Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Absolutely the worst movie.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This is a 20th Century Fox Film-Noir starring Joseph Cotten as Whitney Cameron with quite a quandary. No question that his sister-in-law Lynn (Jean Peters) is beautiful, outgoing...but just how trustworthy. Faithful and true comes to question when her husband and then her stepdaughter die mysteriously. Whitney, much to his displeasure, is forced to be suspicious of Lynn and her immediate actions. Will his fondness for her cloud his ability to act quickly enough to possibly prevent more killings? Scratch your head and wonder. Written and directed by Andrew L. Stone this BLUEPRINT for MURDER is worth watching. Well acted and sustainable atmosphere. The cast also includes: Gary Merrill, Jack Kruschen, Catherine McLeod, Barney Phillips, Herbert Butterfield and Freddy Ridgeway.

Blueprint for Murder is a mess, but somehow a very entertaining mess. Unlike some other reviewers, I thought a lot of the performances were exceedingly weak (Gary Merrill and in many cases Joseph Cotten slog through the sets as if suffering from acute hangovers, each not living up to talent displayed in other pictures). Other performances are annoying, such as the actress who plays Merrill's wife (goofy, shrill and inexplicably peppy) as well as all the deadpan, lifeless detectives that trudge in and out of various interrogation scenes (these last performers appear to be non-professional actors in fact—they display zero technique).That said, I did quite enjoy Jean Peters, correctly characterized as underrated by another IMDb reviewer. For me she offers the only glamour and spark the picture has and her scenes are the film's highlights (especially those at the practically illogical but compulsively watchable climax, which also boasts a few memorably-framed shots).Ignoring some rather gaping plot holes, there are interesting ironies to the—let's face it—murderous games Cotten's character plays throughout the picture: for one, though he is the putative protagonist, he does little more than lie to his sister-in-law, the presumed murderess. Additionally, he is an absent father type, while Peters, the stepmother, is by all accounts a loving and affectionate guardian (though ultimately, like Cotten, capable of murder). As others have pointed out, there's a low-rent Uncle Charlie/Niece Charlie identification game going on here (as was portrayed much more successfully in Shadow of a Doubt). The fact that the two characters might easily fall into a sexual relationship is a great creepy touch.So how can I recommend this picture? Hard to say: maybe I liked it only for Peters's scenes, but somehow I liked it! Or maybe the thing is so abject and B-movie that you have to love it. Hooray for Hollywood, even on a very off day.

Whenever Joseph Cotton appeared in a film you could bet it was going to be a great picture to watch and enjoy. Joseph Cotton plays the role as a brother-in-law who becomes very suspicious of his sister-in-law and the strange way in which family members are dying. There are times when you become suspicious of many people and they keep you guessing just who the killer is right to the very end. There are young children a boy and girl in the film who play an important part to the story and for some reason Joseph Cotton has a great concern for them and they like him very much. If you liked Joe Cotton in "Niagara", you will like him in this picture. Enjoy.

After the mysterious death of his niece, Cam Cameron (Joseph Cotton) begins to suspect that the child's stepmother may be responsible. When the autopsy reveals the presence of strychnine in the girl's system, he's convinced that his dead brother's wife, Lynn Cameron (Jean Peters), is the only person with both a motive and the opportunity. Cam now begins to fear for the life of his nephew. He's got to act fast because Lynn intends to take the young boy to Europe.While I've given A Blueprint for Murder a positive rating and I readily admit I mostly enjoyed the film, much of what I've got to write about is going to seem negative. As good as it is, it has far too many problems to be called great. A Blueprint for Murder is about the most straight forward mystery/thriller I've run across. And that's part of its biggest weakness. There's no mystery regarding the killer's identity. It's made quite clear early on that Lynn killed her niece. There seemed to be a half-hearted attempt to use Cam as a red-herring, but anyone with half a brain could figure out in 3.2 seconds that Cam couldn't have committed the crime - he wasn't there. Maybe I just imagined the light of suspicion being pointed at Cam because I so wanted to be thrown some kind of curve ball. Even though the killer is known, director Andrew L. Stone is able to wring some tension out of the final scenes as Cam tries to prove Lynn is a killer. You get the feeling that even though you know Lynn is responsible for the girl's death, she just might get away with it. These scenes are, however, undermined by an ending that's terribly rushed with action that, unfortunately, takes place off-screen. Too bad, because A Blueprint for Murder could have been much better.One of the real highlights for me in A Blueprint for Murder was the acting. The performance of Jean Peters as Lynn Cameron is enlightening. I'm not overly familiar with her work, but she's marvelous as the apparent caring, wonderful parent who is hiding a cold, unfeeling heart. I may have to look for more of her work.