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Who Done It?

178 statements
34 feature instances
2 referencing feature instances

Who Done It?	type	TVTItem
Who Done It?	label	Who Done It?
Who Done It?	page	WhoDoneIt
Who Done It?	comment	Who Done It? Is a 1942 mystery comedy film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Abbott and Costello along with Patric Knowles, William Gargan, Louise Allbritton, Jerome Cowan and William Bendix.Writer Jimmy Turner (Knowles) turns down a job at a major radio stationâ€™s headquarters, despite producer Jane Little (Allbritton) and station owner Col. J.R. Andrewsâ€™ (Thomas Gomez) best attempts to keep him. Meanwhile, Chick Larkin (Abbott) and Mervyn Milgrim (Costello), two soda jerks working behind the counter in the drugstore at the base of the building, dream of being writers for a radio mystery show, and see their chance when they get tickets to attend the live broadcast of the stationâ€™s own mystery program, â€œMurder at Midnightâ€�. After losing their tickets, they sneak in, but to their horror, Andrews mysteriously drops dead just before he can read a speech into the microphone. It seems someone electrocuted him by rerouting part of the stationâ€™s power into the metal chair he was sitting in. Chick realizes that if they can solve the mystery, they can become the only murder mystery writers for radio who have solved an actual murder mystery. They impersonate detectives, and start asking questions, but it isnâ€™t long before two real police detectives, Moran (Gargan) and Brannigan (Bendix), show up and mistake the frauds for the killers. They flee the detectives on a long chase through the studio, helped by studio secretary Juliet Collins (Mary Wickes). Meanwhile, Jimmy and Jane start finding legitimate clues to the killerâ€™s motivation. It seems Andrews may have known too much about some sinister goings-on at the studio, and things get even more confusing when the body of Andrewsâ€™ old friend Dr. Marek (Ludwig StÃ¶ssel) is found in a closet. With the detectives busy pursuing the wannabes, itâ€™s anyoneâ€™s guess as to whoâ€™s responsible as Hilarity Ensues.Like Abbott and Costelloâ€™s later horror-themed comedies, Who Done It? takes the parodic elements of the genre, and mostly plays them dead straight alongside the boysâ€™ usual antics. Itâ€™s also notable for being the first of the duoâ€™s films to not feature a single musical number, and the inspiration for George Lucasâ€™ The Radioland Murders.
Who Done It?	fetched	2024-02-09T16:08:04Z
Who Done It?	parsed	2024-02-09T16:08:04Z
Who Done It?	isPartOf	DBTropes
Who Done It? / int_1300dc5c	type	Inspector Lestrade
Who Done It? / int_1300dc5c	comment	Inspector Lestrade: Moran and Brannigan are certainly more competent than Chick and Mervyn, but theyâ€™re a little too quick to arrest the latter two and accuse them of the murder, and almost let the real killer get away.
Who Done It? / int_1300dc5c	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_1300dc5c	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_1300dc5c
Who Done It? / int_22cf536c	type	Chekhov's Gun
Who Done It? / int_22cf536c	comment	Chekhov's Gun: Near the beginning of the film, Chick and Mervyn find the killer dropped a rubber glove while rigging the fatal chair up, meaning whoever did it has a hand that fits the glove. They initially keep the glove as evidence, with the killer trying to retrieve it at one point. Itâ€™s forgotten about halfway through, until the very end, when Mervyn uses it as a slingshot to smash a neon signâ€™s letters â€œVOTE TOWNSEND PHELPSâ€� into â€œSEND HELPâ€� while heâ€™s trapped on the roof with the killer.
Who Done It? / int_22cf536c	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_22cf536c	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_22cf536c
Who Done It? / int_281de59f	type	Extremely Short Timespan
Who Done It? / int_281de59f	comment	Extremely Short Timespan: The entire film takes place over a single afternoon and night.
Who Done It? / int_281de59f	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_281de59f	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_281de59f
Who Done It? / int_2bbe31c9	type	Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant
Who Done It? / int_2bbe31c9	comment	Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Juliette is affable and friendly, but is somewhat obsessed with the murder mystery shows her company puts on, and carries a book around in her handbag titled â€œ57 ways to kill a man and get away with itâ€�.
