Well, unfortunately, I also don’t know the title of last
night’s movie. The problem is that I’ve been watching my season 8 DVDs to see
the uncut versions and we haven’t been getting them started exactly on time, so
they end slightly after the movie has begun.
But I do know that I liked this movie a lot
better than Tuesday’s. It was so intriguing and intense, with both Della and
Ken branded as suspects and the bartender going missing and being such a vital
piece of the puzzle. Plus, I always find mystery writer settings to be very fun
for mystery shows.
As usual, I found Ken much more competent than
Paul Jr. The downside about Ken is that he can be kind of a jerk sometimes,
both in his insistence of working alone (to the point of it seeming stubborn
idiocy in some cases) and in scenes such as the chase through the kitchen in
this film. Oh, those poor innocent bystanders. Food being destroyed is one of
my pet peeves; I can’t watch that without cringing. That said, I did get a
giggle of Ken actually crawling over one of the guys on the floor. Good
grief!
It was fun to see Della having a more active part
in the investigation by questioning some people. I’m wondering where she
disappeared to at the last, though. I didn’t see her at all during the final
courtroom stretch.
The victim was, as usual, a complete crumb,
ripping off everyone he came in contact with. The naiveté of his last
“collaborator” was absolutely groan-worthy. And how ironic and how fitting,
that he couldn’t write something on his own for more than a couple of chapters,
even his own autobiography.
The suspects were an interesting crew. The
Southern belle alternately amused and irritated me. The defendant was alright,
although I was fairly indifferent to her for the most part. I suppose the one I
liked the best was Garcia/Garfield. He reminded me a little of a couple of
character actors I like from the 1960s.
The solution to the mystery was rather shocking.
I hadn’t expected the missing bartender to play such a key role in things as to
actually be an accessory who ended up not being able to go through with it
despite his hatred, but who then stood by and watched while Rita went through
with it. He definitely shouldn’t get off scot-free, but I wonder exactly what
he would be charged with. I liked that Perry said he and Ken would represent
him in his trial.
Rita being a former robber who escaped capture
was a motive for murder that came out of nowhere. That’s typical of Perry
cases, although I like when there’s clues along the way to point to the killer
and the motive. Apparently thinking the victim knew her identity wasn’t her
only reason for killing him, though, according to her.
One thing I found interesting was that one of
Perry’s cases had become the basis for the controversial book that also ended
up being so key to the plot. It’s an interesting footnote on how famous Perry’s
cases are within the verse itself. I wonder if, within the verse, there are
others of Perry’s cases that were made into books. I wonder if any case could
be turned into a book or if certain ones would be off-limits, like if the
defendant or witnesses did not give their permission to be featured in the
book. Or maybe since it would be a true-crime book, there wouldn’t be much they
could say about featured, just like in the newspapers. Although if they felt
they were being portrayed wrongly, they could still sue.
Overall,
I found this a very enjoyable and intense installment and a favorite among the
movies. And hopefully I’ll get the name of tonight’s movie ahead of time, just
in case I miss the beginning of the film again.
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