MovieChat Forums > Classic TV: The 60s > SOLVED 1960s movie... A missing body......

SOLVED 1960s movie... A missing body... A locked hotel closet...

posted 9 years ago by jonathan_k80
8 replies | jump to latest

There was a movie shown on TV which I saw part of as a kid in the late 1960s. I don't know any details such as the actors' names, etc. This is what I can recall:

It most likely was shown on the NBC Saturday Night at the Movies series because I remember my parents going out to dinner, which they did on Saturdays. We were home with a babysitter.

The film had the look of something made in the early 1960s. We thought it was a comedy, or at least it had that feel at the beginning.

There seemed to be two intertwining plots: one involved a news report about a missing body (murder victim?), and the other involved a man moving into a big-city hotel (possibly in New York?). There was a closet in the hotel room that was either locked or the door was jammed, and he kept calling the front office, trying to get someone to open it.

Even as a kid I caught the implication that the missing body could be in that closet. Our babysitter got somewhat creeped out by the same possibility and suggested we change the channel, which we did.

For years I have been wondering what this movie was, and how it ended. Since it was shown in prime time, it's probably a fairly well-known film with name actors, so I was wondering if this sounds familiar to anyone?

[–] Divtal-1 8 years ago

With keywords "missing body," I found one film that includes comedy in the description, and has a setting in a posh New York Hotel. However, it was made in the early 40's, and the story line that's provided doesn't mention a locked closet. So, I doubt that it's the one that you're looking for.

One Thrilling Night:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035152/?ref_=kw_li_tt

[–] jonathan_k80 8 years ago

Thank you for your response.

I found One Thrilling Night on YouTube and watched the beginning. Unfortunately, this is not the film. There was no locked or jammed closet door which figured prominently in the movie we saw. It seemed to be a sort of running gag that the man would keep calling the front desk for assistance in opening the closet, and he would get no response.

The movie I am thinking of had a more recent look to it than the 1940s. I would guess the early 1960s or possibly the very late 1950s. Maybe it wasn't a comedy, but it had that sort of feel to it at least during the part we watched. We saw this on TV in the late 1960s, so my memories could be inaccurate.

Thanks again for your suggestion.

[–] jonathan_k80 8 years ago

I am 98% certain the film is The Notorious Landlady (1962)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056289/?ref_=rvi_tt

I had some of the details, such as the location, confused with something else.

[–] Divtal-1 8 years ago

Oh, I'm happy that you found it. I thought that I had seen that, but looking at the IMDb page, I realize I haven't. Lemmon and Novak starred in Bell, Book and Candle, together, and I know I've seen that.

[–] jonathan_k80 8 years ago

Thank you for your response again.

I was going over and over in my head trying to remember who starred in this. Jack Lemmon, or someone from that era, came to mind, so I checked his filmography and came up with The Notorious Landlady. By reading the plot synopsis and FAQs I have concluded that this is the correct film. The FAQs mention a locked closet. I had the basic gist of the plot correct: a man (Lemmon) rents a room in a house (not a hotel) owned by a woman (Kim Novak) suspected of murdering her husband, whose body was never found.

It takes place in London, England. I don't know where I came up with New York City but then I saw this as a kid, so I may have misinterpreted the setting. Possibly because the main stars were American. And since this didn't take place in a hotel, there was no front desk to call. I must have picked this up from another movie.

And the more I think about it, our babysitter was somewhat of a movie buff, and she most likely mentioned Jack Lemmon and how she enjoyed his movies. She probably was the one who suggested we watch this, but got creeped out later when it was implied that the closet might contain a dead body. So she changed the channel.

I plan to find the DVD of The Notorious Landlady so I can watch the whole movie, and verify that this is what I was looking for. Though I am 98% sure this is the one.

[–] Divtal-1 8 years ago

I just checked YouTube. You can see the whole film, there. I plan to watch it, when I have time.

[–] jonathan_k80 8 years ago

I looked on YouTube but only found links to pay sites. The only place I found it for free was on a Russian site, which unfortunately only offers a version dubbed into that language.

[–] NewtonFigg 8 years ago

Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer?