Most everyone who has seen this movie agrees that it is VERY funny...one of Fred McMurray's best, and Marjorie Main is really a HOOT. For those who DON'T want to pay an exorbitant price, there is a DVD available from BLOWOUTVIDEO for $14.95 plus $4.95 S&H. I just got one so it is a legit offer. And I received it within a week from ordering. Don't expect HiDef quality; this is probably even a pirated, bootleg copy since the disc has no label although the jewel case has the same poster image as the studio issued copies (and it is sent from Las Vegas)! But if you just like the movie for it's goofy antics, this is probably a good bargain.

I had always wanted to check out this black comedy – a rare thing for Hollywood during this era (off-hand, the only other one I can recall is ARSENIC AND OLD LACE [1944]). However, it's never been available to me until now…so that, in compiling a list of lightweight titles I most wanted to watch throughout the Christmas season, it's no surprise the film ended up at the top of the list. Even so, this has more of a cult than classic reputation – but it was certainly a delight: incidentally, while I'm usually somewhat queasy watching movies centering around hillbillies, their inherent eccentric nature works perfectly within the context of MURDER, HE SAYS' bizarre plot.By the way, the greedy/homicidal-family-after-a-sum-of-money involved harks back to the popular 'old dark house'-type comedy-thrillers – which undoubtedly gives the whole added appeal. With this in mind, the location of the loot being hidden within the nonsensical verses of an old ditty is a much-used device in this kind of picture – as is the presence in the house of both a secret passageway and a mysterious assailant (whose identity actually isn't hard to guess). Similarly, the fact that the moribund crone (justifiably) suspects her relatives' motives and opts to confide in a stranger is particularly reminiscent of the wonderful Sir Roderick Femm scene in my favorite subgenre entry – the appropriately-titled THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932).That said, the original elements here are no less engaging – with the unlikely albeit effectively-handled 'glowing poison' expedient a recurring motif (which reaches its zenith in the hilarious dinner sequence around an inconveniently revolving table). The most side-splitting visual gags, then, both feature bodily contortions: the hero being tied up in a most awkward position to be grilled by the Fleagles and his own later pretense as a midget in order to conceal one of their two identical sons lying unconscious at his real feet! For the record, there's even an amusing in-joke in the film's reference to THE GHOST BREAKERS (1940) – the marvelous Bob Hope comedy-horror vehicle, also made by director Marshall at Paramount! Fred MacMurray makes for an ideal lead – suitably bewildered and out-of-his-depth at first, but who eventually contrives to outwit the crazy clan by employing his 'superior' city-slicker ways. Apart from a whip-cracking Marjorie Main (perhaps the quintessential female hick) and mad scientist(!) Porter Hall as the respective heads of the backwoods brood, the remaining cast members were unknown to me – though all enter gleefully into the offbeat spirit of the thing. The twins were obviously played by the same actor and, unsurprisingly, leading lady Helen Walker turns out not to be vicious/demented after all (since she's only impersonating a convicted member of the dysfunctional family, with the real character herself surfacing towards the end).Maintaining a frenzied pitch virtually for the entire duration (leading to an extended chase finale that's capped by an inventive come-uppance for practically the entire main cast) makes the film seem longer than its 94 minutes – but it's an inspired ride all the way, and great fun to boot. The quality of the copy I acquired (derived from VHS) isn't optimal if still quite passable under the circumstances…at least until Universal (who now owns the film) sees fit to give it a decent – and much-deserved – release on DVD. I guess HD-DVD is out-of-the-question for such an obscure little item and, in any case, I'm not yet willing to give in to the format just yet owing to the undue hassle and expense this would clearly entail!

As a previous comment suggests, Fred MacMurray had the rare talent for both serious drama and comedy that Cary Grant had. (I've always thought James Garner could have been in that circle had he only gotten the right scripts.)In the late '30s and early '40s Hollywood had fun with hillbillies (remember Judy Canova?). This is an example. The genre seems to have been put to bed with Deliverance, which took all the fun out of the backwoods.There are too many set comic scenes in Murder, He Says to relate. It's simply a superb comedy-mystery. I guess my two favorite bits are where a desperate MacMurray pretends to see a ghost and the twins aren't just too sure he doesn't see one. Then there's the fall-out-of- your-chair comic turn where MacMurray sits in a box on the groggy body of one of his pursuers--whose protruding legs have a life of their own. You really have to be there. Why isn't this thing televised more often?

I just saw this movie at the LaSalle Bank Cinema, a theater in Chicago where, each Saturday, a film noir movie is shown. This week's movie was Murder, He Said starring Fred Mac Murray. The audience (over 300 people) laughed out loud and were accompanied by a lady (near the front of the theater) who would react with a scream or a warning to Mac Murray whenever trouble would arrive. To say that a film over 60 years old would receive such reactions from a contemporary crowd would testify to the holding power and entertaining qualities of these old films. Mac Murray's comedic timing for the pratfall, wise crack and sarcasm was impeccable. I understand that this movie may have been intended as a vehicle for Bob Hope but Mac Murray did well. Marjorie Main with her whip, Peter Whitney as "the twins", and the beautiful Helen Walker as the heroine/love interest, were superb. Yes, I would recommend seeing this film but, as with many films, its best seen with a crowd with whom you can share in their reactions.