Destination Murder (1950)

(On Cable TV, November 2020) Sometimes, you don’t need polish, coherence or high production values to have a good time: Destination Murder is, by most standards, a substandard film: it has dollar-store production values, a script that barely makes sense, quirks of dialogue that are more endearing than effective (“Armitage!”), and a density of plotting that makes its 72 minutes feel somewhat longer. But as a film noir… it holds its own. Cheaply made by B-movie specialist Edward L. Cahn, Destination Murder can rely on a fast-paced script and actors who do what they’re expected from beginning to end. The story, at it is, has to do with a young woman going undercover in a club in order to investigate her father’s murder. Who her father was and what he did to get killed should warrant some attention but doesn’t—we’re off to the investigation and as bits and pieces of another noir movie seem to intrude (including a blonde femme fatale who gets taken out of the plot far too soon), Destination Murder races to a conclusion without bothering to make sure that it didn’t take disqualifying shortcuts. It’s incoherent, bewildering and quite a bit wild… which, in some ways, reflects the down-and-dirty ethos of the film noir, interested in thrills and not really in explanations. Destination Murder is not the kind of polished experience but it has a certain charm of its own. Just make sure this is what you’re looking for.