A Blueprint For Murder [HD]

Film Noir Architecture at its Finest!!
While I cannot speak to the Jack Palance film, I can say that I am very enthusiastic indeed that Blueprint for Murder is FINALLY coming out in public release. This one never made it to VHS, even, and could only be gotten via bootleg copies on ebay--and happily so! This is a taut little low-budget thriller, with Jean Peters as the step-mom with ice-water in her veins and dollar signs in her eyes; and Joseph Cotten is her earnest, bumbling brother-in-law whose hormones cloud his judgment as to her dark, dark intentions--at least for a little while! Peters is just sensational, embodying a fetching femme fatale who is both seeringly voluptuous and deeply dangerous. She really steals the show here. Cotten is effective in his ineffectiveness, but he proves right in the end. While not of the caliber of Double Indemnity or Out of the Past, owing to a rather flat, stodgy pictorial style and mise en scene, the film is really story/character/actor driven, and is very engrossing. There are a lot...

For those who love older films, these two might do with their almost endearing flaws
A Blueprint for Murder:
"Lynne's warmth and affection for Doug helped so much to soften the blow of his sister's death. Never did Maggie's absurd suspicions seem more fantastic than now." That's Cam Cameron speaking to us. Doug is his nephew, a little boy whose sister, Polly, has just died in hospital of what turns out to have been strychnine poisoning. Their step-mother, the cool, beautiful Lynne Cameron (Jean Peters), is, of course, distressed, just as she was when her husband, the children's father, died mysteriously with the same symptoms. Lynne's brother-in-law, Whitney Cameron (Joseph Cotton), Cam for short, who flew into town when Polly became ill, can see for himself how solicitous Lynne is toward young Doug. He's not about to listen to the suspicions raised by his good friends, Maggie and Fred Sergeant (Catherine McLeod and Gary Merrill).

But wait a minute. Fred, a lawyer, now remembers the terms of the will he drew up for Polly's and Doug's father. A great...

two rare Fox thrillers for a bargain price
Two obscure films from the Twentieth Century-Fox vaults make up the double feature on this outstanding Midnite Movies release. Apart from the fact that both movies were produced in 1953, they aren't linked by a common theme or star, nevertheless these two movies are definitely worth the time for classic film buffs.

First on the bill is A BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER (written and directed by Andrew L. Stone). When his little niece dies following an unexplained illness, Whitney Cameron (Joseph Cotten) begins to suspect the child's stepmother Lynne (Jean Peters). The ice-cool society type, Lynne hardly seems a candidate for murder, but when it's revealed she'll inherit the entire family fortune should she outlive her stepchildren, Cam starts to fear for the safety of nephew Doug (Freddy Ridgeway). With the help of his sleuthing friends (Gary Merrill and Catherine McLeod), Cam sets out to trap Lynne using her very own "blueprint" for murder...

This stylish murder noir is...

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