Who Done It? / int_2bbe31c9	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_2bbe31c9	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_2bbe31c9
Who Done It? / int_2d50bb66	type	Perp Sweating
Who Done It? / int_2d50bb66	comment	Perp Sweating: How the killer is outed: everyone who had access to the room where the electricity was routed from is put in the same studio. Then the events of the previous week â€“ which saw the spyâ€™s messages intercepted, Col. Andrews cracking the code used, and finally Col. Andrews being murdered â€“ are read live on the air. However, the actual killer remains silent, until Mervyn plugs his portable radio into the wall behind him, turns it on, it short-circuits with a loud bang, and the killer leaps to his feet in terror, frantically denying everything.
Who Done It? / int_2d50bb66	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_2d50bb66	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_2d50bb66
Who Done It? / int_415b3315	type	Stylistic Suck
Who Done It? / int_415b3315	comment	Stylistic Suck: Chick and Mervynâ€™s hilariously awful murder mystery script: "The Midget gets the Chair; or, Short Fry". The title is easily the best thing about it.
Who Done It? / int_415b3315	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_415b3315	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_415b3315
Who Done It? / int_44fc28e8	type	Honor Before Reason
Who Done It? / int_44fc28e8	comment	Honor Before Reason: Jimmy hates the idea of getting the writersâ€™ job through connections so much, he quits right off the bat even when Andrew and Jane assure him it was purely his abilities that got him the job.
Who Done It? / int_44fc28e8	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_44fc28e8	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_44fc28e8
Who Done It? / int_496569e8	type	Race Against the Clock
Who Done It? / int_496569e8	comment	Race Against the Clock: Mervyn has five minutes to collect a sweepstakes reward by either calling the studio or picking up the check in person.
Who Done It? / int_496569e8	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_496569e8	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_496569e8
Who Done It? / int_4cecb933	type	Signs of Disrepair
Who Done It? / int_4cecb933	comment	Signs of Disrepair: An intentional example Mervyn smashes an illuminated sign reading "VOTE FOR TOWNSENDPHELPS" so it reads "SEND HELP" while they're trapped on the roof of the radio station with the killer. Later, it gets smashed again to read "END".
Who Done It? / int_4cecb933	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_4cecb933	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_4cecb933
Who Done It? / int_65acf9db	type	He Knows Too Much
Who Done It? / int_65acf9db	comment	He Knows Too Much: Why Col. Andrews and Dr. Marek were killed. The murderer was a spy who was transmitting messages in code during the stationâ€™s broadcast news reports. Col. Andrews, who worked as a codebreaker in WWI, had been contacted by Washington to identify and decipher the code. He cracked the code, and was about to tell the world before he was killed.
Who Done It? / int_65acf9db	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_65acf9db	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_65acf9db
Who Done It? / int_67101c52	type	Rooftop Confrontation
Who Done It? / int_67101c52	comment	Rooftop Confrontation: The climax takes place on the buildingâ€™s roof, between Chick and Mervyn, and the spy. The latter went to the roof to hide from the police, while the former two went up there to hide from the latter, ironically.
Who Done It? / int_67101c52	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_67101c52	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_67101c52
Who Done It? / int_697b5232	type	Those Wacky Nazis
Who Done It? / int_697b5232	comment	Those Wacky Nazis: The spyâ€™s nationality and allegiances are never explicitly statedâ€¦ but between his victims being an American codebreaker and a Czechoslovakian doctor, plus the film taking place in 1942, itâ€™s not hard to piece it together.
Who Done It? / int_697b5232	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_697b5232	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_697b5232
Who Done It? / int_6bea999c	type	Radio Voice
Who Done It? / int_6bea999c	comment	Radio Voice: As the entire film takes place in and near a radio station, this is used a few times to distinguish recorded or electronic voices from human ones.
Who Done It? / int_6bea999c	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_6bea999c	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_6bea999c
Who Done It? / int_6cf80934	type	Big Word Shout
Who Done It? / int_6cf80934	comment	Big Word Shout: When Mervyn and Chick have been collared by the detectives right after he wins Wheel of Fortune, and it looks like all hope is lost, Mervyn asks if he can say one word into the Wheel of Fortune radio mic. They oblige him.
