Tuesday, December 1, 2020

OVERLOOKED FILM: DETECTIVE KITTY O'DAY (1944)

 Monogram Pictures --the epitome of Poverty Row -- spewed out two Kitty O'Day films, both featuring Jean Parker in the title role.  Kitty O'Day and her boyfriend Johnny Jones (Peter Cookson) are accused of murder and must try to clear themselves by finding the real murderer.  Standard fare for a B-movie mystery.  Also standard fare is that there is very little mystery (the villain is obvious and Kitty and Johnny are accused only because the police are so dumb).  What there is, according to some, is pure comedy gold as Jean Parker carries the film; according to others, pure comedy pyrite.  

Kitty is a fast-talking, mile-a-minute, won't-shut-up heroine.  If you think Gracie Allen, you won't be too far off.  The film was co-written by Tim Ryan (who also plays the police detective, Clancy).  Ryan was married to Irene Ryan (yes, Grannie from The Beverley Hillbillies) and early in their careers they were both in vaudeville where their act was said to have influenced George Burns and Gracie Allen. 

A fast-moving screwball film with a few plot holes that are expected from a Monogram film.

The film's low-budget director William "One-Shot" Beaudine got his nickname because of his tendency to take only one shot of a scene, saving the studio both time and money.  This was how he managed to direct over 350 films in his career.

Enjoy this little gem and, if you don't enjoy it, you've only wasted an hour of your time.


https://archive.org/details/DetectiveKittyOday

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