Mystery Classics: 50 Movie Pack [12 Discs]

Editorial Reviews

Something of a reaction to the anti-Communist propaganda films that Hollywood was then producing, Jigsaw stands up for those who resist Fascism -- but it does so no more artfully and only slightly less obviously than do the propaganda films that seem to have inspired it. This is a problem in and of itself, but many who are in sympathy with the film's point of view will gladly overlook this. What is more difficult to overlook is the extremely muddy screenplay, which is disjointed in the extreme. Things are not helped by as sloppy a job of editing as one is likely to see outside of a home movie, or by Fletcher Markle's by-the-book direction. Jigsaw does benefit from a good cast, with Franchot Tone very effective in the lead role, and excellent support from Jean Wallace, Marc Lawrence and Myron McCormick. The best performance, however, comes from the obscure Winifred Lenihan, who quietly works wonders with what she is given and leaves one wondering why she didn't make more films. Less effective is the parade of cameos by the likes of Henry Fonda, Marlene Dietrich, Burgess Meredith and John Garfield, which have the effect of pulling one totally out of the story. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi A huge disappointment to modern Bela Lugosi fans when it first appeared in video stores in the early 1980s, Murder by Television doesn't even have the camp appeal of most independent schlock films of the 1930s. Badly directed, acted and deficient in all technical areas, the little thriller remains a complete time-waster if not for a sprightly (if slightly prejudiced) performance by Hattie McDaniel, who even gets to perform a few bars of a jazzy (but un-credited) blues number. Or, to be more precise, at least she does in the odd surviving print not butchered by 1930s censors. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi Bulldog Drummond's Revenge, truth be told, is guilty of misleading the viewer. Although the venerable Captain Drummond does appear in the film, and once again in the person of the stolid John Howard, he avenges himself on absolutely no one. Having said that, this nifty little action-adventure from Paramount remains typical of its day: fast-paced, well-acted (especially by the always interesting John Barrymore), and deftly skirting the issue of exactly who the enemy is. Is it Japan (character names such as Nogais and Sumio Kanda certainly point in that direction) or Nazi Germany? The wily Paramount kept the identity hidden lest the studio should lose important foreign markets. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi The Second Woman is an intriguing if frustrating little thriller -- frustrating because it verges on being very good but settles for being merely OK. Part of the problem is that Woman combines elements of various styles -- film noir, psychological drama, mystery, thriller, romance -- but doesn't meld them into a satisfying whole. Some may also have a problem with Robert Young's extremely subdued performance as Jeff Cohalan. While Young is actually doing some very careful, nuanced work, the manner in which he underplays -- which is exactly what is demanded by the screenplay -- may preclude sufficient involvement on the part of the viewer. As Ellen Foster, Betsy Drake gamely tries to make up for this, but occasionally comes across as pushing too hard. James Kern should be lauded for his attempts to create mood and atmosphere, and for his considerable success in this area, but he should also be criticized for letting the pace flag in spots and for not finding a consistent tone for the piece. The story is, fortunately, rather fascinating and keeps the audience quite involved, even when the dialogue is a bit simplistic. All in all, The Second Woman is a good attempt that is worth watching, even if it falls short of reaching its goals. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi Although Terror by Night is not the best of the Universal Sherlock Holmes films, it does feature one of the more convoluted plots in the series; indeed, whereas many of the other entries concentrate on action or step-by-step plots that progress in a logical fashion, Terror is essentially concerned with keeping viewers guessing as to the identity of the jewel thief and in keeping them off guard as it does so. It does this rather well, even if it "cheats" a bit by not always providing sufficient information -- and director Roy William Neill does an excellent job of capturing small moments, grimaces, and gestures that manage to manipulate the audience's suspicions very nicely. And, of course, Basil Rathbone continues to be in tiptop form as Holmes, with the usual solid support from Nigel Bruce's amusingly befuddled Watson and a very capable supporting cast. Indeed, Terror's only real flaw is that it has comes so late in the series that a slight bit of ennui has set in; there's a tinge of "been there, done that," nothing so overt that it derails Terror, but just enough to dampen its effectiveness slightly. