Please Murder Me! (1956)

Please Murder Me! / Peter Godfrey (1956). One year before Raymond Burr got the call to play crusader for justice Perry Mason, he played another defense lawyer whose moral and ethical quandary sends him into noir darkness. The film opens at night as an unidentifiable man walks the dark streets to ultimately buy a handgun. Going to a similarly dark office, he begins to talk into a tape recorder. This is when we see that the man is Craig Carlson (Burr) and he is (shades of Double Indemnity) dictating the details of an event to the District Attorney. As he tells the story, we flashback with him. He meets with Joe Leeds (Dick Foran) an old friend who had saved Carlson’s life in the war. Carlson has some bad news for his buddy. Carlson has fallen in love with Myra (Angela Lansbury), Joe’s wife. Myra wants a divorce to marry Carlson. Joe is stunned and askes for time to think. A few days later, in an angry mood, he returns home to confront Myra. Shots ring out. Joe is dead. At this point I will give the warning about SPOILERS even though the twist at a little past the halfway point is given away in the plot summary at the movie database and on YouTube so I will just take the Spoiler that far. Myra is tried for murder but is acquitted after a clever defense by Carlson. Then, when the trial is over, Carlson learns that Myra was, indeed, a cold-blooded killer. From here on, however, my lips are sealed about any other plot developments. This well-plotted mystery is from an original story by two screenwriters. Cinematographer Alan Stensvold (Thunder Road, Panic In The City) provides the required light and shadows plus a couple of near Wellesean crazy camera angles. Burr and Lansbury both give very intense performances that should be seen by fans of both actors. A hidden, even forgotten, little gem of a noir. Can be seen on YouTube in a fairly good print but with intermittent spots where the sound seems to drop low and distorted making it hard to understand. John Dehner as the D.A. and Denver Pyle as a police detective make important contributions.

Angela Lansbury and Raymond Burr standing in that noir lighting that we all love.