The Crosby Case

1934's "The Crosby Case" is among Universal's finest whodunits (on par with "Bombay Mail," both superior to "Secret of the Château"), beginning quickly with the murder of a shady doctor, staggering in front of a moving cab, but later revealed to have been shot. There are no superfluous subplots, as even the comic relief is supplied by Warren Hymer's cab driver suspect, with others essayed by Onslow Stevens, Edward Van Sloan, and John Wray. The solution may come as a surprise, but seems perfectly logical, a fast moving, satisfactory 60 minutes. Top billing goes to forgotten actress Wynne Gibson (whose last film came in 1943), whose scarlet woman character apparently received an abortion through the late doctor, a plot device soon to disappear from cinema screens with the new censorship laws just going into effect when this feature was released. Alan Dinehart does well as the witty Inspector, and unbilled roles are played by Walter Brennan, Leon Ames, Harold Huber, and Paul Fix. Never part of Universal's SHOCK! television package from the late 50s, "The Crosby Case" nonetheless appeared twice on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, Sept 17 1977 (following 1943's "The Mad Ghoul") and June 18 1983 (solo).