[.ca] Murder by Invitation

Murder by Invitation:
The young 'uns try to convince the court that Aunt Cassie (Sarah Padden) is mentally incompetent so they can get their greedy paws on her $3 million. They fail, and Aunt Cassie invites them to her estate so that she can "study them like rats" and see who deserves to inherit her fortune. They get there, promptly at midnight, and soon begin dropping like ten pins. MURDER BY INVITATION is NOT a neglected gem. It's a so-so quickie ripoff of THE CAT AND THE CANARY, which preceded this one by a couple of years and provided Bob Hope with his breakthrough movie, although instead of Hope and Paulette Goddard this one stars Wallace Ford and Marian Marsh. Ford plays a columnist who somehow rates a walking secretary and a photographer. The movie is filled with sliding cabinets and bookcases set on lazy susans and dead bodies falling out of closets. None of it makes much sense, but the cast seems to be having a good time and it's all over in a little over an hour. And it comes as quite a surprise when we learn who's been killing everybody. Not because of a neat plot twist, but because the movie doesn't bother developing our suspicion in any of the characters. MURDER BY INVITATION is fun in spots, but it's best to keep your expectations really really low.