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Danger on the Air (1938)

1938 · Feature film · 66 min · dir. Otis Garrett

A Murder Mystery Chiller-Diller!

  • Mystery
  • Comedy
  • Drama
Watch now On the Internet Archive

Synopsis

Caesar Kluck, soft-drink magnate, is found dead in the office of a big radio-broadcasting company. Benjamin Franklin Butts, a sound engineer, discovers that Kluck met his death from cyanogen gas, administered in some mysterious fashion. Harry Jones, head of the company, fires Butts for making the murder public. Kluck has made many enemies and there are numerous suspects, including Christina "Steenie" MacCorkle, who is in love with Butts; her brother Alexander; radio announcer Dave Chapman; Tony Lisotti, the janitor who had discovered that Kluck was making love to his daughter Maria; Kluck's physician, Doctor Leonard Sylvester; and Joe Carney, a racketeer who had been doing Kluck's dirty work. Butts pursues his investigation and his only clue is a deflated toy-advertising balloon he has found next to Kluck's body. Later, Butts discovers Tony's body in a broom closet and, nearby, finds another deflated balloon, a straw and a pin. He then calls all the suspects together...and solves the mystery.

Synopsis from OMDb

Details

Director
Otis Garrett
Writer
Betty Laidlaw
Composer
Hans J. Salter
Cinematography
Stanley Cortez
Studio
Universal Pictures
Released
1938-06-30
Running time
66 minutes
Language
English
Collection
Comedy Films, Feature Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

Cast & crew

Reviews on the Internet Archive

★★★★★ · Great Period "Radio" Mystery/Comedy ! · Jonnie King · 2011-03-06

After many decades in Broadcasting I can attest to the fact that some of the "early" (1920's-1950's) Studios were similar to the one created here. This is a fun mystery/comedy with lots of GREAT B-Film Stars in the lineup. Donald Woods, William Lundigan,Edward Van Sloan, Joe Downing, et al, do a solid job. Interesting to see a "young" Lee J. Cobb in the cast, as well as a young (Peter)Lind Hayes. Hayes never reached the stature he should have...he was extremely versatile. Did some nice work with his wife, Mary Healy. I met Hayes in New York in 1973. He was amazed that ANYBODY would remember…

★★★★★ · I knows it when I sees it · oldfarte · 2011-09-28

I am not a big time movie cricket but i know what i like and I liked this one. I cannot stand network tv so I appreciate this source so much. I watch most every nite and almost always find something that is entertaining. This Hollywood mess today with everyone jumping on each others bones just makes me want to hurl. These old movies depended some what on acting not on how big their breasts are...

★★★★★ · A treat! · tbragg · 2017-03-02

I am very partial to radio-themed movies, and this one is a pip (as they used to say). When an annoying sponsor is murdered in the radio building while his program is on the air, cute (cute!) Nan Grey and bookish Donald Woods are unofficially on the case. Lots of good laughs, an amusing ethnic performance by Lee Cobb, and a chance for radio impressionist Peter Lind Hayes to shine. Hard to dislike, but if you love Old Time Radio, extra good stuff here. I especially love the references to The Shadow, and Hayes' impression of Bing Crosby.

★★★★★ · excellent movie · ruakidder · 2011-03-24

The cast is excellent. Good mystery.

★★★★★ · Mystery Club · katperrr · 2012-09-01

Really enjoyed it; hope there are more episodes.

★★★★ · Mystery comedy · accalaurie49 · 2010-06-07

Wonderful humouruos dialogue throughout, some parts of the story stress credibility, but it doesn´t matter. I was really surprised seeing the young Lee J. Cobb (he was 27 years of age) in this movie playing the father of a woman which really was only four years younger than himself (the actress I mean!). Maybe I shouldn´t be surprised because a mixture of make up and good acting will always help making such things believeable.

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