I'll Name the Murderer

{{Infobox film | name = I'll Name the Murderer | image =File:I'll Name the Murderer.jpg | caption = | director = [[Raymond K. Johnson]] | producer = [[C.C. Burr]] | writer = [[Phil Dunham]] <br>[[Edwin K. O'Brien]] | narrator = | starring = [[Ralph Forbes]] <br> [[Marion Shilling]] <br>[[Malcolm McGregor]] | music = [[Gene Johnston]]<ref>{{cite book |last=McCarty |first=Clifford |author-link= |date=2000 |title=Film Composers in America: A Filmography, 1911-1970 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IK7tuydSUpQC&dq=%22i%27ll+name+the+murderer%22+gene+johnston&pg=PA150 |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=150 |isbn=9780195114737}}</ref> | cinematography = [[James Diamond (cinematographer)|James Diamond]] | editing = [[Charles Henkel Jr.]] | studio = C.C. Burr Productions | distributor = [[Puritan Pictures]] | released = {{Film date|1936|01|27}} | runtime = 66 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }}

'''''I'll Name the Murderer''''' is a 1936 American [[crime film]] produced by [[C.C. Burr]] for Puritan Pictures, directed by [[Raymond K. Johnson]] and starring [[Ralph Forbes]], [[Marion Shilling]] and [[Malcolm McGregor]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Pitts|first=Michael R. |author-link= |date=2005 |title=Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F8OSCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22i%27ll+name+the+murderer%22+pitts&pg=PA295 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland & Company |page=295 |isbn=9781476610368}}</ref> The story and screenplay was written by [[Phil Dunham]] with special dialogue by Edwin K. O'Brien,<ref>{{cite book |author= |date=1937 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. New Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AlVhAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22i%27ll+name+the+murderer%22+raymond+k+johnson&pg=PA108 |location=Washington, D.C., USA |publisher=Library of Congress Copyright Office |page=108 }}</ref> and the film was released January 27, 1936. This was Schilling's last film.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ankerich |first=Michael G. |author-link= |date=2011 |title=The Sound of Silence: Conversations with 16 Film and Stage Personalities Who Bridged the Gap Between Silents and Talkies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N4WhCAAAQBAJ&dq=%22i%27ll+name+the+murderer%22+ralph+forbes&pg=PA214 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina, USA |publisher=McFarland & Company |page=214 |isbn=9780786485345}}</ref>

==Plot== [[file:Malcolm McGregor in I'll Name the Murderer.jpg |thumb|250px |right |Malcolm McGregor in I'll Name the Murderer]] It is the opening night of Luigi’s (Harry Semels) nightclub, gossip columnist Tommy Tilton (Ralph Forbes) is at the nightclub with his photographer, Smitty (Marion Schilling). Tilton runs into his college friend Ted Benson (Malcom McGregor) who is engaged to Vi Van Ostrum (Charlotte Barr-Smith).

Behind the scenes one of the dancers, Valerie Delroy, and the nightclub’s featured singer, Nadia Renee, have an argument which results in Luigi firing Valerie and her dance partner Walton (Gayne Kinsey).

Benson is being blackmailed by Nadia for love letters that he had written her before his engagement to Vi. Tilton agrees to talk Nadia into relinquishing the letters, which she agrees to, but after seeing Benson she changes her mind. Benson is angry at the double cross and picks up a [[stiletto]] and tries to attack her just as she turns out the light. Meanwhile, Luigi rehires Valerie and Walton.

Tilton goes to Nadia’s dressing in an effort to find Benson, but finds Nadia dead instead. He retrieves the letters, locks her door and calls the police. After the police arrive, the cook for the nightclub states that he saw a well dressed man leaving the back way.

After questioning everyone involved, Police Captain Flynn (John Cowell) wants Benson brought in for questioning. Tilton is certain Benson is not the guilty party and promises to discover who the murderer is using his newspaper column. Later, Benson turns up at Tilton’s apartment.

Valerie reads Tilton’s column the next day and arranges a meeting with Tilton, but is murdered before she has a chance to talk to him. Tilton visits Vi Van Ostrum and her father, Hugo Van Ostrum (William Bailey). Tilton shows him a receipt for a $15,000 diamond bracelet that he found in Nadia’s dressing room, indicating Van Ostrum has his own motive.

Now that Valerie is dead, Tilton talks Benson into turning himself in for his own safety, which he does. Tilton discovers that Nadia used to work for a nightclub in Chicago called Rossi, and that Luigi, then known as Rossi, used to own that nightclub. It also comes to light that Nadia has blackmailed before. Luigi is ruled out as the murderer however, as he has an airtight alibi. Meanwhile, Tilton promises to name the murderer the next day, which makes himself a target that flushes out the murderer.

== Cast == *[[Ralph Forbes]] as Tommy Tilton *[[Marion Shilling]] as 'Smitty', newspaper photographer *[[Malcolm McGregor]] as Ted Benson *[[James Guilfoyle]] as Lou Baron, Private Investigator *[[John Cowell (actor)|John Cowell]] as Police Captain 'Pop' Flynn *[[William Bailey (actor)|William Bailey]] as William Hugo Van Ostrum, Vi's father *[[Agnes Anderson]] as Nadia Renee, aka Marina Farina *[[Claire Rochelle]] as Valerie Delroy, aka Maragert O'Brien *[[Gayne Kinsey]] as Walton, Valerie's Dance Partner *[[Harry Semels]] as Luigi, Club Owner *[[Al Klein]] as Club Waiter

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == *{{IMDb title|id=0182242|title=I'll Name the Murderer}} * {{AFI film|4083}} * {{TCMDb title|id=497289}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|ill_name_the_murderer}} *{{Internet Archive film|id=ill_name_the_murderer|name=I'll Name the Murderer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:I'll Name The Murderer}} [[Category:1936 films]] [[Category:1936 crime drama films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:American crime drama films]] [[Category:Films directed by Raymond K. Johnson]] [[Category:1936 English-language films]] [[Category:1936 American films]] [[Category:English-language crime drama films]]