Please Murder Me (1956)

Posted by Steve-O

Raymond Burr, with his non-blinking eyes and bear-like size, was a stand out in any film he appeared in. Who could forget his role in Rear Window as the grey-haired killer staring back at snooper Jimmy Stewart? Burr played a number of film noir roles around the same time that, although not as memorable, were equally as impressive. Burr went from victim to villain – playing a slimy PI in both Abandoned and Pitfall, a violent mob boss in Raw Deal, a wolf in The Blue Gardenia and a handicapped murder victim in Affair in Havana – but he rarely did he get to be the good guy. In 1956 (the same year he was dropped into the American-release of Godzilla) Burr starred in Please Murder Me as a very smart defense lawyer ultimately manipulated by a femme fatale (Angela Lansbury). Burr would go on to play the squeaky-clean lawyer Perry Mason on TV the following year forever ending his heavy roles and typecasting him as a crusader for justice.

Click to play clip from the film

In Please Murder Me! Burr gets to show both his good and dark side. The film starts with great promise. Burr, wearing a brimmed hat and trench coat, enters a store on a dark street and buys a gun he sees in the window. With a close up of bullets being loaded into the revolver the title card jumps out “Please Murder Me!” Just like in Double Indemnity, he returns to his office that same dark night and begins to dictate into a tape recorder his twisted story. Clearly in noir territory now, a flashback begins to tell the story leading up to this night.

Months earlier, in the same law office with his best friend – an old war buddy played by Western actor Dick Foran - Attorney Craig Carlson is making small talk. The friendly meeting turns sour fast when Burr finally tells his friend the reason for the meeting. You see, Craig is having an affair with Joe’s wife and now he’s representing her in the divorce. His friend reacts with shock more than anger and he leaves his office in a daze. Burr now feels guiltier than ever for betraying his friend.

Joe goes home to confront his wife (Lansbury). He’s shot dead by Myra in the scuffle and Burr is called. He quickly switches from divorce to defense lawyer when he agrees to represent her. What follows is a courtroom drama where Burr goes up against the D.A. (John Dehner) trying to prove the killing was in self defense. As the highly publicized trial drags on the Myra and Craig plan their future hoping that she’ll be set free. Eventually Myra’s found not guilty after a very questionable courtroom stunt pulled by Craig.

Spoilers

What follows at the half-way point should be no surprise to noir fans. Turns out Myra not only killed her husband in cold blood rather than in self defense, but she also has another lover she’s been secretly seeing. Burr meets her old flame – an artist and old school love of Myra’s Carl Holt – and finds out that she plans on marrying Carl instead of him.

Burr has had enough. He plots and schemes to get the ultimate revenge. He tries to get Myra to kill him in an attempt to not only convict her of murder but to also clear his conscience.

End of spoilers

The unique twist makes Please Murder Me! a satisfying 78 minutes. The performances all around are excellent. Lansbury was very good at playing bad girls earlier in her career and she doesn’t disappoint here. Denver Pyle, playing a city detective, is another familiar Western face making an appearance in the film.

But what keeps the film together is the excellent performance of Raymond Burr – who is both intense and slightly demented. Copies of the film are floating around the trade circuit and I see it’s now available online commercially. I recommend tracking this one down.