“Cover Up” (1949)

Cover Up

Brief Description:

In a small town, Insurance investigator Sam Donovan finds everyone strangely silent about the recent death of a heavily insured man whom everybody hated. In spite of the sheriff’s reticent cooperation, Donovan discovers the man may have been murdered and begins to pursue an investigation, upsetting the whole town. And soon Donovan find that romance and detective work might not flow smoothly together… 

(possibly written by me, possibly taken from Tubi, IMDb, or Wikipedia and edited by me. I forget!)

Date: 1949

Genre: American Christmas mystery film noir 

Running time: 1 hour 22 minutes

Cast: 

Dennis O’Keefe (Sam)

William Bendix (Larry)

Art Baker (Stu)

Helen Spring (Bessie)

Barbara Britton (Anita)

Ann E. Todd (Cathie)

Doro Merande (Hilda)

Virginia Christine (Margaret)

Paul E. Burns (Mr. Abbey)

Director: Alfred E. Green

Production company: Strand Productions

Wikipedia page

Watched on Tubi

Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 5/5

There wasn’t any post-WWII feel to this but I still enjoyed all the 1950s feels. And I have a thing for small town settings!

Characters: 5/5

Sam was awesome—I admired his stedfast integrity in spite of everyone asking (or telling) him to back down. He was also very humorous, especially with Larry. I also loved Larry—I don’t know, his character really appealed to me, and he was so difficult to figure out… he’s quite fascinating. I really wish I could see another film about him! And Gabe was hilarious, even if he was such a small character. Anita was super sweet (except with Cathie, but I kinda understood her lol) and Cathie made me cringe with her poor flirting but it was funny. Hilda was delightfully amusing and Stu was such a nice fellow. 

Plot: 5/5

This is a very feel-good, heartwarming Christmassy film, which makes for an interesting film. I can’t give away the mystery’s plot but I loved Sam’s investigating mixed with the home life scenes, and the climax was just epic and such a rollercoaster. 

Romance: 4/5

The romance was super fast-paced, but it was cute, even if it was kisser than I preferred. XD 

Theme/Message/Topics: 0/5

There really wasn’t any except loyalty, maybe? It’s a very fun Christmas watch, but it doesn’t have any Christmas message really. 

Content: 5/5 (low)

2 kisses. 

Violence: 5/5 (low)

The whole point of the film is someone was murdered but nothing is shown and it's all very abstract. 

Overall: 5/5

This is one of my favourite vintage and mystery films! It’s just funny and sweet and realistic and old-fashioned… and pretty. ;)