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi Having nothing in common with the famous Arthur Conan Doyle story other than its title and lead characters, A Study in Scarlet is a rather disappointing Sherlock Holmes adventure. Still, completists should see it, if for no other reason than to see what they think of Reginald Owen as Holmes. Owen, who had played Dr. Watson only a year earlier, is not ideal casting. He doesn't have the same sharp features generally associated with the part and, because this is a modern-dress version, doesn't don the familiar costume either. However, physical appearance counts for little with Holmes; it's the performance that matters. Owen is, to these eyes and ears, rather wan; one doesn't believe him to have the acumen that the character must possess. While he does come across as somewhat more humane than others in the part, this doesn't make up for the lack of a truly commanding presence. Much better is Anna May Wong, who is a delightful villainess; the rest of the cast are passable, but no more. The screenplay is predictable, with few surprises for real fans of the mystery genre. There's some moodiness from director Edwin L. Marin, but little real atmosphere. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi A so-called film historian once listed Dick Tracy Vs. Cueball among the "Fifty Worst Films of All Time." Pay absolutely no notice! A delightful whodunit very much in the spirit of Chester Gould's original comic strip, this sometimes rather violent humdinger of a Grade-B film shouldn't be found on any "Worst Films" list at all and is actually more entertaining than Warren Beatty's critically acclaimed but over-produced blockbuster of 1990. Here are deliciously juicy performances by Ian Keith as Vitamin Flintheart, a character very much based on the latter-day John Barrymore; Esther Howard as the old waterfront hag Filthy Flora; and, of course, Dick Wessel as the rampaging title character, whose eventual demise remains a shocker. Although not popular with contemporary audiences, Morgan Conway's Tracy is actually considered the definitive version by some notable modern aficionados and if he doesn't quite resemble his comic strip alter ego, Conway's jaw-punching portrayal is perhaps closer to Gould's no-nonsense crime fighter than competitors Ralph Byrd and Warren Beatty. Anne Jeffreys, meanwhile, repeats her spirited Tess Truehart from Dick Tracy and Lyle Latell adds his usual bumbling comic by-play as sidekick Pat Patton. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi The main problem with Universal's otherwise generally delightful Sherlock Holmes thrillers is that most armchair sleuths often are miles ahead of the supposedly so-eminent detective. And so it is with The Woman in Green, the solution to whose conundrum is never too taxing. Happily, this entry also features the unflappable Basil Rathbone matching wits with Henry Daniell, perhaps his only equal in unflappable Hollywood cool. You can cut the chill between these adversaries with a knife this time around and not even the bumbling Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) is able to ruin the built-up tension. As for Hillary Brooke in the title role, she is as statuesque and unruffled as ever. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi Mystery/detective film fans will have a great time with The Man on the Eiffel Tower -- but so will those who aren't necessarily devotees of the genre. Eiffel is a real corker of a movie, the kind of film that's a lot of fun to watch and is put together so well that one is unlikely to notice the holes in it, and likely to not care even if one does notice them. Harry Brown's screenplay moves swiftly from one moment to the next, artfully filling each scene with just the right amount of information, delivered in ways that are often simple and straightforward but always effective. As director, Burgess Meredith has done an excellent job of pulling the elements together, keeping the pace fast without it being hurried, and distracting the viewer from concentrating too hard on any plot tangents that might prove troublesome if they are examined too closely. He's also given cinematographer Stanley Cortez ample opportunity to photograph the city of Paris, and his work is simply stunning; the location shooting shows the city off to great effect but without turning the film into a travelogue -- and the work on the Eiffel Tower itself is first-rate. (If possible, catch the film in a clean print; the gorgeous colors in many versions are criminally washed out.) The cast is also in great form, with Charles Laughton a perfect Maigret and a haggard Franchot Tone a marvelous villain. Director Meredith also directs himself with skill, and the supporting cast is quite fine. Although not unknown, Eiffel is not as familiar with viewers as it well deserves to be. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi Despite the presence of Bela Lugosi, David Manners, and Edward Van Sloan, all veterans of Dracula (1930), The Death Kiss is not a horror flick, although Sono Art-World Wide Pictures' original art copy certainly hinted that it was. Instead we have a whodunit set in a movie studio, which is certainly interesting enough. Said studio is actually the old Tiffany Productions, which at the time had entered into partnership with Sono Art. With language-mangling Alexander Carr as the studio boss, a harried director (Van Sloan), and a glamorous but headstrong star (played by glamorous but headstrong Adrienne Ames), The Death Kiss is also a sly parody of Hollywood in general. Bela Lugosi plays it straight, however, and is of course highly suspicious. