They say that poison is the coward’s weapon of choice. It allows for the act of killing without requiring the villain to physically end that life through violence. The killer can sneak in in the middle of the night, place the poison where the intended is sure to consume it, then sneak away. It is a cold method of murder and the one committing it is truly evil. Of course, I am speaking a bit in hyperbole, injecting opinion and commonalities into my words. I do so because the film I am looking at today is A Blueprint for Murder, is a film that lacks any real humor and covers a topic that is heinous and upsetting: the killing of an innocent child for the purpose of financial gain. That one would poison a child for their inheritance is utterly appalling.
The film opens with Whitney “Cam” Cameron (Joseph Cotten) arriving at the hospital where Polly, the stepdaughter of his widowed sister-in-law Lynne (Jean Peters), is suffering convulsions from an unknown illness. After a brief instance where it seems she may recover, Polly relapses and dies. The doctors are unable to determine what killed her. Cam, who has developed feelings for Lynne, is disturbed when the wife of a friend, Maggie (Catherine McLeod), points out similarities between Polly’s death and those of victims of strychnine poisoning about whom she has been reading. When Cam pushes for an autopsy, something Lynne is against, the results prove that strychnine was what killed the girl. Cam doesn’t want to believe Lynne may have been the cause but he has suspicions. Without proof, though, nothing can be done. When Lynne chooses to take a year-long trip to England, Cam decides to tag along, keeping an eye out for her other step-child and looking for any evidence of murderous intent.
This film works best when it is preying on our doubts. Up until the last moment we are never quite sure if Lynne is guilty or not, despite the evidence presented to us. This plays out right up until Cam takes one step too far and gives her a pill, dropped into a glass of wine, he found mixed in with her Aspirin tablets. He is gambling that if it is strychnine, she will be forced to confess in order to get medical treatment for the poison. What he doesn’t take into consideration is that what he has done could be seen as murder on his part. He also doesn’t guess that she may prefer to die over confessing and getting the death penalty anyway. This scene is pure tension and is portrayed with icy coldness by Jean Peters who, up until this point has sold us on her innocence. The way she stares Cam down, daring him to blink first, is perfect and leaves us as unsure of the truth as we ever were.
This is a surprisingly effective thriller that does a good job of keeping us doubting the evidence. We want to believe Lynne is innocent because she is so charming and beautiful and never comes across as evil, capable of murdering children. It’s a little too melodramatic at times, especially during the excessive use of voice over, and it treads water a bit too much getting to the point, but it also builds suspense and never quite gives away the truth until the very end. 1953 - 76 minutes
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