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A review by bunnieslikediamonds
Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White
3.0
This vintage murder mystery takes place during one really, really, long night. A homicidal maniac is lurking around the countryside strangling women left and right, while the residents of a nearby manor do their best to get themselves killed. The plucky and supremely annoying help, Helen, is busy sticking her nose where it does not belong. Mrs Oates, the affable cook, is getting shitfaced in the pantry. The master of the house, a.k.a. the Professor, is O.D'ing on sleeping pills, while the sinister new nurse, who may or may not be a gent posing as a lady, is battling with the Professor's equally sinister old mother. There is also a horny daughter-in-law, a love-sick doctor and a couple of more characters who get lost in the crowd.
The characters are nuts and the plot terrible, but it's crazy enough to be entertaining. Everybody is somehow both terrified and very relaxed about the murders. When news of the umpteenth murder reaches them, the typical reaction is: "You don't say." The victim is casually described as "the pretty sluttish girl who used to dust under Lady Warren's bed". The dialogue is hilarious. Helen and Evil Nurse, looking for a new place to hide the rum from the cook:
- How could she get at the brandy?
- You forget everyone is not a midget like yourself. Mrs Oates is not as tall as I am, but she has a reach like a gorilla.
Good fun, this one.
,
The characters are nuts and the plot terrible, but it's crazy enough to be entertaining. Everybody is somehow both terrified and very relaxed about the murders. When news of the umpteenth murder reaches them, the typical reaction is: "You don't say." The victim is casually described as "the pretty sluttish girl who used to dust under Lady Warren's bed". The dialogue is hilarious. Helen and Evil Nurse, looking for a new place to hide the rum from the cook:
- How could she get at the brandy?
- You forget everyone is not a midget like yourself. Mrs Oates is not as tall as I am, but she has a reach like a gorilla.
Good fun, this one.
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