Copyright 15 July 1935 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 26 July 1935. U.S. release: 12 July 1935. Australian release: 1 April 1936. 7 reels. 70 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Who killed a racketeering investment broker? His partner? A disgruntled client? A discarded lady? A rival "businessman"?COMMENT: "A"-grade murder mystery which plays scrupulously fair to its viewers. In fact, I would say it's too fair, as a keen-eyed and acute-eared audience will have no trouble spotting the killer straight away. Nonetheless, it's directed with pace and enacted by as fine a cast as M-G-M ever assembled. Tracy in his first outing for the Lion provides a typically driving performance in a characterization which seems remarkably close to the knuckle. Miss Bruce makes a charming and sympathetic "love" interest. Although his role can be counted as small, "Shorty" Stewart will not disappoint his fans as his gawky mannerisms and drawling delivery are already fully fledged. We also enjoyed Lionel Atwill's ingratiating police captain. Aided by a first-class script, Atwill (in a rare totally-on-the-side-of-the-angels part) builds an uncommonly rounded portrait of a dedicated detective.As for the support players, just look at that cast! I'd love to go through the list and congratulate all, one by one, but let's just say that Lucien Littlefield, as the patently law-abiding shooting gallery-man, and Charles Trowbridge, an immaculate District Attorney, are especially fortunate both in the size and scope of their roles and the vital way in which their scenes are directed by tenacious Tim Whelan.As well as its powerful direction and cup-runneth-over assembly of Hollywood's brightest players, The Murder Man also boasts a friendly budget with top-of-the-drawer production values plus atmospherically A-1 behind-the-camera credits.

Okay, it was the height of the depression. But who at MGM back in 1935 signed off on making a depressing murder mystery? I'd say more but then I'd have to add a spoiler alert. The tale centers on Spencer Tracy as a boozy, embittered crime reporter who's hauled back from a bender to cover the murder of a crooked financial guru. He not only helps homicide detective Lionel Atwill solve the case but becomes a star witness when the accused killer goes on trial. Along the way, he's assisted by Virginia Bruce as a lonely hearts columnist who's clearly nuts about the drunken newsman as well as a gangly young reporter nicknamed "Shorty" -- Jimmy Stewart in his feature film debut. "Murder Man" also gives stage actor Robert Barratt the chance to deliver a terrific performance as Tracy's long-suffering editor. The movie clips along at a fast pace and the twists keep building nicely although I found myself wondering how a carnival shooting gallery wound up across the street from an investment firm's high-rise HQ? But I guess that's the cinematic version of poetic license. As a curiosity piece, "Murder Man" is well worth watching -- and quite entertaining. But I'm still surprised that in those dark days when moviegoers went to the movies to escape the gloom, the screenplay ever got approved.

Two financiers and swindlers get theirs when one is shot and killed and the other is accused and tried for the crime in this early, somewhat creaky film from the 1930's. The film has at its core the story of one newspaperman's spiral into drunkenness as the wife he once had has died and his father has lost all his savings to said swindlers. Spencer Tracy plays the newspaperman as only he can essay any role: with complete conviction and enormous talent. While this film is not great, it is a solid film on all fronts and has an intriguing conclusion. I enjoyed the look at what newspapers were like back then, the relationship to police that reporters had, and the wonderful character acting with the likes of Lionel Atwill, a young Jimmy Stewart, Virginia Bruce, William Demarest, and Robert Barrat as a hounding editor. Sure, lots of the journalism clichés are used here, but let's remember that for its time they were a lot fresher than they are now. Director Tim Whelan is solid behind the camera and manages to give Tracy(with his help) and Bruce some depth. The mystery isn't too hard to figure out, but the way it was handled was what struck me as somewhat inventive.

This was one of the first features that Spencer Tracy did for his new studio MGM when they signed him in 1935. At his first studio, 20th Century Fox he was cast in a whole lot of routine action pictures as a two-fisted rugged type in whatever role he played. It's no different here, in fact until he played Father Mullin in San Francisco, Tracy's MGM career promised more roles of the same type.Here he's a newspaper reporter in the best tradition of The Front Page which this film borrows a lot from. He's called The Murder Man because he's the one the editor, Robert Barrat, call for when he wants coverage on any homicide. He's covering one in this film concerning an investment broker (con artist) who's accused of killing his partner. In fact Tracy provides key evidence for a conviction. The movie does have a surprise ending which I won't reveal, unusual for a film in the 1930s. That and the presence of Spencer Tracy and James Stewart make it worth viewing.This was the film debut of James Stewart. He has a role of another reporter on the same paper as Tracy. He was signed by MGM after appearing on Broadway in the play Yellow Jacket and garnering rave reviews. He's the same Jimmy Stewart that soon became an icon, but he didn't get much attention for the few lines he had here. He would have to wait for his next film appearance in Rose Marie to get moviegoers attention.