this, his cinematic "swan song", Browning "revisits obsessive, familiar themes of fake spiritualism, magic acts [and] transformation through disguises..." and, as with virtually all of Browning's explorations of the arts of illusion and the "realms of theatrical magic", his denoumae provides "an impirical solution" to the mystery murder.Miracles for Sale opens with a startling sequence that includes a graphic illusion depicting a "below-the-waist mutilation." Film critic Stuart Rosenthal writes: Despite this "inspired jolt" at the film's outset, Miracles for Sale is the most "studio bound" of Browning's sound oeuvre, and according to film critic Stuart Rosenhal "the only Browning production that really looks like an M-G-M studio job..."Miracles for Sale lost money at the box-office, returning only $39,000 to M-G-M on a $297,000 investment. Critical evaluation was generally positive. By the early 1940s, Browning's macabre sensibilities were no longer welcome in a Hollywood that was striving for "glamour and prestige." Browning was summarily terminated at M-G-M by producer Carey Wilson after the release of Miracles for Sale and was, by the director's own account "blackballed" from Hollywood as a filmmaker. Stephanie Diekmann and Ekkehard Knörer offer this assessment of Browning's final cinematic effort: Film historian Alfred Eaker adds that "the entire structure of Miracles for Sale is an illusion itself, making it a sublime curtain call for the director..." Browning occasionally offered screenplays to M-G-M, but eventually disengaged entirely from the film industry and in 1942 retired to his home in Malibu, California. Final years and death Browning's wife Alice died in 1944 from complications from pneumonia, leaving him a recluse at his Malibu Beach retreat.Herzogenrath, 2006 p. 11: Browning's "wife Alice died" in 1944. By that time Browning had become so isolated from the Hollywood establishment that Variety mistakenly published an obituary that year for Browning, confusing his spouse's death for that of the former director. In 1949, the Directors Guild of America bestowed a life membership on Browning; at the time of his death, the honor had been enjoyed by only four of Browning's colleagues. Browning, now a widower, lived in isolation for almost 20 years, "an alcoholic recluse." In 1962 he was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx. The surgical procedure performed to correct the condition rendered him mute. Tod Browning died alone at his Malibu home on October 6, 1962. Posthumous critical appraisal Vivian Sobchack: "...Browning was sometimes called the Edgar Allan Poe of the cinema'