The Devil's Mask

The "I Love A Mystery" films from Columbia were all based on a radio program of that name and each of them was made into very entertaining mysteries, the sort that Columbia was able to churn out on a tight budget with directors like Henry Levin.

This is the most gripping mystery in the batch, full of ingredients that will have you guessing from beginning to end just how all the loose ends will be tied up.

It starts off with the shrunken heads discovered when a plane crashes en route from California to Columbia, and then the plot includes a missing explorer who has possibly been murdered, an anxious wife afraid that someone is trying to kill her (MONA BARRIE), a young woman and her fiancé (ANITA LOUISE and MICHAEL DUANE)who resent being followed by detectives, and the detectives hired to cover the case (JIM BANNON and BARTON YARBOROUGH). Also in the mix: a restless black panther and the weird owner of a taxidermist shop (PAUL E. BURNS).

Nicely photographed in crisp B&W with appropriate set decorations, it has the look of a better than average programmer from Coumbia (not Republic, as another comment suggests).

Guaranteed to surprise and entertain, it's well worth watching.

Jack Packard, (Jim Bannon) plays the role with a duo of private investigators concerning a shrunken head found on the ruins of a crashed plane traveling from California to Latin America. There are many investigations among head hunters in the jungle and people being killed with deadly blow guns. There are family members who all mistrust each other and lots of mysterious people who appear to be the killers. Janet Mitchell, (Anita Louise) gave an outstanding performance and gave some romance to this black and white low budget film from 1946. Found this film to be rather boring and the story goes around and around in circles and never seems to end. However, this series was an old time radio show starring Jim Bannon which entertained many people during the radio era.

Second in the I Love a Mystery series sees Jack Packard (Jim Bannon) and Doc Long (Barton Yarborough) investigating a mystery involving a missing man, shrunken heads, and blow guns. Yarborough is at his "good ole boy" best, for those who enjoy him. Bannon is not bad but not exciting. Very ordinary. Anita Louise is irritating throughout the picture. Terribly overwrought performance. The best thing about this series were the nice atmospheric moments. The usage of supernatural or bizarre elements helps separate it from most other B detective films. The killer is pretty easily figured out, though the motivation was pretty cool. Anita Louise's hysterics are the worst part of the movie. Still a decent way to spend an hour and change.

The Devil's Mask tries very hard to be an entertaining suspense thriller, and in some scenes it accomplishes its task. However, when a decent plot becomes too convoluted and unlikely, it defeats the whole purpose of sustaining suspense and believability. Too many subplots spoil the broth. The tale of a shrunken head found in a plane crash is pretty bizarre in itself, but adding several subplots to the event causes it to lose steam. The actors and director do their best, but a weak script is something that few actors or directors were ever able to overcome. This is one of the weaker entries of the "I Love a Mystery" series. Skip this one and watch a few of the others.

We too often forget that director Heny Levin began his career at Columbia pictures directing such small budget movies. This one belongs to the I LOVE A MYSTERY list, several horror mystery features, under one hour length. A bit talkative, I admit, but also providing a pretty good atmosphere. Not the one Val Lewton's production made, though. This one is Ok, thanks to this atmosphere, no matter the story itself. Henry Levin will become famous with his VOYAGE TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, his masterpiece, and several other adventure action movies, finishing with "beach" flicks in the early sixties.