Who Done It? / int_6cf80934	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_6cf80934	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_6cf80934
Who Done It? / int_722a6ef4	type	Game Show
Who Done It? / int_722a6ef4	comment	Game Show: â€œWheel of Fortuneâ€�, a radio show that gives a lucky winner a cash prize and a miniature radio if they win. Mervyn wins near the climax, which is why Chick and Mervyn bother sticking around the building.
Who Done It? / int_722a6ef4	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_722a6ef4	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_722a6ef4
Who Done It? / int_76c0e85d	type	High-Voltage Death
Who Done It? / int_76c0e85d	comment	High-Voltage Death: Col. Andrewsâ€™ fate; the killer wired his metal chair to the stationâ€™s electrical grid. When his microphone was turned on, Andrews was electrocuted to death on the spot.
Who Done It? / int_76c0e85d	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_76c0e85d	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_76c0e85d
Who Done It? / int_86daf505	type	Parental Bonus
Who Done It? / int_86daf505	comment	Parental Bonus: The boys hide from the cops by temporarily joining an Italian performing circus act called "the Flying Bordellos".
Who Done It? / int_86daf505	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_86daf505	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_86daf505
Who Done It? / int_9059bd5d	type	Peek-a-Boo Corpse
Who Done It? / int_9059bd5d	comment	Peek-a-Boo Corpse: Mervyn discovers the body of Dr. Merreck in a closet this way.
Who Done It? / int_9059bd5d	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_9059bd5d	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_9059bd5d
Who Done It? / int_97069d40	type	Harmless Electrocution
Who Done It? / int_97069d40	comment	Harmless Electrocution: Mervyn is climbing across some wires on the rooftop to escape the killer, when some of the radio stationâ€™s unwitting employees try using the wires for a new shortwave radio system designed to contact Australia. Mervyn ends up conducting enough electricity to vaporize a person, but only suffers some cartoonish yelping and visibly flying sparks. Afterwards, he can turn on a lightbulb just by holding it. Even the other characters in-universe are baffled as to how he survived.
Who Done It? / int_97069d40	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_97069d40	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_97069d40
Who Done It? / int_9919369d	type	Con Man
Who Done It? / int_9919369d	comment	Con Man: The buildingâ€™s doorman is a clever little chiseler who keeps scamming Mervyn whenever he can. First, he gets five glasses of orange juice for a nickel by betting Mervyn can't make it faster than he can drink it. Then, tricks him into giving up show tickets by telling him that they expired, then claiming he'll pay for them and asking Mervyn for "A nickel for two dimes". Finally, he claims that he witnessed the murder and he'll squeal for half a buck, then he literally makes loud squealing sounds after Mervin pays him half a dollar.
Who Done It? / int_9919369d	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_9919369d	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_9919369d
Who Done It? / int_9f8a12d7	type	Who's on First?
Who Done It? / int_9f8a12d7	comment	Who's on First?: The trope namers never actually recite the routine on-screen, but itâ€™s referenced twice: When talking about the stationâ€™s power grid, they get into an argument about what Col. Andrews was hit with, â€œWattsâ€� or Volts (â€œNext thing, youâ€™ll tell me Wattâ€™s on second base!â€�). Later on, we hear part of the routine through a portable radio.
Who Done It? / int_9f8a12d7	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_9f8a12d7	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_9f8a12d7
Who Done It? / int_ae3d6438	type	Deadpan Snarker
Who Done It? / int_ae3d6438	comment	Deadpan Snarker: The chiseling doorman mentioned above gets a good one in at the expense of the clueless Detective Moran when he first shows up. Warned that Bud and Lou are pretending to be police detectives, Moran growls that it's against the law to impersonate an officer. Leading to the following line:
Who Done It? / int_ae3d6438	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_ae3d6438	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_ae3d6438
Who Done It? / int_bda72a5e	type	Clueless Detective
Who Done It? / int_bda72a5e	comment	Clueless Detective: Chick and Mervyn try their best to solve the case, but are hopelessly out of their league.
Who Done It? / int_bda72a5e	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_bda72a5e	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_bda72a5e
Who Done It? / int_bf5951e0	type	Appeal to Flattery
Who Done It? / int_bf5951e0	comment	Appeal to Flattery: Chick and Mervyn try to butter Juliette up near the beginning to listen to their murder mystery script and tell it to her boss.
