The Murder of Dr. Harrigan is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Peter Milne and Sy Bartlett. The film stars Ricardo Cortez, Kay Linaker, John Eldredge, Mary Astor, Joseph Crehan and Frank Reicher. The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on January 11, 1936. A story by Mignon G. Eberhart was the basis for the film.
Plot
The head of a drug company mysteriously disappeared after taking credit for a new anesthetic that actually resulted from the work of several doctors, and "the doctor who was to have operated on him is found mysteriously murdered by a surgical instrument."
Cast Ricardo Cortez as George Lambert Kay Linaker as Sally Keating John Eldredge as Dr. Harrigan Mary Astor as Lillian Cooper Joseph Crehan as Lieut. Lamb Frank Reicher as Dr. Coate Anita Kerry as Agnes Melady Phillip Reed as Dr. Simon Robert Strange as Peter Melady Mary Treen as Nurse Margaret Brody Wild Bill Elliott as Kenneth Martin Don Barclay as Jackson Johnny Arthur as Mr. Wentworth Joan Blair as Ina Harrigan
Critical reception Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times gave a negative review. He commented that there was a lot of activity within the film that failed to contribute to the resolution of the case, and wrote, "It reached some sort of conclusion on the screen, but it is an unsolved mystery so far as we are concerned."
Variety described the film as "A murder mystery that’s too routine to inspire more than casual audience interest. It’s along formula lines from the threat of murder, down to the solution of the murder, plus another death. No names in the cast for marquee attention and doubtful if results will be any better than lukewarm." The reviewer was dismissive of the majority of the performances, with the exceptions of Kay Linaker who "gives a good performance", and Mary Astor who "proves an agreeable cast selection."
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