Detective Kitty O'Day (1944)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Admirable film.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

In the 1930s and 40s, tons of mostly low-budget B-detective films were made by various studios. Some featured better writing and production values (such as Fox's Charlie Chan and Columbia's Boston Blackie) but most were less prestigious productions with little to distinguish them. The latter is definitely the case with Monogram's "Detective Kitty O'Day". It's very typical of these detective films--with a know-it-all lead and super-stupid cops. The only thing that unusual is having a female lead, though there were a few other lady detective films (such as Torchy Blaine and Nancy Drew). As far as the production goes, Kitty was a VERY obnoxious character--much more than usual! She talked non- stop, butted into the police investigation and was difficult to like. Not one of the better films in the genre--with little to distinguish it due to pedestrian writing, acting and direction.

What would you do if you discovered your boss dead, murdered in their own shower? Most people would simply file for unemployment, but not Kitty O'Day (Jean Parker), the nosy secretary who seems to be around every time a new corpse is discovered, even when she is found hiding in the tub with one whom she had no idea that they were there. Along with co-worker Peter Cookson, she gets in over her head searching for the killer, annoying the heck out of the police detectives who make the Keystone cops look like Serpico. A good majority of the film is spent on slapstick, putting Parker, Cookson and one of the dumb detectives out on a skyscraper window ledge. Minus this footage and other attempts at comedic interludes, the film would run about 40 minutes. Perennial tough girl Veda Ann Borg adds some spark as the boss's cheating wife, but the majority of the film is so ridiculously structured that even at just over an hour, it is a mystery how the viewer didn't fall asleep, tune out or hit the fast forward button.

I just finished watching this movie on a compilation DVD distributed by Retromedia Entertainment - available for rental on Netflix. Quite entertaining with a nice performance by the handsome Peter Cookson, but the true bright spot was the performance by Jean Parker. The film was marred by some silly slapstick and weak humor - but still worth watching.The copy of the film was in fairly good condition overall, but had some breaks in continuity. I look forward to seeing more films starring Miss Parker.This sort of film is of interest to film history buffs as a typical product of one the lesser known Hollywood studios - Monogram Pictures.

Detective Kitty O'Day is the sort of movie that perfectly explains why some low rung movie studios were said to be Poverty Row, its almost as cheap a movie as you can get and still have film in the camera.The plot concerns a theft of securities. Johnny Jones brings Mr Wentworth some securities. He's the boyfriend of Wentworth's secretary, Kitty O'Day. When Wentworth heads home he asks that Kitty meet him there so he can make last minute arrangements before a trip. On the way out Kitty and Johnny get into a fight and Kitty heads to Wentworth's in a huff. When Kitty gets there she is let into the home by the butler and told that there is something wrong with the power. Not long after that Wentworth turns up dead, the securities are found to be missing and the house fills with police and suspects.Done on the cheap, most of the sets are just walls with a minimal amount of furniture. The rooms they represent seem unnecessarily large and empty. The furniture is cheap and well worn. When Kitty and her boyfriend follow the wife of the dead man and her lover the film shifts to a "ritzy" apartment building. Actually the place looks like a dive and not the place a rich woman would live in.Its here that the film really shows its cheapness in all departments as the plot pretty much stops as Kitty and beau are chased from room to room and around the outside of the building. It's suppose to be a laugh riot as they are forced to wear stupid clothes as disguises while they run back and forth, but its not. It's just not funny nor does it advance the plot much other than to allow the suspect pool to diminish. It's a 20 or 25 minute long set piece that serves no purpose other than keeping the movie in a few easily redecorated sets while the time runs off the clock. It completely kills the film.I can't recommend this movie much. Sure it's amusing at times, the pair of police detectives do manage to work miracles with poor material, but its still nothing that should be sought out. The ideal place for this would be the late show at 3 am when you have acute insomnia and want to see something other than another infomercial. It's a poverty stricken Poverty Row cheapie.