Who Done It? / int_bf5951e0	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_bf5951e0	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_bf5951e0
Who Done It? / int_c3c3771c	type	Sting
Who Done It? / int_c3c3771c	comment	Sting: Parodied. After Jimmy announces Col. Andrews was murdered, Mervyn staggers backwards into the studioâ€™s pipe organ, which lets out a loud, discordant, ominous tone that goes on a little too long.
Who Done It? / int_c3c3771c	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_c3c3771c	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_c3c3771c
Who Done It? / int_c9597a03	type	Self-Deprecation
Who Done It? / int_c9597a03	comment	Self-Deprecation: After Mervyn wins a portable radio, he turns it on and hears the famed â€œWhoâ€™s on Firstâ€� routineâ€¦ made famous, of course, by Abbott and Costello. He promptly turns it off, and he and Chick agree they canâ€™t stand â€œthose two guysâ€�.
Who Done It? / int_c9597a03	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_c9597a03	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_c9597a03
Who Done It? / int_cc6f4612	type	Beyond the Impossible
Who Done It? / int_cc6f4612	comment	Not just to Europe, but to Stalinist Russia. Which was at war at the time if you'll recall.
Who Done It? / int_cc6f4612	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_cc6f4612	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_cc6f4612
Who Done It? / int_ccaaef88	type	Broadcast Live
Who Done It? / int_ccaaef88	comment	Broadcast Live: The radio shows all seem to be, which is largely Truth in Television for 1940s radio.
Who Done It? / int_ccaaef88	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_ccaaef88	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_ccaaef88
Who Done It? / int_cf511248	type	All Part of the Show
Who Done It? / int_cf511248	comment	All Part of the Show: Thereâ€™s a live theater in the same building, and the detectives chase Chick and Mervyn into an acrobat act called the Flying Bordellos. Mervyn winds up as part of the act, and the audience takes his pratfalls and accidents as this trope.
Who Done It? / int_cf511248	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_cf511248	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_cf511248
Who Done It? / int_d4f3a682	type	The Operators Must Be Crazy
Who Done It? / int_d4f3a682	comment	The Operators Must Be Crazy: While desperately trying to call the studio from a pay phone to win a ten thousand dollar prize, Mervyn gets an operator who is insistent that â€œThe Line is Busyâ€�â€¦ in between people all around him making calls on the same phone to Brazil, Alaska, and Europe. Not just to Europe, but to Stalinist Russia. Which was at war at the time if you'll recall.
Who Done It? / int_d4f3a682	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_d4f3a682	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_d4f3a682
Who Done It? / int_e6132e31	type	Old Flame
Who Done It? / int_e6132e31	comment	Old Flame: Jimmy and Jane were writers together in their college years, and Jane still carries a torch for him.
Who Done It? / int_e6132e31	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_e6132e31	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_e6132e31
Who Done It? / int_e9269f72	type	It Was Here, I Swear!
Who Done It? / int_e9269f72	comment	It Was Here, I Swear!: Chick and Mervyn come across Dr. Marekâ€™s body in a closet, and run to grab the detectives. The bodyâ€™s been moved by the time they return, and whatâ€™s more, a frightened Juliette is now hiding in the same closet.
Who Done It? / int_e9269f72	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_e9269f72	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_e9269f72
Who Done It? / int_fcadd0e3	type	Impact Silhouette
Who Done It? / int_fcadd0e3	comment	Impact Silhouette: After getting spooked by Dr. Marekâ€™s corpse, Mervyn bolts out of the room through a window so fast he leaves one behindâ€¦ then a second oneâ€¦ and then gets embedded in a Mervyn-shaped crater in a solid concrete wall.
Who Done It? / int_fcadd0e3	featureApplicability	1.0
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Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_fcadd0e3
Who Done It? / int_name	type	ItemName
Who Done It? / int_name	comment
Who Done It? / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Who Done It? / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Who Done It?	hasFeature	Who Done It? / int_name
Who Done It? / int_name	itemName	Who Done It?

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

	Who Done It?	hasFeature	Questioning Title? / int_ead43371
	Who Done It?	hasFeature	Reaching Between the Lines / int_ead43371

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