Whitney Cameron suspects his sister-in-law has poisoned his brother and niece, but without proof how does he prevent the murder of his nephew?Whitney Cameron suspects his sister-in-law has poisoned his brother and niece, but without proof how does he prevent the murder of his nephew?Whitney Cameron suspects his sister-in-law has poisoned his brother and niece, but without proof how does he prevent the murder of his nephew?
- Doug Cameron
- (as Fred Ridgeway)
- Headwaiter
- (uncredited)
- Judge at Preliminary Hearing
- (uncredited)
- Wheeler - Lynne's Chauffeur
- (uncredited)
- Pesticide Seller
- (uncredited)
- Club Member
- (uncredited)
- Restaurant Patron
- (uncredited)
- Nurse
- (uncredited)
- First Detective at Desk
- (uncredited)
- Waiter
- (uncredited)
- Maggie's Friend at Club
- (uncredited)
- Restaurant Patron
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe ship at sea is the same miniature model used for Titanic (1953), which in turn was used for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and Dangerous Crossing (1953). The interiors of the dining room and staircase on the ship were also from the same movies.
- GoofsThough set in New York City, the courtroom scene shows two flags by the bench, a 48 star American flag and a California State flag.
- Quotes
[spoiler; last lines]
Whitney 'Cam' Cameron: [narrating] On October 10th 1952, Lynne Cameron was convicted of murder in the first degree. Her sentence: life imprisonment. And so to the names of Madeleine Smith, Florence Maybrick, Lydia Trueblood, and all those other young, beautiful, but evil poison murderers was added that of Lynne Cameron.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story (2010)
- SoundtracksAuld Lang Syne
(uncredited)
Traditional Scottish melody
Instumental version played in ship's ballroom as Jean Peters and Joseph Cotten dance
Enter Whitney 'Cam' Cameron (Joseph Cotten), who makes a darned good villain as well as a protagonist, but here he's the good guy - or at least so he says. He lost his brother suddenly to encephalitis several years before, and now his niece has also died suddenly. The random remarks of Cam's little nephew, Cam's own inquisitive mind, and the fact that his close friend's wife is a writer of murder mysteries gets Cam suspecting his late brother's wife Lynn of murder. I'll let you see how everything unwinds yourself and who is brought to justice. Cotten narrates for almost the entire film, since he is trying to convince himself this woman is guilty even as he tries to prove her guilt to others - he has always liked her since his brother married her after the death of his first wife, thought she was a good stepmother to his brother's kids, and doesn't want to believe something so hideous, but he has to protect his brother's one surviving child, his nephew - again, so he says.
One thing that has changed since 1953, besides the fact that fashionable ladies and gents all wore hats ,is that a person could die in the hospital - quite possibly due to a fatal mix up by the hospital pharmacy - and that an investigating relative would be met by cooperative hospital personnel and not by an army of stonewalling attorneys and form letters. At least, that's one thing I noticed as Cam went about the hospital where his niece died trying to get the facts.
This is a very good mystery, yet Fox relegated it to half a bill on a Midnight Movie DVD. Give it a chance. It is not the fare usually associated with Midnight Movies - matrons baking cookies by day and turned ax murderer by night, wildlife run amok due to a nuclear blast, etc. Recommended.
- AlsExGal
- Apr 20, 2013
- How long is A Blueprint for Murder?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 17 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1