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi Too Late for Tears is a low-budget film noir that, if not quite a real gem, is a mighty good cubic zirconia. Coincidence is a noir staple, a not surprising fact when you consider that so many of these films deal on one level or another with the inexorability of fate; but some may find the level of coincidence in Tears a little off-putting. The screenplay also gets a little talky in places; this in itself is not bad, but the dialogue just misses having that little extra punch and crackle that the best noirs pride themselves on. Still, these little deficiencies don't seriously damage the film; and the plot, basic set-up and characters more than make up for these flaws. Also of considerable help are the performances of crime film staples Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea. Deep-voiced and throaty, Scott can always be counted on to give a femme fatale her all, but she goes all out in the role of Jane Palmer, using her many considerable wiles to great effect and creating a character that the viewer can't help but root for, even as he waits for her to get her comeuppance. Duryea matches her as Danny Fuller, the tough guy who finds he's out of his depth with Jane. Arthur Kennedy is fine as husband Alan Palmer, but Don DeFore is a bit weak as Don Blake, the mysterious stranger claiming to be a friend; a stronger personality is needed to hold the screen against Scott. Byron Haskin directs with skill and creates fine tension and atmosphere, also making good use of location shots. Too Late for Tears is no Double Indemnity, but fans of such films will be delighted to come across it. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi The final entry in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes series Dressed to Kill is not one of the best entries, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. An air of deja vu hangs over Dressed as if we've all seen this before -- which we certainly have. That's a danger with any long-running series, and here it seems as if the writers and director Roy William Neill were simply connecting the dots and coloring by numbers rather than trying to create something special and sparkling. This is especially true with the cavalier manner Holmes displays in regard to the safety of the music box in his possession and in the way in which the detective is so easily tricked; either of these machinations could have been exploited as an opportunity to comment upon the character's egotism, but this opportunity was missed. At least the cast is not to blame, with Rathbone and Bruce turning in their customarily winning performances and a delicious wicked turn from Patricia Morison helping to enliven things. They help make up for most of the film's shortcomings. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi They Made Me a Criminal is an unusual movie, as well as an unusually good movie, on numerous counts. For starters, it is, along with John Huston's version of The Maltese Falcon, one of a handful of Hollywood remakes that are better than the original movies that they followed. Mostly, this comes from John Garfield's excellent performance as Johnny Bradfield/Jack Dorney, the vain, self-centered opportunist who finds a better side of himself at the lowest point in his life -- Garfield is good throughout the movie, but he is brilliant in the scenes in which he is staring adversity and then doom right in the face. He is supported by an excellent cast, including some of the best work ever done by those resident Warner Bros. delinquents the Dead End Kids, with a top-notch performance by Billy Halop as their leader. Along with Angels With Dirty Faces, this was the best of the Warner Bros. movies in which they appeared. Also notable were a pair of fine, earthy, lusty performances by Gloria Dickson and May Robson, as the two women who come to believe in Garfield's character. For most viewers the only weak link was Claude Rains as Detective Phelan -- most viewers find it hard to accept Rains as a tough New York detective, but he is sincere in his performance and suppresses his accent sufficiently to pull off the portrayal, despite some apparently awkward moments with the role. The movie was also extraordinary as the final Warner Bros. film of Busby Berkeley, who had begged and cajoled the studio for non-musical projects and so they gave him this film, a remake of the 1933 drama The Life of Jimmy Dolan. Berkeley ran with it, turning the movie into a showcase for more than half a dozen actors and even making room for a notably sympathetic performance from Louis Jean Heydt, playing a would-be boxer who is even more desperate for money than Dorney. Berkeley applied his skills at visual presentation, acquired in numerous musicals, to the fight sequence at the movie's climax with memorably brutal results. The movie was also one of the last of the major Warner Bros. movies to deal with the consequences of the Great Depression -- by 1940-1941, in the wake of the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe, and the gradual move toward re-armament of the United States, the lingering traces of unemployment would be forgotten; seen today They Made Me a Criminal offers a last look back at an impoverished but still resourceful America of the late '30s. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi Quicksand is one of the most harrowing examples of film noir ever made, and also one of the more fascinating social documents of its era. Mickey Rooney (who financed this film with Peter Lorre and saw both his and Lorre's shares of the profits stolen by their third partner) gives the best performance of his career as a well-meaning but not too bright schlub who finds himself sinking ever deeper into a maze of theft and assault, and even murder. Director Irving Pichel shows a fine eye for detail in both the performances and the action. Much of the movie was shot in actual locations on the sleazy Southern California amusement piers where it was set; additionally, the characters in the film, especially the men, act and talk like real guys, not characters in a movie -- the dialogue and the banter, and even the way they stand and interact with each other, all feels real and harsh. One gets a vivid sense of the texture of working-class life during that period, long enough after World War II for fun and games, and an easygoing approach to life, but with an underlying unease reflecting the era of Korea, the Red Scare, and the uncertainty lying just below the surface of American life. Indeed, the nature of the story and the dark, shadowy treatment of so much of the action seems to be an unsettling commentary on the fragility of the stability of life, made even more compelling by the accepted optimism of the era. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi Kansas City Confidential's B-movie roots are abundantly clear, but that doesn't keep it from being an effective little excursion into the world of film noir. Indeed, in some strange way, its cheapness adds to its effectiveness; its protagonist, after all, is a cheap ex-con who has to get by on his wits and his fists, in the same way that director Phil Karlson had to use his limited resources. And both the protagonist and Karlson are fully committed to getting what they aim for, even when they aren't 100 percent sure what it is. The screenplay has a great heist gimmick, a clever premise that sets everything in motion; but too soon, it starts stretching credibility, and a lot of the twists and doubling back seems to be there because the writers didn't know what else to do rather than because they were what the story specifically needed. Karlson doesn't care, though; if part of the plot is a little contrived, he just employs one of his trademark super close-ups to invest it with supposed meaning. If a confrontation lacks a little sense, he frames those involved in such a way as to emphasize the power struggle and force some sense into the scene. Karlson's cast helps, with great bad guy turns from the likes of Preston S. Foster and Lee Van Cleef and a terribly appealing good girl job from the stunning Coleen Gray. John Payne, in the lead, is the question mark, as he tends toward the bland; but his work here is solid, and the very fact that he has no established screen persona keeps us guessing about what he's up to and whether he'll succeed. Kansas City Confidential's flaws keep it from being a classic, but it's a lot of fun. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi Eyes in the Night turns on a gimmick, that of a blind detective, which premise has been used in books, TV and films a number of times. Although its use in Eyes requires a stretching of belief in some cases, it is used mostly effectively here, helping to add interest to a screenplay that is otherwise nothing more than a routine thriller. It's put together well enough, but with little to distinguish it other than its gimmick. That Eyes manages to stand out slightly is due more to its cast and director than it script. Edward Arnold is quite good as the detective, using his imposing girth to good effect and letting that distinctive growl of a voice lend force to simple statements. Arnold's bulldog face is a bit more relaxed here than in many of his filsm, but he's still an imposing presence. He gets solid support from Ann Harding, Donna Reed and his quite good dog, Friday. In his second feature, Fred Zinnemann is competent and assured. He is not yet in a position to really make a mark, but his work keeps the picture moving and involving -- and his "in the dark" shoot-out is really quite inventively done. