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{{short description|1945 film by Sam Newfield}}
{{For|the 1986 film|Apology (film)}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = Apology for Murder
| name = Apology for Murder
| image = Apology_for_Murder_poster.jpg
| image = Apology for Murder poster.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster featuring [[femme fatale]] Toni ([[Ann Savage]]).
| director = [[Sam Newfield]]
| director = [[Sam Newfield]]
| producer = [[Sigmund Neufeld]]
| producer = [[Sigmund Neufeld]]
| screenplay = [[Fred Myton]]
| screenplay = [[Fred Myton]]
| story = Fred Myton
| story = Fred Myton
| narrator =
| based_on = {{Plainlist|
* {{Based on|''[[Double Indemnity]]''|[[Billy Wilder]]|{{quad}}[[Raymond Chandler]]}}
* {{Based on|''[[Double Indemnity (novel)|Double Indemnity]]''|[[James M. Cain]]}}}}
| narrator =
| starring = [[Ann Savage (actress)|Ann Savage]]<br/>[[Hugh Beaumont]]<br/>[[Russell Hicks (actor)|Russell Hicks]]<br/>[[Charles D. Brown]]
| starring = [[Ann Savage (actress)|Ann Savage]]<br/>[[Hugh Beaumont]]<br/>[[Russell Hicks (actor)|Russell Hicks]]<br/>[[Charles D. Brown]]
| music = Leo Erdody (uncredited)
| music = Leo Erdody (uncredited)
Line 22: Line 27:
| gross =
| gross =
}}
}}
'''''Apology for Murder''''' is a 1945 American [[film noir]] directed by [[Sam Newfield]], and starring [[Ann Savage (actress)|Ann Savage]], [[Hugh Beaumont]], [[Russell Hicks (actor)|Russell Hicks]] and [[Charles D. Brown]].<ref>{{AFI film|id=24315|title=Apology for Murder}}.</ref>
'''''Apology for Murder''''' is a 1945 American [[film noir]] directed by [[Sam Newfield]] and starring [[Ann Savage (actress)|Ann Savage]], [[Hugh Beaumont]], [[Russell Hicks (actor)|Russell Hicks]] and [[Charles D. Brown]].<ref>{{AFI film|id=24315|title=Apology for Murder}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Film Noir: The Encyclopedia |first=Alain |last=Silver |year= 2010 |isbn= 978-0715638804 |page= 29|publisher=Overlook Duckworth }}</ref>


The plot of ''Apology for Murder'' is a blatant rip-off of the seminal film noir ''[[Double Indemnity (film)|Double Indemnity]]'' which was released the previous year. The production company [[Producers Releasing Corporation]], one of the [[B movie]] [[Movie studio|studios]] of Hollywood’s [[Poverty Row]], wanted to take advantage of ''Double Indemnity's'' huge success and originally intended to call the film ''Single Indemnity''. However, [[Paramount Pictures]] the production company of ''Double Indemnity'', got wind of it and obtained an injunction. PRC then changed the title to ''Apology for Murder''.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://sensesofcinema.com/2007/feature-articles/sam-newfield/ | title = Senses of Cinema | last = Dixon | first = Wheeler | accessdate=September 27, 2013}}</ref>
The plot of ''Apology for Murder'' is a blatant rip-off of the seminal film noir ''[[Double Indemnity]]'' which was released the previous year, based on the [[Double Indemnity (novel)|novel of the same name]]. The production company [[Producers Releasing Corporation]], one of the [[B movie]] [[Movie studio|studios]] of Hollywood’s [[Poverty Row]], wanted to take advantage of ''Double Indemnity's'' huge success and originally called the film '''''Single Indemnity'''''. However, [[Paramount Pictures]], the production company of ''Double Indemnity'', obtained an [[injunction]] that barred the film's original release under that title. PRC therefore changed the title to ''Apology for Murder''.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://sensesofcinema.com/2007/feature-articles/sam-newfield/ | title = Senses of Cinema | last = Dixon | first = Wheeler | access-date=September 27, 2013}}</ref>


Much acclaimed [[B movie]] director [[Edgar G. Ulmer]], who was working at PRC at the time ''Apology for Murder'' was made, claimed during a conversation with [[Peter Bogdanovich]] that he wrote the original ''Single Indemnity'' script for producer [[Sigmund Neufeld]].<ref>Bogdanovich, Peter. ''Who The Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors'', 1997. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-44706-7.</ref> However, he erroneously believed that the film made from it was finally released under the title ''[[Blonde Ice]]'', which is a totally different film produced by [[Film Classics]].
Much acclaimed [[B movie]] director [[Edgar G. Ulmer]], who was working at PRC at the time ''Apology for Murder'' was made, claimed during a 1970 interview with director and film historian [[Peter Bogdanovich]] that he wrote the original ''Single Indemnity'' script for producer [[Sigmund Neufeld]].<ref>Bogdanovich, Peter. ''Who The Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors'', 1997. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. {{ISBN|0-679-44706-7}}.</ref> Ulmer, though, erroneously believed that the film made from it was finally released under the title ''[[Blonde Ice]]'', which is a totally different film produced by [[Film Classics]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Morton|first1=Lisa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BL7ABgAAQBAJ&q=single+indemnity+1945&pg=PA135|title=Savage Detours: The Life and Work of Ann Savage|last2=Adamson|first2=Kent|date=2009-11-06|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-4353-6|language=en}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
Tough reporter Kenny Blake (Beaumont) falls in love with sultry Toni Kirkland (Savage) who is married to a much older man (Hicks). She seduces him to murder her husband. City editor Ward McKee (Brown), Kenny's boss and best friend, begins to pursue the tangled threads of the crime relentlessly and gradually closes the net on Kenny. In the end Tony and Kenny shoot each other. As he dies, Kenny types out his confession to the crime.
Tough reporter Kenny Blake (Beaumont) falls in love with sultry Toni Kirkland (Savage) who is married to a much older man (Hicks). She seduces him to murder her husband, watching coldly as Kenny strikes her husband to death on a country road. Together, they push the body of Hicks in his car over a nearby cliff.

