It is definitely not the actor's fault that this little B-movie from Paramount does not work. The two leads, Lew Ayres and classic Hollywood diva Gail Patrick are both giving good performances, just like most of the supporting cast, especially Onslow Stevens and the ever wonderful Joyce Compton, who is playing yet another lovable blonde. Director Charles Barton does a routine, but OK job, the production values are fine for a B-movie and the story itself also have potential. It all starts with a gangster named Girard (Stevens) receiving a "not guilty" verdict in a murder trial where he was obviously guilty. He throws a party to celebrate, inviting the press, including a brash newspaperman called Kent Murdock, portrayed by Ayres and some acquaintances, like Meg Archer (Gail Patrick).
Murdock leaves the party early to return to his apartment in the same building and just a bit later Girard's lawyer Redfield gets murdered. Meg fleds the scene, thus becoming suspect #1 and somehow ends up in Murdock's room, who decides to hide her and help her clear her name. And that's the point where the movie gets derailed. What ruins it completely is a very poorly written script which isn't just simply weak, but thanks to a couple of inexplicable decisions from either the screenwriter's or the director's part, it will often leave you scratchig your head in confusion and disbelief. These ranges from minor things like a really weird scenes where Lew Ayres takes a shower... with his pants on, to major annoyances, like having the film's climax happen completely off screen. And the whole story gets overcomplicated with unnecessary subplots, too many characters and just too many things going on, while some important elements are simply missing.
Honestly I am not even sure if it really qualifies as a true murder mystery. The viewer knows who the murderer is from the very beginning, so there is no mystery and the screenwriter does not seem to be concerned with the killer's motives either. There is a subplot about the hunt for a photo plate that was taken at the moment the lawyer was murdered, that could reveal the killer's identity and it could be interesting, but it gets lost amongst all the other subplots with some key twists happening off screen yet again. The movie is in public domain, with some fairly good copies online, but it is not really worth the time unless you are a big fan of one of the actors.
Murdock leaves the party early to return to his apartment in the same building and just a bit later Girard's lawyer Redfield gets murdered. Meg fleds the scene, thus becoming suspect #1 and somehow ends up in Murdock's room, who decides to hide her and help her clear her name. And that's the point where the movie gets derailed. What ruins it completely is a very poorly written script which isn't just simply weak, but thanks to a couple of inexplicable decisions from either the screenwriter's or the director's part, it will often leave you scratchig your head in confusion and disbelief. These ranges from minor things like a really weird scenes where Lew Ayres takes a shower... with his pants on, to major annoyances, like having the film's climax happen completely off screen. And the whole story gets overcomplicated with unnecessary subplots, too many characters and just too many things going on, while some important elements are simply missing.
Honestly I am not even sure if it really qualifies as a true murder mystery. The viewer knows who the murderer is from the very beginning, so there is no mystery and the screenwriter does not seem to be concerned with the killer's motives either. There is a subplot about the hunt for a photo plate that was taken at the moment the lawyer was murdered, that could reveal the killer's identity and it could be interesting, but it gets lost amongst all the other subplots with some key twists happening off screen yet again. The movie is in public domain, with some fairly good copies online, but it is not really worth the time unless you are a big fan of one of the actors.