Miracles for Sale

Miracles for Sale
Film poster
Directed by Tod Browning
Screenplay by Harry Ruskin
Marion Parsonnet
James Edward Grant
Based on Death from a Top Hat
by
Clayton Rawson
Produced by J.J. Cohn
Starring Robert Young
Florence Rice
Cinematography Charles Lawton Jr.
Edited by Fredrick Y. Smith
Music by William Axt
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • August 14, 1939
Running time
 71 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Miracles for Sale is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Tod Browning, and starring Robert Young and Florence Rice. It was Browning's final film as a director. The film is based on a locked-room mystery novel by well-known mystery writer Clayton Rawson, Death from a Top Hat, which was the first to feature his series detective The Great Merlini. In this film, Merlini's character has been changed into Michael Morgan (The Amazing Morgan) as portrayed by Robert Young. Don Diavolo, another series character in Rawson's work under his pseudonym, Stuart Towne, appears here as Dave Duvallo.

Plot

In the late 1930s, inactive New York magician Michael "Mike" Morgan (aka "The Amazing Morgan") exposes fraudulent magicians and psychics who prey on the unsuspecting. When demonologist Dr. Sabbat is mysteriously murdered, Mike assists the police in developing suspects which include Tauro and Dave Duvallo - two magicians last seen with Sabbat; a couple named La Claire who perform tricks by telepathy; a psychic named Madame Rapport; and, a young lady named Judy Barkley who is in New York to prevent Madame Rapport from claiming a $25,000 prize offered by a local psychic association.

Cast