MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER

MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER (1946). Director: William Castle.

Elderly Edward Stillwell (Paul E. Burns of The Royal Mounted Rides Again) hires private detective Don Gale (Richard Dix) to find a woman, Elora Lund, that he hasn't seen in several years. Gale is a somewhat shady character, and he has a lady friend, Freda (Helen Mowery), pretend to be Elora so he can get the skinny on just why Stillwell is trying to find the dame. Then the real Elora (Pamela Blake of Highway 13) shows up and Dale keeps tripping over corpses. Seems Elora was left some valuable items that may be worth a fortune ... Mysterious Intruder is one of the movies in the Whistler series, and it is narrated by that unseen character from radio, voiced by Otto Forrest. Dix is fine as the hero, and there are good supporting performances from Mowery; Blake; Nina Vale as Dale's secretary, Joan; Charles Lane and Barton MacLane as cops; Regis Toomey as an apartment manager; and especially Kathleen Howard [First Love] in a flavorful turn as a landlady who looks after Gale's clients when he needs a place to park them. Mysterious Intruder has a good and downbeat ending, but it's still a very minor mystery film. This was the fifth entry in the Columbia series.

Verdict: Some days a guy just doesn't get a break. **.  

THE DEVIL'S MASK

Jim Bannon and Anita Louise

THE DEVIL'S MASK (1946). Director: Henry Levin. Based on a I Love a Mystery radio script.

A plane crashes on its way to South America, and among its cargo is a shrunken head. Meanwhile Janet Mitchell (Anita Louise of The Firebird) is convinced that her father was murdered on a trip into the jungle, and goes to her Uncle Leon (Paul E. Burns) for succor. Her chief suspects are her stepmother Louise (Mona Barrie) and Professor Logan (Frank Wilcox), who are supposedly having an affair. Private eyes Jack Packard (Jim Bannon of Unknown World) and Doc Long (Barton Yarborough) are hired by Louise, who is suspicious of Rex Kennedy (Michael Duane), an alleged gadabout who is keeping company with Janet. Then someone is killed with a Jivaro blow gun ... The Devil's Mask is minor in all departments but it has its intriguing aspects and the acting is okay, with insouciant Duane [The Return of the Whistler] the stand-out. There's some interesting business with the shrunken head as well.

Verdict: Okay, but a better movie with shrunken heads is The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake. **1/2.

THE ROYAL MOUNTED RIDES AGAIN

Distinctive bad guys:Joe Haworth and Danny Morton

THE ROYAL MOUNTED RIDES AGAIN (13 chapter Universal serial/1945). Directors:Lewis D. Collins; Ray Taylor.

Northwestern Canada at the turn of the century. Mine owner Tom Bailey is murdered by Brad Taggart (Milburn Stone), but his employer Jackson Decker (Addison Richards) becomes the chief suspect. Bailey's daughter, June (Daun Kennedy) comes to town to investigate her father's murder, as do mounties Frenchy Moselle (George Dolenz) and Corporal Wayne Decker (Bill Kennedy) the son of Jackson Decker. Jackson wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and work for his copper mine and other businesses, but Wayne didn't like his father's unethical business practices. Now he's hoping to prove that his father was not mixed up in this murder. Other characters include Madame Misterioso, a fortune teller whose real name is Dillie Clark (Helen Bennett), who is an ally of June's; and colorful codger "Latitude" Bucket (Paul E. Burns) '' -- he's been "everywhere" -- who has a rather surprising secret. The bad buys in this movie are not the usual generic gunsels but have a bit more flavor to them, especially Bunker (Joseph Haworth) with his ingratiatingly insolent manner, and "Dancer" (Danny Morton), with his shiny hair and casual, non-subservient attitude. Milburn Stone is typical of the rather bland actor who makes more of an impression as a villain than as a hero [which he played in The Great Alaskan Mystery and other serials], although he's hardly a Charles Middleton. Robert Armstrong, who also appeared in a number of serials such as The Adventures of the Flying Cadets, plays shady Price, who owns the Yukon Gold tavern, where several scenes take place. Rondo Hatton does nothing for chapter after chapter except sit watching the proceedings and drawing his gun now and then; he has no dialogue. Royal Mounted Rides Again has a fairly good story and a few noteworthy cliffhangers, such as when a huge log is shoved down a chute toward a prone Corporal Decker; a mine car that hurtles down a deep shaft towards the same man; and a bit with a dangling suspension bridge in a rainstorm that has explosives attached to it. Paul Birch (Not of This Earth) appears very briefly as a highwayman. While this is not as slick or snappy as Republic's "Mounted" serials such as King of the Mounties, it is nevertheless entertaining. Apparently stars Bill and Daun Kennedy were neither related nor married to one another. Bill was a busy television actor while Daun had only a few credits to her name. Helen Bennett was also in Lost City of the Jungle.

Verdict: Interesting serial with several flavorful performances and good scenes. ***.