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi Based on a true story, He Walked By Night (1948) transcends its B-movie origins through a combination of crime-fighting realism and starkly stylish film noir visuals. Directed by Alfred L. Werker and an uncredited Anthony Mann for Poverty Row studio Eagle-Lion, the documentary-style voiceover narration and emphasis on Los Angeles police procedure, especially by Jack Webb's evidence expert, tautly builds suspense from the real-life (and then-newfangled) tools of police investigation, rather than from excessive heroics or emotionality. Cinematographer John Alton's deep focus shots, chiaroscuro nocturnal lighting, and oblique camera angles match the inner menace of Richard Basehart's intelligent and unbalanced cop killer, and they help orchestrate a climactic chase through the Los Angeles storm drain system that rivals the sewer sequence in The Third Man (1949). Part of a wave of 1940s semi-documentary crime movies that included progenitor The House on 92nd Street (1945), Kiss of Death (1947), and Elia Kazan's Boomerang! (1947), He Walked By Night inspired Webb to create his "just the facts, ma'am" Dragnet series on radio and TV. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi If you can get past racial slurs such as the description of several murdered Chinese as "better dead than alive" or the likening of Asian people to monkeys, Bela Lugosi's thick Hungarian accent, and some inconsequential jabbering between Wallace Ford and Arline Judge, Mysterious Mr. Wong may be for you. If not, you're in for a long, tedious tour of a backstage Chinatown peopled by the likes of the aforementioned Mr. Lugosi, Edward Peil and Fred Warren, in other words, low-budget Hollywood actors in bad Oriental get-up. Mysterious Mr. Wong, incidentally, has nothing in common with the later series of surprisingly clever whodunits starring Boris Karloff. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi Like other films in the series, Nancy Drew, Reporter seems to be drawn not so much from the popular Carolyn Keene series of mystery novels as from bits and pieces of other, often much better films. Thus, Bonita Granville's interpretation of the title character, while winning and appropriate in the context of the film, has almost nothing in common with the Nancy of the books. Instead, she's a generic teenager as filtered through a celluloid lens -- energetic, bubbly, impulsive, dramatic, wholesome, naive, and somewhat flighty. Ted is a malleable piece of putty for Nancy's hands, more comic relief than romantic interest. And Mary and Killer come across as slightly older refugees from an Our Gang short. The plot is also fairly standard issue, and can easily be stopped to allow this quartet of kids to literally sing for their supper in a sequence that has nothing to do with the film. Still, in spite of all this, Reporter is pretty good "cute" entertainment, and a step up from the first entry in the Nancy Drew series. The story is a bit more involving, the sequence in which Nancy changes the letter sign the hotel sign is effective, the basic overall premise of a journalism contest is fine, and the younger kids' fireworks shenanigans are actually worked into the story's outcome. The direction is fast and fairly fluid, and if Ted's boxing impersonation and Tweedy's cross-dressing don't make much sense, they're still amusing. All in all, average but enjoyable. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi Usually dismissed as a poor man's Charlie Chan and a blot on the career of Boris Karloff, the opener of the 1938-1940 Monogram series is actually a well-acted and quite suspenseful whodunit. Only this time around, the "who" is not nearly as important as the "how" and the denouement proves startlingly simple and logical, at least if one is willing to employ "pulp fiction logic." Although made up to look vaguely Asian (not too difficult a task), Karloff eschews the stereotypical cadences and cute sayings of those rival Asian sleuths Mr. Moto and Charlie Chan and is thus rather more believable than either. The rest of the cast behaves as you would expect, including Grant Withers, who appeared in five of the six films as the ubiquitous dumb police detective. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi Boris Karloff's unforgettable visage was always larger than life and his stalking appearance in Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome remains very much in the spirit of Chester Gould's comic strip. Gone, however, are most of the noir touches that lifted the three previous films out of the rut. Like Karloff's presence, the freezing gas is much in line with Gould's latter-day story-telling but that too is more mindful of action serials than hard-boiled detective fiction. The climax, where Boris Karloff almost becomes the victim of a runaway conveyor-belt, also points in that direction. By 1947, a bit of mental fatigue had set in and instead of fully developed supporting villains, RKO made do with punning character names such as Dr. A. Tomic, Dr. I.M. Learned, L.E. Thal, and Y. Stuffum. The last appears on a sign advertising a taxidermist! ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi Impact is a well-told crime drama distinguished by good performances from a veteran cast. Even when playing romantic leads or all-around heroes, Brian Donlevy brought a terse gruffness to his work that added a valuable level of realism. Here he strikes a nice internal-conflict balance as the husband wronged. Rejecting revenge as motivation, Donlevy's character is more interested in rebuilding his own life. Where film noir is often concerned with fatalism and justice in the more karmic sense, "happy ending" crime stories like Impact offer the comfortable reassurance that the organizational structures of society will somehow find a way to set free the innocent and punish the guilty. The film has many parallels to Busby Berkeley's They Made Me a Criminal made ten years earlier in 1939. Both protagonists are wronged by those closest to them. Both are involved in accidents and presumed dead. Both face criminal charges if they are discovered. Both find the love of a good woman. Both are pursued by a principled investigator. Only at the endings do the stories substantially diverge, and even there, both stories give the audience an upbeat finish. The black-and-white cinematography in Impact is undermined by frequent use of daytime exterior shots. Ernest Laszlo was a fine technical cinematographer whose visual style varied depending on what director he was working with. The director here is Arthur Lubin, an efficient craftsman not noted for much in the way of style. Lubin hit success that same year with Francis, a comedy about a talking mule. For much of the remainder of his career, Lubin stayed busy with the Francis sequels and other lightweight animal-oriented projects. While Impact misses out on story originality and cinematic atmosphere, it finds strength in its supporting performances. The much-underrated Ella Raines keeps the film's sometimes sluggish second half moving forward. Charles Coburn, as the investigator, plays pretty much the same character that he did in many of his films. He's good enough that the act doesn't go stale. The best treat is the all-too-brief performance of silent movie favorite Anna May Wong. She's excellent in what few scenes she has. Regrettably, her motion picture career had effectively ended some years earlier and she would appear in only two more films before dying in 1961. Overall, Impact lacks the sustaining energy to attain great classic status, but does its work adequately enough maintain interest and elevate it above many crime dramas of the late '40s. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi Frank Sinatra stars as a jittery presidential assassin in this unpretentious B-movie which features fine work by Sterling Hayden and James Gleason. The lesser known of the two films involving the singer which were withdrawn from distribution after the death of JFK -- the other is the brilliant The Manchurian Candidate -- it also deals with an attempted presidential assassination, while offering a more conventional portrait of cold-war hysteria and '50s conformity. Particularly in its suggestion that Nancy Gates' war widow character is a helpless creature badly in need of protection from the local cop, it's very much of its time. While its confinement to one set and workmanlike direction give the project the feel of a photographed play, the principal characters are fleshed-out well enough to be compelling for the brief running time of the film. Sinatra is excellent as the paranoid, embittered WWII vet who leads the team of hired assassins, Gleason has one of his best parts as a wily retiree who understands how to exploit the chinks in the killer's psyche, and Hayden is solid in a lesser role. ~ Michael Costello, Rovi German-American master Fritz Lang produced and directed this gritty film noir for Universal Pictures, notable as the first Hollywood feature in which the real criminal goes unpunished. When a mild-mannered cashier (Edward G. Robinson) becomes enamored with an amoral woman (Joan Bennett), she ensnares him in an embezzlement scheme which leads to a murder. Her lover is fingered and executed for the murder, while Robinson's character gets off free. Lang's daring, almost assaultive imagery divided critics and audiences who might have expected less Gothic melodrama. Robinson and Bennett are chilling villains in an era when it was rare not to tack on a happy, or at least moralistic, ending. The script was adapted by Dudley Nichols from a French play filmed by Jean Renoir as La Chienne. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi The last of the Sherlock Holmes films to star Arthur Wontner as the famous detective, Murder at the Baskervilles is a moderately entertaining divertissement, especially for those who have never had the pleasure of encountering Wontner's Holmes. Physically, one could hardly ask for better casting, but fortunately Wontner's dramatic portrayal is every bit as effective. If he lacks the delicious fire of Jeremy Brett's or a bit of the quiet intensity of Basil Rathbone's, he still possesses a charm of his own and definitely knows when to underplay and when to go for the kill. His Watson, Australian actor Ian Fleming, is also quite good, but Lyn Harding's Moriarty is woefully lacking the sheer essence of evil that the character requires, coming across as no more dangerous than any standard issue gangster of the period. Murder is further hurt by a meandering story (brought about by padding the original short story) and the pointless dragging in of characters from The Hound of the Baskervilles. Thomas Bentley's direction is adequate, but not enough to cover the fact that the film is a low budget affair; the lighting is often poor, some sets are seriously cardboard, and the editing is often haphazard. Still, as long as Wontner is on screen, it provides a decent amount of entertainment. