The concept is good-a tenor singing in an opera production at the Hollywood Bowl is told by a fortune teller not to sing his aria the next day or he will die. Of course that is exactly what happens, and there is a long list of suspects: two mistresses, a Russian tenor who wanted the role, a maniacal composer whose composition the tenor wouldn't sing, the aggravated production director, and others. The police are called in to figure out how the tenor died and if it were foul play.A young policeman, his chemist girlfriend, and the clownish police chief all try to solve the mystery, if they can stop fighting one another. The movie has its laughs, but with an unfortunate-and least credible-resolution. But it was only meant to be a B movie, as other reviewers pointed out, so we shouldn't expect much.

There haven't been many musical murder mysteries in the history of cinema: "Murder At The Vanities" (1934) is one, "Moonlight Murder" is another. This is a film of average quality for the most part, but it does offer three novelties: the genre mix, the highly original murder method (which I have only ever seen used in one more film, a "Mr.Wong" entry, which however was made a few years later, so "Moonlight Murder" gets extra points for originality), and the unexpectedly tearjerking finale, which, to be honest, did nearly make me cry, thanks to exceptional work by the three actors involved (of course writing their names here would be a spoiler). Also notable is Benita Hume, who shows more cleavage than you might think was "acceptable" in a 1930s post-Code film! **1/2 out of 4.

Chester Morris and Madge Evans head an absolutely stellar cast (well, this was MGM - even their B movies were made with class and sophistication). This snappy murder mystery is set at the Hollywood Bowl, amidst Grand Opera and prima donnas!!The dress rehearsal of "Il Travatore" is not going smoothly - dancers have their mind on other things and the lead tenor, Gino D'Acosta (Leo Carrillo) has just been told by a fortune teller that if he sings tomorrow, he will die!! As he is temperamental, egotistical and a womanizer, there are no end of suspects. There is an unhinged composer, Bejac (J. Carroll Naish), a tenor eager to replace him, a jealous wife and an unhappy dancer who carries knives (Duncan Reynaldo). For a while Bejac is safely in custody, being driven to the local asylum but he manages to overpower his guards and is soon back at the Hollywood Bowl and at the top of the list of suspects. The conductor (H.B. Warner) proves to be pretty callous, the way he organises back up singers only moments after Gino meets his death.Chester Morris breezes through his role as the enthusiastic sleuth with his usual professionalism and Madge Evans makes a very attractive scientist. J. Carroll Naish adds another to his long list of superlative characterizations and one person you can definitely count on for laughs is Frank McHugh.This movie went through quite a few name changes - "Hollywood Bowl", "Murder Under the Stars" and "Murder in the Bowl". I actually liked the Opera and thought this movie had the perfect blend of music and murder.Recommended.

Before a rehearsal at the Hollywood bowl, philandering tenor is warned of danger if he sings in the next nights opera by a mystic, The tenor laughs it off. When he's attacked by an escaped maniac everyone thinks that perhaps there is something to it. As show time draws near signs of danger increases until the tenor is killed during a performance in front of 20,000 witnesses. Things get complicated as more mayhem happens. Breezy murder mystery with Chester Morris and Leo Carrillo is the sort of thing that you might as well just sit and enjoy since odds are you're not going to figure it out (The clues are a late in the game revelation-revealed semi fairly). It's a got a great cast some good laughs (of the right sort) and a nicely complicated plot. If there is any real flaw its that there is a too much music. There isn't anything wrong with the opera scenes by themselves, rather its that this film barely runs over an hour and the lengthy singing scenes make the rest of the film feel rushed. Worth a look if you run across it.