Too many fans seem to be blown away

Dreadfully Boring

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Bela usually gave so much more of himself than the script required. That's what made him so good. I laughed at one of the reviewers comments "Bela would appear in anything - as long as the cheque cleared". That's why I like Bela - he gave his all - from the most prestigious A film to the worst poverty row production. It also gave him the chance to play a diversity of roles - it was only later in his career that bad health and the need for money made him accept parts that were lampoons of his horror roles. Early in his career he alternated between chillers and quite normal people (the head of a film studio in "The Death Kiss" (1932), a really excellent programmer).Houghland (Charles Hill Mailes) has been offered $5 million for the rights to his invention - a television station that can pick up transmissions from all over the world - but he refuses!! Richard Grayson (George Meeker) fiancée of June Houghland (June Collyer) is asked to keep a lookout for trouble. Arthur Perry ???(Bela Lugosi) has been bribed with a fee of $100,000, to be the man on the inside and to try to find out Houghland's secret television blueprint. Houghland is preparing to give a short wave presentation. Just before it begins he is threatened by a shifty looking foreigner - Mendoza (Larry Francis), who threatens that if Houghland is not going to sell his invention the demonstration should not go ahead. It does go ahead - with a pretty boring song "I Had the Right Idea" - then Houghland gives a speech and shows that the demonstration is being shown similtaneously in Paris, London and China - then tragedy strikes as Houghland is killed via the television!!! The suspects are rounded up, suddenly everyone has a motive for killing the guy - the investigation is hampered by a Chinese houseboy, Charlie Chan's number one fan, and Isabella the maid (Hattie McDaniell). Perry is then found murdered, but June is convinced, along with Isabella that she had just seen Perry. She has - it seems the man who was murdered was Perry's twin but was using his name falsely. The real Arthur Perry is an F.B.I. agent and has an explanation for everything that has gone on. There are flashbacks used as Perry explains everything. It was hard to figure out which was the twin (you realized they were twins very early on, at the news-stand) as they both had to act suspiciously.Claire MacDowall look very good as Mrs. Houghland. She had been in films from the earliest days and was a Griffith actress. This was one of June Collyer's last films. She was one of the most beautiful ingenues and had a career that began in 1927 with such prestigious films as "Four Sons" and "Me, Gangster".

There are only two reasons for people to rate this film higher than a five. They are either Bela Lugosi fanatics who are blinded by his star power, or they're pulling your leg.In it's favor, this film has the following curiosities: Bela Lugosi in a rare non-horror leading role. Hattie McDaniel in an early screen appearance (although running around yelling "Lordy, Lordy" doesn't showcase her future greatness very well).A curious 1935 vision of television that doesn't seem to need cameras at the point of origin and can act as a "death ray" carrier wave. I guess that makes this a science fiction story, of sorts. And occasionally interesting story-telling by reshowing the same scene using different vantage points to add information withheld earlier in the film.Working against this film is: The poor print quality (both picture and sound)of existing copies. Insulting racial stereotyping. (As implied above.) Ridiculously inaccurate scientific predictions about television. (As implied above.) Undeveloped characters, giving the audience a "who cares" feeling when someone gets murdered. And a general weakness of the writing, acting, and directing. Being a Lugosi fan myself, it pains me to write negative reviews of some of his films. But the truth is, it pains me to watch some of his performances as well. I'm giving this film three stars, based on the curiosities mentioned above. If I were to rate it any higher, I'd be pulling your leg.

I am always amazed when I find yet another ultra-low budget film starring Bela Lugosi. While I do generally enjoy his films, they certainly were not 'high art' or very deep--and so many of them had downright crappy production values. Often it looked as if Bela would appear in ANY film provided the check cleared! You don't believe me, then think back to such horrid films as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA, ZOMBIES ON Broadway, GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE (with the East Side Kids) and MURDER BY TELEVISION!!! However, often despite the terrible budgets and overall cheesiness of the films, they were still often fun to watch--or at least to laugh at due to their ineptness. Unfortunately, MURDER BY TELEVISION is that rare low-budget Lugosi film that actually is kind of boring and static. Despite being a murder mystery, the film is amazingly static and uninvolving. Plus, the roles played by Bela just seemed terribly written and bizarre--and not in a great way. The only major plus this film has that raises it to almost-mediocrity is the idea of television being a topic of a film as early as 1930. From a purely historical standpoint, it is an interesting film.

This movie is just bad beyond belief. The acting is horrid, while the cast is simply reciting lines with little feeling. I do wonder where they got these people. The actors just chop up the dialog like a salad. The television idea is just that, with no real sense of development in a hopeless, lifeless plot. The lack of a music track in 1935 is not uncommon, but some sort of musical score was really needed in a suspense movie of this type. I had wanted to see his movie for years. Now I can honestly say I am sorry did. As many a horror movie philosopher has said, somewhere in the middle of an endlessly dark night, "There are some things that are best left alone." This movie, sadly, is one of them. May it rest in peace.