Hollywood Stadium Mystery (1938)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

My score of 7 is relative to other B-movies. "Hollywood Stadium Mystery" is much better than average for a low-budget B-film, as it has wonderful chemistry between the two leads (Neil Hamilton and Evelyn Venable). Plus, it's pretty good as a mystery.The film starts off with a really neat set of opening credits--very creative and it caught my attention. Then, I noticed early on that there were several very good false alarms that caught the viewer off guard. I love it when I am surprised when I see a film! The film is essentially a romance AND a murder mystery--and I am sure this combination is a bit unusual to say the least! The District Attorney (Hamilton) and playwright (Venable) both investigate a crime that occurred at the arena just before a boxing match began--and both of our heroes have a friendly wager as to which one will solve the crime. The interplay of these two was very nice and didn't appear like what you'd expect in a B--it was very witty and fun. As for the mystery, it's not bad but clearly secondary to these two characters.There is only one major qualm about the film--and it's clearly a sad product of the times. One lady wants to hide from the police so she puts on black-face!! Uggh!! But, this sort of thing wasn't far from the norm in those old days, so it's something you'll have to look past--understanding the context of the times.If you are interested in seeing this film, follow the link on IMDb and download it for free. You'll enjoy it for what it is--a nice little B-movie with a bit extra when it comes to writing.really neat opening credits lots of early false alarms Smiley Burnett black-face

I agree with some of the other reviewers. For a Republic picture, the production was super. The stars were a couple who were more at home in A class films. Neil Hamilton had been in silents - he was a standout in D. W. Griffiths "Isn't Life Wonderful" (1924). He moved on to talkies where he supported top MGM actresses such as Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer (usually playing unbelievably stuffed shirts). By the time of "Hollywood Stadium Mystery" he was entering a low ebb of his career but his lovely co-star, the enchanting Evelyn Venables was an actress whose career never really got off the ground. She mostly played sensible and unassuming parts - maybe that was the trouble. The role that most people remember her in was as Shirley Temple's long suffering mother in "The Little Colonel" (1935).A masked man enters a library on a rain drenched night - after a few words he is shot dead by the owner with a concealed pistol...but it is only a play. District Attorney Paul Devons (Neil Hamilton) is very scathing of the writer of such rubbish, only to find it is the pretty girl he has been trying to chat up. Pauline Ward (Evelyn Venable) is a mystery writer - the dialogue between her and Bill is delicious and witty - when she and her agent are leaving the theatre they are held up by a masked man at gunpoint!!! but it is only Bill, just trying to prove a point. She turns the tables on him and has him arrested by the night- watchman (Lucien Littlefield) as an armed and dangerous man. Pauline and her agent are going to the fights but when the lights are dimmed, in honour of a dying fighter, one of the contenders is murdered and people are already calling it the "Hollywood Stadium Mystery". 60,000 suspects but the police, in their wisdom, keep only the first three rows for questioning. One of those is Smiley Burnette, who is then called up to entertain the crowd with his impressions of a car race. Fortunately we don't see much of him. The suspects mount up - Edna Mayberry (Lynne Roberts) an old girlfriend who wants revenge, her brother (even though he isn't credited I believe it's Junior Coghlan), a refreshment clerk who wants to avenge his sister and Althea Ames (Barbara Pepper) who just acts suspicious. Pauline establishes that the fighter was killed by poison gas coming from a gun. There is also a scene thrown in when Pauline is attacked in Althea's dressing room by a hooded figure.This is an excellent programmer that grabs you right away with the snappy exchanges between the leading players.Recommended.

A boxing match is the setting for a whodunit murder mystery. But the real focus here is the camaraderie between the local D.A. (Neil Hamilton) and a famed mystery writer (Evelyn Venable). The two engage each other in a friendly duel to see which one can solve the case. The focus on them and their good-humored banter drains away any tension or suspense the story might otherwise have had. But that's hardly the only problem.Character development of the various suspects is almost non-existent. And only when the puzzle solution is revealed do we learn important information related to the killer's motive. For a murder mystery, that's a no-no. It puts the viewer at an unfair disadvantage. Further, the key clue that leads to the identity of the killer is not at all credible.In addition, characters talk unnaturally fast. Frequently, there are no pauses between lines of dialogue. The film's runtime of just sixty-two minutes conveys the impression that the project had a serious budget problem.The film's sound is terrible. Lighting is not much better. Production design is cheap. Acting is marginally acceptable. About the only element worth a positive note is the presence of actress Barbara Pepper, as a Hollywood starlet.Otherwise, this is a forgettable, way below average film that uses a whodunit storyline as an excuse to provide a cinematic vehicle for the two main actors.

As we might expect from director David Howard and writer Stuart Palmer (joined by the McGowan Brothers for screenplay), this is a superior who-dun-it. Mind you, Mr Palmer is a mystery spinner of the always-a-character-you-least-expect school, but in this spin of the wheel we have quite a few such characters to choose from, such as Robert Homans (promoted from the beat to captain for this movie), the cute Lynne Roberts, flashy Barbara Pepper, a brain-dead watchman, Mr District Attorney himself and even Smiley Burnette. The only character we can reasonably excuse is the gorgeous Evelyn Venable because Mr Palmer always has a soft spot for his heroines and it would be very disappointing to find such a classy number mixed up with a dumb pug.Also as we might expect, David Howard has directed this little spree with considerable style which helps to make up for some shortcomings in the action itself. Instead from its trick opening to its unexpected fade-out, moderately witty dialogue rather than action is king. Happily, we also move briefly out of the sound stages to a few real Hollywood locations, including the none-too-imposing entrance-way to Republic Studios, where Miss Roberts treats us to a little comedy relief (which will not set any too well with African-Americans and could easily be deleted).In all, however, a thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly well-produced "B".