A Slight Case of Murder

This broad, acidic black comedy allows Edward G Robinson the opportunity to spoof his tough guy persona, as a beer baron who goes straight when Prohibition ends, only to find his fortune rapidly dwindling because his ale is unpalatable. Both accomplices and rivals naturally take a dim view of things, especially when his daughter (Bryan) starts dating a state trooper (Parker); and dastardly schemes are hatched to frame or fix him for good (notably by way of a stash of dead bodies, which have to be carefully redistributed, then re-collected when they prove to have a reward on their heads). The pace rises with the body count in this amusing version of a Damon Runyon/Howard Lindsay farce. Remade with Broderick Crawford in 1952 as Stop, You're Killing Me.