The Corpse Came C.O.D. (1947) User Reviews

pleasant programmer

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 27 January 2007]

When a movie star accepts delivery of gown materials, she finds out that "The Corpse Came C.O.D.," a B film with an above average cast: George Brent, Joan Blondell, and Adele Jergens. Brent plays Joe Medford, a newspaper reporter in hot competition with Rosemary Durant (Blondell) to get the best stories. When star Mona Harrison (Jergens) discovers the body of a studio costume designer in a box of material, she calls Medford instead of the cops and begs for help. She and the designer didn't get along, and it looks as if she's being set up to take the fall.

This is fairly routine stuff brightened by the always delightful and energetic Blondell, whose character follows Medford everywhere, often getting caught. Brent conveys a light comic touch rarely seen in his leading man days of the '30s. By 1947, at the age of 48, Brent was moving into character parts and television. Ditto 41-year-old Blondell. I suppose B movies were a good way to have them use up their contractual obligations. Jergens is appropriately glamorous.

We actually learn more of the background story toward the end of the film rather than at the beginning, so the plot has a little twist that otherwise might not have been there. Otherwise, it's a lot of running, chasing, and hiding, but Blondell's many fans will enjoy it.

Better Than Average For This Genre

[Handlinghandel · 6/10 · 25 January 2007]

Warner Brothers turned out lots of these comedy/mysteries. After a while, they seem to blend into one another. This has a lot of the same elements. But it has some unique ones too. And it's not from Warner's: It's from Columbia.

George Brent looks as if he'd been filmed for "Hollywood Babylon." He is always a good actor and is fun here as a news hound. But he bears little resemblance to the leading man he played earlier that decade at Warner's. Joan Blondell is a rival newswoman. As always, she is delightful. No, she doesn't look the way she did in the Busby Berkely or earlier Cagney movies. But she always looked great. And I never saw her turn in a bad performance -- even in Hugo Haas's "Lizzie." Adele Jergens p a very glamorous movie star. Talk about perfect casting! The title corpse comes C.O.D. to her Hollywood estate. The movie is concerned with finding out why and courtesy of what evildoer.

If you can make it to the end, it will be worth the watch.

[kfo9494 · 7/10 · 6 August 2015]

When watching this movie, it is easy to lose interest early in the script. But if you can hold on and watch to the end, you will be treated with a tale that makes for a pleasant watch.

The movie has all the feel of any other 1940's style comedy/mystery that pairs a man and a women working together to find a murderer. It has the fast pace talking, the 'one-better' scenes and the mysterious fist-a-cuffs in the dark-- all part of the same style. What sets this movie apart from others is that it has the two stars working separately on a case and coming up with the solution to a clever story. Add the surprise twist to the plot and you have a better movie than expected. However, the film does have it flaws.

The problem is that the first half of the film does little to stir interest. Yes, there is a murder and a suspect must be found. But the way the script quickly introduces characters to the plot causes much confusion. As the viewer is trying to cope with the task of remembering the main characters, the script continues bringing people to the cast that may, or may not, have anything to do with the story. It becomes crowded and confusing to the point of losing interest.

But if you can make it through the first half, you will be treated to a nice story that will remedy the interest. At times, the movie can be a little silly but overall it was an enjoyable departure from the norm.

Good Little Time-Passer

[dougdoepke · 30 January 2013]

Fast-paced little mystery-comedy involving a movie studio. The mystery's a little murky and the developments hard to keep up with. Nonetheless, Blondell and Brent are energetic, while Jergens has never looked lovelier. As rival newspaper reporters, Blondell and Brent have a friendly rivalry that usually involves him locking her in a closet. But being Blondell, you can't keep a good woman down. Veteran director Levin keeps things moving, and has a nice sense of pacing for a sometimes difficult narrative. As a result, events never drag. And I like the running gag with the wimpy guy in the waiting room who just wants to sing. Sure, this is no more than a routine programmer, but the two leads treat the material like an A-production, along with a rather surprising ending that I sure didn't see coming. All in all, it's an entertaining little time passer.

Not at all logical but enjoyable

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 28 January 2019]

The title of this film pretty much says it. A box arrives at a movie star's home and the delivery man says it's cash on delivery. She pays and when they open it, the body of a Hollywood costumer is inside. She then phones a local Hollywood gossip columnist (George Brent) and asks for his help. When he comes to her home and sees the body, he calls the cops. However, despite working through proper channels, the columnist decides to investigate the case for himself. After getting bashed on the head a few times, finding ANOTHER body and nearly getting killed, he continues his silly quest instead of leaving everything to the law...the more prudent path. Along for the fun is another rival reporter (Joan Blondell).

While reporters investigating crimes makes zero sense, as do a few other plot elements, the film IS entertaining. Plus, Brent and Blondell are such professionals that they manage to take silly tripe like this and make it watchable. Plus at least this mystery film has a nice twist near the end!

A disappointment for George Brent fans

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 6/10 · 26 January 2013]

I like mysteries. I like comedies. I like comedy-mysteries. But I usually don't like mysteries that mix in just a little comedy. It's sort of like the director couldn't decide what the film was supposed to be. And that's true here. And unfortunately, this one just gets silly.

The premise -- as stated in the title -- was a promising one, and the opening scenes are intriguing, but it just goes downhill from there, particularly the hijinks between George Brent and Joan Blondell.

I've always liked George Brent, particularly in his stints with Bette Davis. And I guess this film's problems aren't the fault of Brent, but this was not up to the usual level of films in which George Brent appeared. Joan Blondell...well, it doesn't work. You'll notice a few of the other supporting actors here, but there's not a single performance in the film that is worth remembering. Although, it was a kick seeing Marvin Miller -- who later starred in the television series "The Millionaire".

Someone else said this is a potboiler. I don't think it's even tepid.

Likeable but slight

[myriamlenys · 6/10 · 21 February 2024]

Shortly after receiving a big wooden crate, a movie star discovers that the crate contains far more than just bolts of fabric. It also contains the body of a murder victim. In a panic, she telephones a friendly newspaper journalist...

"The corpse came C. O. D." is a light-hearted mix of thriller/detective and comedy. It's probably best described as entertaining but forgettable, both with regard to the thriller and the comedy aspect. The passage of time has imbued the Hollywood setting with an additional period charm.

In the movie, a male and a female journalist from rival newspapers investigate the same murder case. Both protagonists are the heroes of the movie, but one shudders at the thought of real-life journalists behaving in the same way. Polluting the crime scene, pocketing evidence and scooping the police may look cute on celluloid, but it is a sure-fire way to guarantee the collapse of any criminal trial. From this point of view journalists such as these could be seen as the allies of the criminals they purport to hunt.

Still, much of the above reads like knowing satire aimed at Hollywood's entertainment industry. You and me and the postman would notify the police immediately if we noticed something criminal ; within the demented hothouse atmosphere of Hollywood it might make more sense to notify a studio boss, a newspaper journalist or a public relations specialist. And why level criticism, say, at a crew of journalists and photographers making themselves at home near the corpse of a murdered man ? In an environment obsessed with both images and image, these people would only be performing an essential service, much like electrical linemen maintaining a pole or construction workers repairing a street.

Note the joke where a comely brunette housemaid shows off her charms while sitting on the crate ; it says a lot.

Nothing subtle about this comedy/mystery...but it's not too bad...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 23 January 2007]

ADELE JERGENS is a pampered movie star who gets a crate delivery that turns out to have a body inside it--a studio costume designer she had recently argued with. She tries to persuade newspaper man GEORGE BRENT not to tell police right away, but he does and the plot gets a little more absurd after that, with JOAN BLONDELL as another newspaper reporter looking for a scoop.

The comedy aspect is anything but subtle as Blondell and Brent seem to be trying to upstage each other for laughs as the story strives for a good blend of mystery and mirth. Since it becomes obvious early on that most of the comic elements are pretty stale, you have to pin your hopes that the mystery element will be handled a lot better.

LESLIE BROOKS is attractive as a studio secretary with she and ADELE JERGENS providing the glamor appeal as stunning blondes. As fumbling reporters turning sleuth to solve the case, Blondell and Brent try hard but are less than amusing as they look for leads.

The plot thickens with the murder of a studio publicity director, but the accent still remains on comedy until the merry mix-up is solved after Brent has several run-ins with the killer.

Not too bad as these programmers go, with the final ten minutes filling in a lot of background info that's kept "in the dark" for most of the running time. Brent proves his comedy flair needed some fine tuning but Blondell is one step ahead of him in that department. GRANT WITHERS makes a good red herring in a minor role.

To Scoop or not to Scoop

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 25 January 2013]

Joan Blondell and George Brent must have felt like it was old home week and they were time warped back to the Thirties when both were contract players at Warner Brothers. This Columbia Picture has something of the look and feel of one of those Warner studio products from that era. Too bad it wasn't all that good.

Blondell and Brent play a couple of rival reporters who are trying to scoop the other concerning a murder. Adele Jergens plays a movie star who receives a shipment of bolts of cloth for some dress designs and the driver asks for it to be COD. What happens is that with the bolts of fabric is the body of the studio dress designer, The Corpse Comes COD.

As was the case in those days when the studio protects the stars from scandal, she calls a reporter friend George Brent who comes right over to Jergens home to comfort her and get a bead on the other papers. Then at his suggestion, she calls the cops and they come in the person of Detective Jim Bannon.

That gets Blondell's dander up and she's out to best Brent whatever the cost which drives Bannon up a wall.

Both Brent and Blondell are a little older and should be a little wiser fooling with an obstruction of justice charge for one or both of them. The elements of drama and comedy and mystery are not mixed very well in The Corpse Came COD. And the identity of the one behind the killing is not a surprise that is satisfactory as much as it is off the wall.

Brent and Blondell and the rest do their best, but the story just defeats them.

The Film Came D.O.A.

[HarlowMGM · 4/10 · 12 December 2010]

Despite an intriguing opening sequence referred to in the title, THE CORPSE CAME C.O.D. is simply a potboiler mystery that is too thin to be stretched into a movie almost 90 minutes. Movie star Adele Jergens receives the body of her fashion designer in a c.o.d. shipment of fabrics delivered to her home. The movie is alas an uninspired comedy-murder mystery with the aging George Brent in the lead (who was never very charismatic even in his youth as leading man to Bette Davis and other movie queens). The always dependable Joan Blondell shows up somewhat late in the proceedings (this would be the 41-year-old star's last romantic lead before moving into character parts) but she isn't able to make much out of this stale story. Adele Jergens is quite beautiful but not too interesting. One of the few bright spots is handsome tough guy Jim Bannon as a no-nonsense detective. Una O'Connor has a bit part where she does her scared screech shtick and then disappears from the rest of the movie.

The movie was based on a potboiler novel by Hollywood columnist Jimmy Starr. Covering it's bases and perhaps fearing the wrath of jealous rivals, the opening segment features cameos from virtually every such reporter working the Hollywood scene at the time including Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper as well as Starr.

Alas, THE CORPSE CAME C.O.D. is a complete stiff as a film. The first time I attempted to watch it, I was so bored I couldn't get past 40 minutes. The next day I decided to watch the rest of it and had to go back a bit to what I'd already seen because it was so dull I forgotten much of what I had already viewed.

Deeply Situated

[tedg · 21 August 2004]

Spoilers herein.

At one point, it seemed Hollywood would jump out of its skin with self-reference. You can see it here better than anywhere. B movies are after all like political gaffs, when you'd say the truth by accident because you're not paying enough attention.

This is a trivial story, what with blonds stuck in trash cans, bad guys grabbing and clunking in the dark, stolen diamonds, cat jumpings, and (I'm not joking) the old manikin that gets stuck and follows the girl.

But see the extremely clever folding: This is a movie about making movies. It is a story with pictures about people who write stories and take pictures. And it is done with a blending of the worlds that is nearly surreal. If it weren't intended to be cheap timewasting filler, you might see it as art.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

And it was as d.o.a. as this film.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 28 October 2016]

"The Thin Man" was a comedy mystery (or mystery with a bit of comedy, depending on your point of view) that lead to dozens of knock offs, pretty much dying out by the end of the 30's even though there were three more in that series of Nick and Nora films. The last of those was released the same year of this Hollywood based mystery with a bit of comedy added, starting two actors who had done a few of the rip-offs back in the 1930's.

It's a reunion for veteran actors George Brent and Joan Blondell, two of the busiest Warner Brother stars of a decade prior. Brent plays a reporter who is called up by blonde bombshell movie star Adele Jergens (playing an actress here presumably nominated for an Oscar) who is sent a box c.o.d. And, as you guessed it, finds a corpse in it. Brent knows she's hiding something, and finds himself investigating it reluctantly with "sob sister" Joan Blondell trailing him. She's really a pain to be stalked by, as she ends up in more jams that distract him from the investigation than helps him.

A funny scene has her hiding in a studio warehouse where her clumsiness ends up practically knocking Brent out with all the stuff she tosses over on him. Blondell, who had aided Melvyn Douglas in a "Thin Man" rip off called "There's Always a Woman" has matured nicely, but the part isn't a real challenge for her, even with all the snappy banter between her and Brent. He manages to be still dashing after 15 years as a leading man.

For tough detective lovers, there's Jim Bannon as the no nonsense detective Brent has on the case, more annoyed by their presence, and deadly serious even struggling with Brent and Blondell's intrusion. Jergens is lovely, but certainly no Oscar nominee. It's a nice try to update the genre of mystery comedy with a touch of film noir, but it seems a bit too little, too late.