Movie Review: Please Murder Me! (1956)

Synopsis: A defense attorney, Craig Carlson feels an overwhelming sense of guilt after getting a murder acquittal for the woman he loves, Myra Leeds, only to discover she both committed the crime and is in love with another man. Determined to get both revenge and redemption, he attempts to fix things by putting her in a position where she'll need to murder him.

Who's in it? The movie stars Raymond Burr, Angela Lansbury, Dick Foran, John Dehner and Denver Pyle.


Review: When I came across Please Murder Me! on Amazon Prime Video, my interest in watching it had more to do with the actors starring in it than the plot itself. As someone who loves murder mysteries, I was intrigued by a film that starred both the actor who played Perry Mason (Burr) and the star of Murder, She Wrote (Lansbury). Overall, it ended up being a good choice.

I thought Myra's (Lansbury) murder trial was as entertaining as anything in this movie. It reminded me a lot of a Perry Mason episode, and not just because Burr was the defense attorney. Myra played the part of innocent housewife who was just defending herself perfectly but there was plenty of evidence that proved she wasn't being truthful. In fact, the acquittal only happened through questionable means. I'm not a legal expert but I'm fairly certain a defense attorney introducing new evidence during closing arguments isn't normally allowed.

Craig's (Burr) downward spiral once he learns the truth about a woman he only defended because he believed she loved him is equally intriguing. Normally, you would expect a situation like that to result in the jilted lover trying to kill Myra. Instead, he went the opposite way and tried to convince her to kill him instead, allowing her to be convicted for a second murder while also punishing himself for his mistakes.

The way he went about his plan was also clever. I liked how he made no secrets of his intentions and played on Myra's paranoia by hiring her artist boyfriend, Carl (Lamont Johnson) to paint a portrait of him and making her believe he was trying to convince Carl not to marry her. I also liked how his revenge plot was, in part, to protect Carl.

Another thing I liked about this movie was how the film didn't leave any clues about how it was going to end. I wasn't sure if Craig would get the revenge he wanted or if there would be another twist that would result in him being alive (and possibly accused of murder himself) in the end. Considering I've seen way too many movies that had predictable endings, this was refreshing.

Final Opinion: This is a great classic drama with excellent acting and an entertaining plot. I highly recommend watching it if you get a chance.

My Grade: A

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