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi Although he bears little physical resemblance to Chester Gould's comic strip hero, Morgan Conway plays Dick Tracy with a tough no-nonsense approach worthy of Humphrey Bogart and his is perhaps the closest screen interpretation of any comic strip-to-movie character, Warren Beatty's Tracy version included. Thanks to director William Berke and cameraman Frank Redman, Dick Tracy has much of the same feel as a typical 1940s noir. At the same time, and although he is a creation of the RKO writers, Mike Mazurki's Splitface fully adheres to Gould's archetype villainy. Anne Jeffreys' Tess Truehart and Lyle Latell's Pat Patton are also perfect casting and the RKO stock company provides plenty of atmosphere. There are quite a few interesting camera angles at work here and the famous brownstone set from such films as The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) and Cat People (1943) adds production gloss to what essentially is a lower-grade B-picture. Audiences never warmed up to Morgan Conway's interpretation, however, and the final two films in the series starred the original serial Dick Tracy, Ralph Byrd. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi By the time this third entry in the Topper series came around, the characters and basic situation had become well enough established that a slight change of pace was needed, so Topper Returns goes the "old dark house" route -- with delightful results. True, Returns doesn't have the same charm as the original, largely because the inimitable Cary Grant is missing, and it's neither as fresh nor as surprising as the first; but Returns offers a nice variation on the haunted house theme, and the "find my killer" plot is a nice change of pace for the series. Returns doesn't become so concerned with its plot that it forgets to stint on the laughs, however; indeed, Returns probably contains more moments of sheer laughter than the original. If this sequel is ultimately somewhat less successful, it's because many of those laughs come out of left field, jokes that are tangential to or unsupported by the plot, or that come at the expense of character consistency. Returns also boasts a first-rate cast, with Roland Young and Billie Burke inhabiting the Toppers like a pair of comfortable old shoes and Joan Blondell providing some sassy, wisecracking spice. Carole Landis looks lovely, and the supporting cast of character actors delivers exactly what they're supposed to deliver. Returns is not Topper, but it's an extremely enjoyable little film nevertheless. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi It is a sad duty to report that The Shadow Strikes, the first of four projected whodunits based on the popular comic strip, is played strictly for laughs. Which is a shame because silent screen matinee idol Rod La Roque makes a dashing hero and all the ingredients for a good crime thriller are present, including the main character's yen for disguises. But La Roque is soundly defeated by a lackluster script, a tired-looking supporting cast, and a parsimonious budget, and "The Shadow" had to wait almost 50 years to earn a vehicle at least somewhat worthy of his talents. Not surprisingly, small-scale Colony Pictures cancelled the projected series after only one sequel, International Crime (1938). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon is an enjoyable entry in the Holmes series, although it suffers more than most of the Universal pictures from being moved to modern times. Some of the other modern Holmes movies merely seem to have placed Holmes and Watson into then-contemporary clothing and given them a few 20th century props, but Secret Weapon is drenched in the 1940s, with Nazis, secret weapons, and bombed out buildings seemingly at every turn. All this is distracting, but it doesn't do fatal damage to the film, which is quite a lot of fun. True, it plays up the action and adventure aspect at the expense of good old-fashioned sleuthing and deducing, but this proves quite diverting. The screenplay is a bit slapdash, and viewers may be unconvinced that Moriarty would fall for Holmes' ploy for disposing of him, but it's such a nifty method that most viewers will overlook this. Indeed, Secret Weapon has some sort of secret charm of its own that makes it easy to overlook its flaws and just sit back and enjoy this rousing little adventure. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi John Barrymore has himself a high old time in Bulldog Drummond Comes Back, donning several colorful disguises, including an old seadog and a derelict Limehouse dweller, and merrily letting the audience in on the joke. Barrymore, we are told, paid little attention to his screen assignments at this late stage in his long career and mainly let the chips fall where they may. The chips this time fell on rather ancient burlesque routines and Barrymore's delight is evident. For being such a good sport, presumably, the venerable thespian earned star billing above nominal leading man John Howard, who had replaced the more substantial Ray Milland in the title role. