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Cast
Manning Whiley
as Bentley, the student
Barbara Everest
as Ursula
Thorley Walters
as Huey Frazer
Michael Drake
as Grierson, the bully
Hay Petrie
as Old Dan
David Keir
as Quiney
Tom Gill
as One of Grierson's Friends
Lewis Stringer
as One of Grierson's Friends
Ian Fulton
as One of Grierson's Friends
Geoffrey Gabriel
as One of Grierson's Friends
Movie Info & Details
Release Year1939
Runtime1h 00m
LanguageEnglish
CertificationNR
GenresCrime
Votes5
DirectorRoy Boulting
WritersRoy Boulting
TypeFeature Film
Rating6.4 out of 10
Cast10 credited
Also Known AsDesign for Murder
About Design for Murder
When a wealthy, lonely university music student is beaten and has his apartment trashed by a fellow dorm resident-bully and his gang, he goes mad, lures the bully into his room on pretense of forgiveness, slips him a paralyzing agent in a drink, throws him in a trunk and locks him in, and taunts the bully with the promise that he will be buried alive in the trunk. Only, once he gets his trunk and his prey to his country estate, the vengeful victim finds things keep going wrong...
Directed by Roy Boulting, Design for Murder leans on a strong ensemble — Manning Whiley, Barbara Everest, Thorley Walters — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about crime titles of 1939.
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