A killer has only one destination --- MURDER
Frustrated by the seeming lack of action by the police, Laura Mansfield (Joyce MacKenzie) is determined to find the people that ordered a hit on her father in this speedy little low-budget crime drama cum B noir produced and directed by Edward Cahn for RKO.
Rather than identifying hit man Jackie Wales (Stanley Clements) to the police, Laura starts dating him(!) him to (I guess) find out who his boss is. After Jackie gets beaten up by eponymous gangster Armitage (Albert Dekker), Laura suspects his involvement & takes a job at his night club. Complications ensure when Laura falls in loves with No. 2 man Stretch Norton (Hurd Hatfield), initiating a triangle with Armitage's mistress, Alice Wentworth (Myrna Dell), who is also putting the moves on Stretch and hoping that he’ll rub out Armitage for her.
Joyce MacKenzie and Hurd Hatfield
Like any good femme fatale, Alice also has her own hidden agenda. She cons Jackie into writing a confession that they can use to blackmail Armitage, but that she’ll hold onto. By doing so she plans for Jackie and Armitage to knock each other off – and hopefully the bothersome Laura as well – leaving Stretch to her and the business to both of them. In the background is the film’s only sensible character, police lieutenant Brewster (James Flavin) who seems to be two steps ahead of everyone, but is stymied by Laura’s rogue determination to solve the case on her own.
Much like The Big Sleep (1946), trying
to justify the logic of the plot and the characters actions is a mug’s game in
a film where internal logic is trumped by a forward momentum that will keep you
hooked. Destination Murder has enough solid film noir touches to keep you from noticing
when Joyce MacKenzie’s wooden performance applies the brakes to any scene that
she is in. But otherwise, it’s full speed ahead in this fun, minor B film.
Hatfield and Albert Dekker
Classic noir scenarios include Jackie Wales stepping out on his date during a 5 minute movie intermission to kill Laura’s father. Later he is beaten by Armitage as a player piano drowns out the violence, while a disinterested Alice coolly adjusts her makeup. Cinematographer Jackson Rose gave this and other scenes featuring Myrna Dell his best Nicholas Musuraca-like noir lighting touches.
Director Edward Cahn is best known for directing the Our Gang comedies from 1939 to 1943. He always knew how to get the most out of the low budgets that he had to work with, rarely turning out a less than highly entertaining film. His work in the horror and SF genre during the 50’s produced a series of minor, but much loved B movie classics such as The She-Creature (1956), Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957), It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), and many others including Invisible Invaders (1959) that is seen today as a precursor to Night of The Living Dead (1948) a decade later.
Top-billed Joyce MacKenzie once described herself as "a poor man's movie star". Destination Murder was a rare top billing for her, but she made her mark on a number of A films, including being the only female character (uncredited) in Twelve O'Clock High (1949) and supporting roles in Broken Arrow (1950) with Jimmy Stewart, The Racket (1951) with Robert Mitchum and Deadline U.S.A. (1952) with Humphrey Bogart.
Stanley Clements is best remembered as Leo Gorcey's replacement as the leader of the Bowery Boys in the final entries of the film series, although he appeared in a number of bigger budget films before WW II.
Despite the leaden acting of MacKenzie, most of the film’s other character actors deliver solid, if unremarkable performances. The exceptions being the galvanizing Myrna Dell’s conniving bad girl Alice and James Flavin’s measured police lieutenant.
Gorgeous blonde Myrna Dell had enough charisma to become a bigger starlet, but she often found her best film roles playing the hard-bitten, bad girls that all low budget B noirs thrived on. When called on she could be evil incarnate as she was playing the ruthless daughter of rancher Lon Chaney in Bushwackers (1951).
Destination Murder suffers a bit when both her Alice and Clement’s Jackie are bumped off relatively early in the film when their blackmailing double cross goes sour. This leaves the film to wrap up with at least one semi-surprising character revelation and a humbled Laura finally realizing how really deep over her head she had actually been. Although all of the bad guys get their due, viewers will be left scratching their heads as to why the screenwriter, Don Martin, had Laura’s father murdered in the first place.
I can’t let this review conclude without praising the work of James Flavin (above). Flavin appeared in 100’s of films during his career, but rarely got a screen credit. He was typecast as no nonsense policemen and most of his appearances were brief, but he shared screen time with almost every big star in the 30’s and 40’s including Carole Lombard and William Powell (My Man Godfrey, 1936), Henry Forda (Grapes of Wrath, 1940), famously hitting Fonda in the face, Joan Crawford (Mildred Pierce, 1945) and King Kong (1933) (“Hey, it’s Kong, Kong’s coming”). His comedic side shone through in larger roles such as Errol Flynn’s fast-talking, pugnacious brother in Gentlemen Jim (1942). Here Flavin gives a grounded performance as Lt. Brewster. Although most of his scenes are in his office, he arrives at the film's climax to go mano a mano with the criminal mastermind to save Laura who finally learns to her chagrin who ordered her father killed.
Lastly, a tip of the hat has to go to composer Irving Gertz who worked on many notable productions including The Alligator People (1959), Curse of the Undead (1959), The Leech Woman (1960), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964) and Land of the Giants (1968).
Is
the Destination Murder Worth My Time? The prefect film to wind down the day
with. Ignore the convoluted plot and enjoy the ride watching Myrna Dell and
James Flavin walk away with this untidy, but entertaining film.
Availability: Not on
DVD as far as I know, but a watchable copy is currently available at Archive.org
DESTINATION MURDER. Prominent Features Inc. 1950. Staring Joyce MacKenzie, Stanley Clements, Hurd Hatfield, Albert Dekker, Myrna Dell & James Flavin. Written by Don Martin. Directed by Edward L. Cahn. Distributed by RKO Pictures. 72 minutes