It is soon revealed as a murder when the police confirm Hick's car was in neutral gear, plus the body of Hicks did not bleed, signifying he was dead before the crash. City editor Ward McKee (Brown), Kenny's boss and best friend, begins to pursue the tangled threads of the crime relentlessly and gradually closes the net on Kenny. In the end Toni and Kenny shoot each other. As he dies, Kenny types out his confession to the crime.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Price|first=Michael H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cX5SDwAAQBAJ&q=apology+for+murder+1945&pg=PT381|title=Forgotten Horrors 3: Dr. Turner's House of Horrors|date=2003|publisher=Midnight Marquee & BearManor Media|language=en}}</ref>


==Cast==
==Cast==
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* {{Tcmdb title|id=67525|title=Apology for Murder}}
* {{Tcmdb title|id=67525|title=Apology for Murder}}


{{Double Indemnity}}
{{Sam Newfield}}
{{Sam Newfield}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apology for Murder}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Apology for Murder}}
[[Category:Double Indemnity]]
[[Category:1945 films]]
[[Category:1945 films]]
[[Category:1940s drama films]]
[[Category:1945 drama films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Black-and-white films]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Film noir]]
[[Category:Film noir]]
[[Category:Producers Releasing Corporation films]]
[[Category:Producers Releasing Corporation films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Sam Newfield]]
[[Category:1940s American films]]
[[Category:English-language drama films]]

Latest revision as of 12:10, 30 June 2024

Apology for Murder
Theatrical release poster featuring femme fatale Toni (Ann Savage).
Directed bySam Newfield
Screenplay byFred Myton
Story byFred Myton
Based on
Produced bySigmund Neufeld
StarringAnn Savage
Hugh Beaumont
Russell Hicks
Charles D. Brown
CinematographyJack Greenhalgh
Edited byRichard L. Van Enger
Music byLeo Erdody (uncredited)
Production
company
Sigmund Neufeld Productions
Distributed byProducers Releasing Corporation
Release date
  • September 27, 1945 (1945-09-27)
Running time
67 minutes
LandVereinigte Staaten
SpracheEnglisch

Apology for Murder is a 1945 American film noir directed by Sam Newfield and starring Ann Savage, Hugh Beaumont, Russell Hicks and Charles D. Brown.[1][2]

The plot of Apology for Murder is a blatant rip-off of the seminal film noir Double Indemnity which was released the previous year, based on the novel of the same name. The production company Producers Releasing Corporation, one of the B movie studios of Hollywood’s Poverty Row, wanted to take advantage of Double Indemnity's huge success and originally called the film Single Indemnity. However, Paramount Pictures, the production company of Double Indemnity, obtained an injunction that barred the film's original release under that title. PRC therefore changed the title to Apology for Murder.[3]

Much acclaimed B movie director Edgar G. Ulmer, who was working at PRC at the time Apology for Murder was made, claimed during a 1970 interview with director and film historian Peter Bogdanovich that he wrote the original Single Indemnity script for producer Sigmund Neufeld.[4] Ulmer, though, erroneously believed that the film made from it was finally released under the title Blonde Ice, which is a totally different film produced by Film Classics.[5]

Plot

[edit]

Tough reporter Kenny Blake (Beaumont) falls in love with sultry Toni Kirkland (Savage) who is married to a much older man (Hicks). She seduces him to murder her husband, watching coldly as Kenny strikes her husband to death on a country road. Together, they push the body of Hicks in his car over a nearby cliff.

It is soon revealed as a murder when the police confirm Hick's car was in neutral gear, plus the body of Hicks did not bleed, signifying he was dead before the crash. City editor Ward McKee (Brown), Kenny's boss and best friend, begins to pursue the tangled threads of the crime relentlessly and gradually closes the net on Kenny. In the end Toni and Kenny shoot each other. As he dies, Kenny types out his confession to the crime.[6]

Cast

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Apology for Murder at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
  2. ^ Silver, Alain (2010). Film Noir: The Encyclopedia. Overlook Duckworth. p. 29. ISBN 978-0715638804.
  3. ^ Dixon, Wheeler. "Senses of Cinema". Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  4. ^ Bogdanovich, Peter. Who The Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors, 1997. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-44706-7.
  5. ^ Morton, Lisa; Adamson, Kent (2009-11-06). Savage Detours: The Life and Work of Ann Savage. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4353-6.
  6. ^ Price, Michael H. (2003). Forgotten Horrors 3: Dr. Turner's House of Horrors. Midnight Marquee & BearManor Media.
[edit]