The Gracie Allen Murder Case

1939
Approved
1h 18m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

265

YOUR RATING

Gracie Allen in The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939)

Comedy Crime Mystery

The zany plot follows nitwit Gracie Allen trying to help master sleuth Philo Vance solve a murder. Allen's uncle fixes her up with Bill at a company picnic. When the two go out to a nightclu... Read allThe zany plot follows nitwit Gracie Allen trying to help master sleuth Philo Vance solve a murder. Allen's uncle fixes her up with Bill at a company picnic. When the two go out to a nightclub that night, Gracie inadvertently links Bill to the murder of a thug after finding the de... Read allThe zany plot follows nitwit Gracie Allen trying to help master sleuth Philo Vance solve a murder. Allen's uncle fixes her up with Bill at a company picnic. When the two go out to a nightclub that night, Gracie inadvertently links Bill to the murder of a thug after finding the dead body and Bill's cigarette case at the scene of the crime. While being questioned at the... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

265

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
A longtime fan of comedians George Burns and Gracie Allen, 'Philo Vance' creator S. S. Van Dine wrote a tailor-made screenplay for the team, which emerged on-screen as 'The Gracie Allen Murder Case'. George Burns suggested his character be eliminated, leaving scatterbrained Gracie on her own to match wits with urbane private detective Philo Vance. The character Burns would have played was rewritten for Kent Taylor. Despite his on-screen absence, Burns was on set every day cheering on his wife.

Quotes
Philo Vance: The question is, then, why would the killer have brought the body here?
Gracie Allen: Well, they've got a wonderful floor show.

Crazy credits
The opening credits show a grist mill. Each of the paddles has a character name and the actor who portrays him; the other credits are listed against a background of the nearby web rocks.

Connections
Followed by Calling Philo Vance (1940)

Soundtracks
Snug as a Bug in the Rug
Music by Matty Malneck
Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Gracie Allen

User reviews17

Review

Featured review

5/10

Where's Philo????

I've always loved the scatter-brained comedy of Gracie Allen, but she is terribly out of place in this (so-called) "mystery". Don't get me wrong -- she's EXCELLENT but, unfortunately, "overwhelms" the film, and the mystery is lost in the shuffle. Warren William (as Philo) is pitifully wasted in this film.

A better title for this film should be, "What Happened to Philo Vance"?