Killer Dill (1947)

Truly the worst movie I've ever seen in a theater

Pretty Good

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Usually the second banana, this time it's Stuart Erwin playing the lead, a salesman who accidently bumps up against the mob boss Moronie. He spends the whole first part of the film trying to tell a girl how he feels, but something always interrupts them. He vows to be more assertive, but clashes with the big boss before that can get straightened out. The usual goofy plot of mistaken identity. Bodies that appear and disappear. It's pretty silly. but entertaining if you just go along for the ride. Directed by Lewis Collins; Collins had started in silents, and moved into talkies. Died young .. a heart attack at 55. This is a Nivel Pictures/Max King Production... but I couldn't find anything on Nivel Pictures (Levin... backwards ?). Max King ony made seven films in the 1940s. not much on him either. Film showing on Moonlight Movies channel. It's pretty good. and some fun old scenery of Los Angeles.

"Killer Dill" is the one and only film made by a low-rent B-movie studio, Max M. King Productions. And considering they never released another film, you could probably assume that the public did NOT flock to theaters to see this film. While the movie isn't bad, I could understand this reaction. First, while I have never really understood the popularity of Stu Erwin in the 1930s, by the late 1940s, his popularity had long passed--making his anchoring of the film more of a deficit than a plus. Second, the basic story idea was done much better in earlier films, such as the wonderful "The Whole Town's Talking".The film finds Erwin playing an underwear salesman in the 1920s (though, as other reviewers have pointed out, the clothes and hair of everyone looks right from the 40s). He is a bit of a wimp and sees that ladies don't like this--the rage is tough gangster-types. So, on a lark, he decides to act tough and see what happens. Through some strange series of events, he not only is noticed by the ladies but the mob...and soon he's on trial for murder! It's all totally ridiculous (with a very dumb court scene), yet it's also mildly amusing and a decent time-passer. High art? Nah...but still a pleasant little story about mistaken identity.

Salesman who can't get a girl, plays it like a tough guy to win himself one. Unfortunately he also looks like a notorious gangster and finds himself in deep trouble.Set in 1931, the film is clearly the product of the 1940's, no real attempt was made to actually make the film look like when it was set (clothes and hairstyles are definitely post war). I don't think it would have made any difference as to when the film was set so I don't know why they bothered to make it 1931. The film itself is a mildly amusing comedy of the fill in the blanks kind. Once you realize that the harmless Dill is going to be confused as killer you can pretty much wind it up and follow its path without thinking. The big problem with the film is Dill's attorney friend played by Frank Albertson. Albertson's character is as big a jerk as they come. Constantly out of money he is forever borrowing cash. Worse he does whatever suits him best, even to the detriment of everyone around him. I don't think I've seen as big a heel or jerk in a film in many years.He's such a slime that its almost impossible to believe that anyone, even the downtrodden Dill, would put up with him (most amazingly he actually has a fiancé). Albertson is such a jerk that the film ceases to be a comedy (weak though it is) and simply become a Theater of Cruelty production. How much abuse can he hand out before he gets his comeuppance?? I didn't want to find out.Not horrible, but not really good either. This is 70 minutes best spent somewhere else.(Gargling is always good)

Killer Dill is similar to another movie I've seen recently, "Babyface Morgan" about a regular schmo who is somewhat placed into the criminal underworld by accident, to hilarious results! In Killer Dill's case though, the results are pretty lame though. A regular guy, played by Stuart Ervin, is fighting with his brother for the attention of a goil. She likes adventure in her men, and Ervin isn't cutting it. However, when he notices that she kind of gets off on Gangster men, he tries to be like one, and gets way over his head when the local Mafioso lay the blame on him for an inside whack job on Public Enemy # 21. (Possibly the best joke in the movie). During the trial, he's found innocent, but like O.J., Blake et al, everyone believes he's actually Guilty! So he has to prove he's guilty before there's another inside whack job, this time on him.. This is just OK I guess. The plot is somewhat blah, the humor somewhat silly, and there's some rather unnecessary characters placed for length. (Like the curiously, for no reason whatsoever, Scottish (!!) undertakers) and a rather lack of energy throughout this.