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi Poor "blonde dumbbell" Alice White was often given short shrift by bluenosed reviewers who found her coarse, but she is really quite amusing in this above-average whodunit from Tiffany Productions, which came with surprisingly sturdy production values and a good screenplay by W. Scott Darling and director Frank R. Strayer. So good, in fact, that Darling used it again in 1939 as Mr. Wong in Chinatown and for the 1947 Charlie Chan mystery The Chinese Ring. Neither of the remakes, however, employed White, whose starring career fizzled in the early '30s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi The Kennel Murder Case was the fifth film in the Philo Vance series, but it's easily the best of the bunch, and it proved influential in encouraging the production of other intricate, challenging mystery films. Directed with crispness and efficiency by the reliable Michael Curtiz, the film is a good example of the high production standards of Warner Bros. in its post-silent era. The script is a solid whodunit packed with interesting characters, well-performed and impeccably cast. Much of the verbosity of S. S. Van Dine's novel is missing from Kennel Murder Case, making for a briskly told story. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi The 1932 adaptation of the classic Sherlock Holmes mystery, The Sign of Four, is overall only adequate, but it's worth seeing if for no other reason than to get Arthur Wontner's take on the lead character. Wontner is not as satisfying as such later interpreters as Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett, but his is a fine and worthy one that makes for a nice change. He's appropriately shrewd and clever and displays a surprising amount of energy, as well as a nice touch of smugness. On the debit side, he's a bit too snide with Watson, although scenarist W.P. Lipscomb paints the character as such a slow witted fellow that it's easy to sympathize. The screenplay untangles the storytelling of the novel, thus reducing the tension and the suspense a bit, but it is otherwise pretty faithful. The sound is quite poor, which will be a problem for many viewers. Director Graham Cutts handles some sequences rather well, such as the warehouse scene, but he muddies others. Ian Hunter is fine as Watson, ditto Isla Bevan as the lady of the story. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi The Green Glove is a Hitchcock-ian thriller that would have benefited from the master's touch -- as well as from the more generous budgets that Hitchcock would have commanded. It's not that director Rudolph Mate's work is in any way bad; as a matter of fact, there are some moments that are quite good. But Glove needs someone with a vision that is simultaneously larger and more focused than that which Mate brings to this particular project. It also needs someone with the ability to tease out the potentially fascinating story in Charles Bennett's screenplay that is hindered by characters that lack depth and motivations which seem to exist merely to get from one plot point to another. Still, when Mate and Bennett do fuse, as in the marvelous goat path chase, the results are electrifying. Glove is also hindered by a rather ho-hum lead turn from Glenn Ford and a female lead (Geraldine Brooks) who tries hard but never really can find much to do with her part beyond the obvious. Much better are George Macready and, though he has little do, Cedric Hardwicke. Better than anything, however, are the captivating location shooting in Paris and Monte Carlo, vividly captured by cinematographer Claude Renoir. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi Edgar G. Ulmer was one of the very few filmmakers who was able to carve out a distinctive and memorable style while working in the lowest depths of Hollywood's Poverty Row, and he rarely wrung more from less than in Detour. Detour was shot in a mere six days, and one look at the shoddy, minimalist sets or the clumsy, in-the-camera optical effects makes clear that this movie wasn't meant to be anything more than another dingy time-filler from PRC Pictures. But screenwriter Martin G. Goldsmith filled this tawdry crime story with a cheap but expressive poetry (the cynical bite of Tom Neal's narration and Ann Savage's venomous dialogue tapped a well of bitterness rare even in film noir of the period), and Ulmer made the most of it, filling the film with an air of dread and weary hopelessness. Ulmer's bold compositional framings and effective use of visual shorthand gives a real and effective visual style, something few of the hacks at PRC could be bothered with (cameraman Ben Kline certainly helped), and if there's little subtlety in the performances of fatalistic Tom Neal and shrewish Ann Savage, they suit the tone of the screenplay and add to the film's blunt impact. Detour isn't quite the masterwork film cultists sometimes make it out to be, but it's still a darkly fascinating little film that proves the right director could make something powerful and expressive even out of the most shoddy materials available. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi