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The Missing Corpse

Name: The Missing Corpse
Director: Albert Herman
Released: 1945
Duration: 62 min

Representation Score

1.7/10

Minimal

1945

Passed

Director

Albert Herman

Runtime

62 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film is a product of mid-1940s genre conventions, emphasizing slapstick humor and plot mechanics over social commentary. The narrative centers on male competition and physical comedy involving a corpse. Since the story revolves around a professional rivalry among men, it lacks meaningful representation of women, diverse racial groups, or LGBTQ+ identities. It adheres strictly to the social structures of its time. Ultimately, the film serves as a standard mystery-comedy that restores order through identifying a killer, without challenging broader social hierarchies or exploring diverse perspectives.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Missing Corpse have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film centers on a rivalry between male newspapermen and a chauffeur. There is no indication of LGBTQ+ identities or same-sex relationships.

How does The Missing Corpse portray gender?

Limited

The story is driven by male characters, and women have little influence over the plot. Female characters are largely absent from the main action.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Missing Corpse?

Limited

The cast is predominantly white, reflecting the homogeneous casting practices of 1945. There are no non-white characters who play significant roles in the story.

How does The Missing Corpse represent religion and culture?

Fair

The story uses a zany comedic framework to solve a crime. It follows traditional mystery genre conventions without offering any social critique.

Does The Missing Corpse include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no mention of characters with visible or invisible disabilities in the synopsis.

Present on Screen

The film offers a clear, genre-driven mystery-comedy structure centered on a high-stakes comedic error.

Limited or Absent

The narrative lacks meaningful female roles and diverse representation across gender, race, and sexual orientation.
The film reinforces mid-century social homogeneity by focusing almost exclusively on a male-dominated professional rivalry.

Official Synopsis

A feud between rival newspapermen Kruger (Bromberg) and McDonald (Guilfoyle) goes deadly when blackmailing McDonald ends up murdered and his corpse planted in the trunk of Kruger's car. Good guy Kruger attempts to hide McDonald's body, with the help of chauffeur Hogan (Jenks), to keep from being charged with murder. However, zany scenarios occur as the body just won't stay hidden, and keeps on popping up in multiple places where Kruger is located, leading to him hiding the body again and again while Kruger tries to find the real killer.

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