Murder at the Windmill
                                                                 
Director: Val Guest
Year: 1949
Rating: 6.0
Aka - Murder at the Burlesque

 
You don't get a lot of murder musicals, but this is one. The only other that comes to mind is Murder at the Vanities which might have been the idea behind this one. This is rather delightful mixing murder, musical numbers, a slew of attractive show girls and a very good dose of humor. It all takes place in an English Music Hall called the Windmill right off of Piccadilly Circus. Hours begin in the morning and end at 10:30 at night. Unless there is a murder. Then hours are a bit longer. It has a large cast of talented people that you likely have never heard of. I certainly hadn't. All British actors that I expect never got across the ocean. The director on the other hand is quite well-known - especially if you are a Hammer fan - Quatermass 2, The Quatermass Experiment, The Abominable Snowman, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth. Val Guest does a fine job here keeping it moving, keeping it light, keeping it musical and keeping it short at 65 minutes.

 

The old English Music Halls gave the audience a bit of everything - a little like vaudeville but with a regular cast night after night. After they perform a few numbers, the show is over, God Bless the King was played (at that time) and the audience leaves and the actors go to the dressing room. Except one poor chap. He was going nowhere. Shot through the heart during the performance. From the stage. That is an unhappy customer. Scotland Yard shows up and the questioning begins. But the film jumps back and forth between the investigation and the many lovely ladies chattering away, trading gossip and guess work. Humor is scattered all over the film like fairy dust. And the music. They pinpoint the time period in which he must have been shot. And the Inspector asks for them to put on the show again. And it's good fun. The funniest part may have been the comic who drones on forever, not at all funny and the look on the Inspector's face as if he is being tortured in the Tower. A lovely hour of clean entertainment as they would have put it 70 years ago.