Murder, He Says (1945) Plot Summary Explained

Pete agrees to pose as Bonnie's boyfriend because Mamie Fleagle orders him to do so as a condition for his safety. The plan is to use Pete to win the dying Grandma Fleagle's confidence and get her to reveal the location of the $70,000 she hid. Pete goes along with the deception to protect himself and to get closer to uncovering the truth about the missing surveyor.

Foreshadowing: Mamie's demand sets up the entire deception plot that drives the movie's complications.

• Pete Marshall
• Bonnie Fleagle
• Mamie Fleagle
• Grandma Fleagle
• deception
• $70000

Before dying, Grandma Fleagle teaches Pete a nonsensical song that contains hidden clues to the location of the stolen $70,000. The song mentions Elany Fleagle, Mamie's not-so-bright daughter, and later proves to be the key to deciphering where the money is hidden. The lyrics, when properly decoded by Pete with Bonnie's help, lead to a safety deposit box key.

Foreshadowing: The song's cryptic verses echo through the film until they become essential to solving the mystery.

• Grandma Fleagle
• cryptic song
• $70000
• Elany Fleagle
• safety deposit box
• clues

Mr. Johnson, Mamie's third husband, fakes his death to escape the poisoned dinner and avoid being killed by the Fleagle family. During the poisoning attempt, Pete notices that all plates except Johnson's glow with poison, meaning the family intended to kill him too. Johnson slips away unnoticed, then later returns to pursue Pete and Claire during the chase, pretending to be dead to throw off suspicion.

Foreshadowing: The dinner scene hints at Johnson's fate when only his plate is revealed to be safe.

• Mr. Johnson
• fake death
• poisoning
• Fleagle family
• chase
• safety deposit box

Claire Matthews is a woman who arrives claiming to be Bonnie Fleagle, but she is actually Claire in disguise. She explains that her innocent father was maligned by Bonnie Fleagle's father during a bank robbery, destroying his reputation. Claire believes that retrieving the hidden $70,000 will prove her father's innocence and restore his good name, which is why she stays to help Pete.

Foreshadowing: Claire's true identity is revealed early, establishing her as an ally with personal stakes in the outcome.

• Claire Matthews
• Bonnie Fleagle
• bank robbery
• false accusation
• $70000
• father

Pete notices that all the plates except one glow with a strange light, revealing that they have been laced with poison. This allows him to identify Mr. Johnson's plate as the only safe one. The glowing effect is the visual clue that exposes the Fleagles' assassination attempt during dinner.

Foreshadowing: The glowing plates moment earlier foreshadows the family's murderous intentions throughout the film.

• poison
• dinner
• glowing plates
• Mr. Johnson
• Fleagle family
• escape

Grandma Fleagle refuses to reveal the location of the $70,000 because she knows the family poisoned her and wants the money stolen from them. She claims she has been slowly poisoned by Bonnie and her father, the people who stole the money in the first place. By keeping the location secret, she ensures they never get access to the fortune.

Foreshadowing: Grandma's refusal to reveal the money's location drives much of the film's conflict and motivates the family's schemes.

• Grandma Fleagle
• $70000
• poisoning
• stolen money
• family secrets
• inheritance

The real Bonnie Fleagle breaks out of prison specifically to claim her share of the hidden loot. Rather than fighting Pete, she decides to help him decode the cryptic song because she knows the money rightfully belongs to her family. Her knowledge of the song's meaning proves crucial in guiding Claire to the safety deposit box key.

Foreshadowing: Bonnie's escape from prison marks a turning point that finally unlocks the song's true meaning.

• Bonnie Fleagle
• prison escape
• cryptic song
• safety deposit box
• key
• $70000

Pete and Claire lure the pursuing Fleagle family members, including the supposed-dead Mr. Johnson, through the mansion's hidden passageways. They lead each pursuer to a hay baling machine and drop them one by one into the grinding mechanism. The cartoonish trap eliminates the threat, allowing Pete and Claire to escape with the recovered money from the safety deposit box.

Foreshadowing: The secret corridors introduced earlier become the setting for the film's climactic escape sequence.

• hay baling machine
• escape
• hidden passageways
• Fleagle family
• chase
• $70000

Hector Smedley was the original surveyor that Pete was sent to find. The summary establishes that he disappeared while investigating the Fleagle family, likely meeting a dark fate at their hands. His disappearance serves as Pete's entry point into the dangerous situation, though the film never explicitly reveals his ultimate fate.

Foreshadowing: Smedley's disappearance establishes the deadly nature of the Fleagle family from the start.

• Hector Smedley
• missing surveyor
• Fleagle family
• investigation