Cover Up *** (1949, Dennis O’Keefe, William Bendix, Barbara Britton) – Classic Movie Review 11,749

The 1948 black and white film noir thriller Cover Up stars Dennis O’Keefe, who also co-writes the screenplay, with its murder mystery unfolding in the Christmas season. 

Director Alfred E Green’s 1948 black and white film noir mystery thriller Cover Up stars Dennis O’Keefe, William Bendix, and Barbara Britton. O’Keefe also co-writes the screenplay, credited as Jonathan Rix, with its murder mystery unfolding in the Christmas season, though he had to fight the producer over this.

O’Keefe plays that stock character much beloved of old B-movies – the insurance investigator – checking out a well-insured man’s apparent suicide. Roger Phillips is found dead in a US Midwestern small town. But when insurance investigator Sam Donovan (O’Keefe) arrives on the scene, all clues point to murder.

Small-town sheriff Larry Best (Bendix) won’t help Sam Donovan (O’Keefe), but local woman Anita Weatherby (Britton) will. Of course it helps that Sam and Anita are attracted to each other.

Cover Up is a very fair murder mystery with solid performances and enough false clues and suspense to keep you interested and involved until the surprise ending.

Dennis O’Keefe in Doll Face (1946) with Carmen Miranda.

O’Keefe had a hand in the original screenplay (credited as Jonathan Rix) along with Jerome Odlum, with additional dialogue by Lawrence Kimble and Francis Swann.

The murder mystery takes place in the Christmas season but the producer Ted Nasser tried to change this, believing the plot did not suit being set at Christmas. However, O’Keefe strongly resisted the attempt to change it and won.

This was the first film produced by O’Keefe’s new production company, Strand Productions.

Also in the cast are Art Baker, Helen Spring, Ann E Todd, Doro Merande, Virginia Christine, Russell Arms [Russell Armes], Dan White, Paul E Burns, Emmett Vogan, Jamesson Shade, Jack Lee, George McDonald and Hank Worden.

Cover Up is directed by Alfred E Green, is made by Strand Productions, is released by United Artists, runs 83 minutes, is written by Jerome Odlum, Dennis O’Keefe (as Jonathan Rix), Francis Swann (additional dialogue) and Lawrence Kimble (additional dialogue), is shot in black and white by Ernest Laszlo, is produced by Ted Nasser, and is scored by Hans J.Salter.

Release date: February 25, 1949 (US).

Fhe film is now in great condition. After preservation work by the UCLA Film and Television Archive from two 35mm nitrate composite prints, the restored film premiered at the UCLA Festival of Preservation in 2022. Funding for the restoration was provided by The Packard Humanities Institute working with the US Library of Congress.

The cast are Dennis O’Keefe as Sam Donovan, William Bendix as Sheriff Larry Best, Barbara Britton as Anita Weatherby, Art Baker as Stu Weatherby, Ann E Todd as Cathie Weatherby, Doro Merande as Hilda, Virginia Christine as Margaret Baker, Helen Spring as Bessie Weatherby, Ruth Lee as Mrs Abbey, Henry Hall as Mayor, Russell Armes as Frank Baker, Dan White as Gabe, Paul E Burns as Mr Abbey, Emmett Vogan as Blakely, Jamesson Shade as Editor, Jack Lee as Addison, Worden Norton as Undertaker, and George MacDonald as Boy in Movie Theatre.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,749

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