Movie Review: The Girl in Black Stockings (1957)

Synopsis: A small Utah resort town is rocked when a guest, Marsha Morgan, is found murdered at a pool party. As the sheriff conducts his investigation, more people are murdered, leaving him with plenty of questions and even more suspects.

Who's in it? The movie stars Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft, John Dehner, Ron Randell and Marie Windsor.


Review: I came across The Girl in Black Stockings on Amazon Prime a couple nights ago and since it's been a while since I've watched a classic murder mystery, I flagged it and finally had a chance to watch it this morning. At first, I thought it was going to be a simple-to-solve (aka boring) mystery. Instead, it wound up being an entertaining film with a lot of surprises.

The thing I liked most about this movie is there wasn't any clear suspect. There were multiple people connected to the original victim, Morgan, but they either had alibis, zero motive or, in the case of the lodge owner, Edmund Parry (Randell), confined to a wheelchair and paralyzed from the neck down.

In fact, of all the potential suspects, Parry seemed the most logical because of his clear hatred for Morgan (along with most women) and could easily get away with the crime. This made me wonder if he was really good at faking his inability to move or if he was just a great red herring.

In addition to that, the movie had quite a few others that weren't portrayed as suspects but also still had just enough screen time to at least be considered. For example, the town's doctor (Richard H. Cutting) seemed to be finding plenty of excuses not to complete an autopsy and had an awfully convenient alibi for when the second murder occurred. 

As a result of all of this, the end of the movie and the big reveal of the killer did end up being quite a surprise for me, despite the fact it probably shouldn't have been in hindsight. Considering I usually have a good idea who the killer is well before a movie is over, I am always going to appreciate a film that proves to be an exception.

Final Opinion: I honestly wasn't expecting too much from the movie when I began watching it but it turned out to be a great murder mystery with plenty of suspects and a fantastic twist at the end. It's worth taking the time to watch if you get a chance.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other murder mysteries:

Movie Review: Nikki and Nora: Sister Sleuths (2022)

Movie Review: The Mandarin Mystery (1936)

Move Review: The Penguin Pool Murder (1932)

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