on Broadway with a play he wrote. His good luck turns bad when he refuses to join a club ran by an old lady. Imediately after wards he becomes a prime suspect for the murders of snake bite victims because the plot of his play is very similar. He must become a detective in order to clear himself and the film does a great job of placing Edmond Lowe at his best acting role. The only regret is that he did not continue making similar movies in the golden years of the 1940's.