Radioland Murders is a throwback to the days when radio ruled the air and television was still years away. It is set in Chicago in 1939, when a new national radio network is set to air its inaugural show. It is also a homage to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and ’40s. It has a great cast, an incredible set design, and it never for one second stops moving. But it never quite did it for me. It isn’t nearly as funny as it wants to be, and it never slows down long enough for us to catch our breath or allow us to get to know the characters in any meaningful way.
Buy Radioland Murders Blu-rayMary Stuart Masterson stars as Penny Henderson, the assistant director to the inaugural program. It is a star-studded variety show full of songs, drama, gags, and mystery. It is vitally important everything goes well, as the owner of the station, General Walt Whalen (Ned Beatty), has invited a group of investors to be in the audience. If they don’t like the show, then it will die before it even gets going
Penny is married to head writer Roger (Brian Benben) but has filed for divorce as she caught him in a compromising position with Claudia Katzenback (Anita Morris), the “va-va-va-voom girl with the va-va-va-voom voice.” He wants her back, claims it was all a misunderstanding, and they create the screwball comedy at the heart of the movie.
Circling all around them is a radio show that is constantly teetering on the brink of disaster. We catch bits of performances by real-life acts such as Billy Barty, George Burns, and Rosemary Clooney, plus actors who look and act like stars such as Frank Sinatra, the Andrews Sisters, Gene Autry, and Cab Calloway. There are lots of songs, murder mysteries, soap opera dramas, and plenty of gags. Off-screen, we see the hustle and bustle of the production, making sure all of these acts (plus commercial jingles) all run smoothly and on time. There is a rotating stage to help keep the acts moving, and a guy named Zoltan (Christopher Lloyd), who is smashing fruit, pounding on drums, blowing whistles, and creating every other sound effect needed for a radio show of this type.
If the movie had just been this, watching how an old-time radio show is produced and allowing us to enjoy the acts, I would have been completely down with it. But I guess that wasn’t enough to sell the movie, so they had to add in a murder mystery. And that’s the dullest part of the whole thing.
When bodies start dropping, the police, led by Lieutenant Cross (Michael Lerner), come to investigate. Strangely, they never shut down the show even though this means the performers and staff are all wandering to and fro, and there is a full studio audience. Naturally, the cops immediately think Roger is the killer (and, to be fair, he does happen to be found near all the bodies at the time of their discovery). That leads to a lot of chase sequences (and a lot more slapstick comedy).
All of this creates a massive whirlwind of movement. Between the acts, the behind-the-scenes production elements, the romance, the murders, and the police, the film never takes a breath. That makes it difficult to care about anything that’s happening or anyone it is happening to. If the gags had been funnier or the comedy a little sharper, I probably wouldn’t have minded so much, but as it is, it all just feels like a little too much flash, and not enough substance. It is breezy and kind of fun, but it goes down like cotton candy – sweet in the moment, but it doesn’t last for more than a second.
It helps that nearly everyone in the cast is someone great – Larry Miller, Jeffrey Tambor, Stephen Tobolowsky, Bobcat Goldthwait, Robert Klein, and Michael McKean make even the smallest roles interesting. It helps, but not enough to make this movie great.
Extras on this new disc from Kino Lorber include the following:
- New 2K Restoration from an interpositive
- Audio Commentary by Entertainment Journalists/Authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
- Brian Benben’s Radioland Murders Memories: NEW Interview with Actor Brian Benben
- Theatrical Trailer (Newly Mastered in 2K)
- 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0
- Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase
