DETECTIVE KITTY O'DAY

Jean Parker and Peter Cookson

DETECTIVE KITTY O'DAY (1944). Director: William Beaudine.

Kitty O' Day (Jean Parker) works for Oliver Wentworth (Oliver Earle), who has also hired her boyfriend, Johnny Jones (Peter Cookson), to deliver some important papers. Wentworth is murdered and the papers are missing, and Kitty determines to find out what's what and clear both her and Johnny's names. Suspects include Veda Ann Borg as Wentworth's much-younger widow; Douglas Fowley as her possible love interest; Herbert Heyes as another attorney; and Olaf Hytten [Shanghai Chest] as the butler, Charles. Blowsy Kitty keeps tripping over bodies as she investigates, and winds up balancing on a ledge with Johnny in a scary-funny sequence set in an apartment building. Parker [Flying Deuces] isn't bad, Cookson is as good (and wasted) as ever, Tim Ryan (who co-wrote the screenplay) is fine as typically harried Inspector Clancy, and Edward Gargan scores as Clancy's befuddled and put-upon assistant, Mike. Followed by a sequel.

Verdict: A monogram picture that actually has a few real laughs in it to go with some good acting. **1/2.

SHADOW OF SUSPICION

Marjorie Weaver and Peter Cookson

SHADOW OF SUSPICION (1944). Director: William Beaudine.

Jewelry store manager Frank Randall (Pierre Watkin) receives a visitor named Northrup, who claims to be working out of the firms' security office. Meanwhile the real Northrup (Tim Ryan) shows up and Randall suggests he work closely with the fake Northrup to see what he's up to. Surely it has something to do with the arrival of the fabulous Stonehaven diamond necklace? The fake Northrup is actually Jimmy Dale (Peter Cookson), who romances Randall's secretary Claire (Marjorie Weaver of Fashion Model) while spying on everyone else. Just who is the real bad guy in this? And does anyone give a damn? Shadow of Suspicion is a true Monogram stinker, so poor that you have to wonder why they even bothered releasing it. The acting is professional enough, although Ryan wears out his welcome early on and isn't the least bit funny; Weaver demonstrates little appeal of any kind, including sex appeal; and Watkin is as professionally bland as ever. [The prolific Watkin is not one of those beloved character actors whose presence always graces a film like, say, Eve Arden, nor was he quirky enough to have the "appeal" of a Percy Helton.] The only cast stand-outs are Peter Cookson, who has the looks, charm and suaveness to have a major career which never materialized, and Clara Blandick [Shopworn], as "Mother," the elderly leader of a gang of jewel thieves. For an alleged comedy, this has no laughs.

Verdict: Why Monogram has a bad reputation. *1/2.

FASHION MODEL

Robert Lowery, Tim Ryan, Marjorie Weaver

FASHION MODEL (1945). Director: William Beaudine.

Not long after model Peggy Rooney (Marjorie Weaver of Great Alaskan Mystery) gets into a fight with rival Yvonne (Lorna Gray of The Perils of Nyoka), the latter is found strangled inside the fashion house where they work. Peggy is the first major suspect in the murder, but as more deaths occur, her boyfriend Jimmy (Robert Lowery) catches the eye of dogged Police Inspector O'Hara (Tim Ryan). There's also a missing broach that was given to the dead woman by her rather disinterested fiance, Davis (John Valentine), which engenders a frantic search for the expensive item by Duval (Edward Keane), head of the fashion house, and his employee, Madame Celeste (Dorothy Christy). Fashion Model is a comedy-mystery with a few chuckles, some cold-blooded characters, and an interesting if lower case cast. Tim Ryan could probably have played the role of the inspector in his sleep by now. Robert Lowery registers his usual suave charm, and Marjorie Weaver proves she's definitely no Lucille Ball. Nell Craig and Harry Depp [Black Magic] are fun as a bickering couple who are in the fashion house during the first murder, and Jack Norton nearly steals the picture as the tippling window dresser, Herbert. The most amusing sequence has Herbert trying to undress two mannequins who are actually Peggy and Jimmy in disguise. The ending is kind of nifty and well-done. Dorothy Christy was the evil queen in The Phantom Empire and also appeared in Sons of the Desert with Laurel and Hardy.

Verdict: It's not Blood and Black Lace but it has its moments. **.

THE MYSTERY OF THE 13TH GUEST

THE MYSTERY OF THE 13TH GUEST (1943). Director: William Beaudine.

"Your soul must look like the inside of a vinegar bottle."

Marie Morgan (Helen Parrish of First Love) enters her dead uncle's creepy old house where years ago he talked about his will to the gathered relatives, and there she finds an old letter giving the strange stipulations of her inheritance. Not much later Marie is found dead in the house -- until she turns up alive, despite the lookalike body in the morgue. Private eye Speed Dugan (Frank Faylen) and Lt. Burke (Tim Ryan) try to find out who killed whom. Suspects include lawyer Barksdale (Cyril Ring); Marie's brother, Harold (John Duncan of Batman and Robin); Uncle Adam (Paul McVey); and the high-spirited cousin Marjory (Jacqueline Dalya). Faylen is fine, but Ryan offers an especially obnoxious portrayal as the cop. Dalya [Charlie Chan in Rio] is the sauciest thing in the movie and gives the picture most of its limited fun. The old house contains a sinister masked figure as well as a deadly electrified telephone. Full of foolish alleged humor.

Verdict: The very embodiment of the word mediocre. **.

SHANGHAI CHEST

Parsons, Sen Yung, Moreland and Winters

SHANGHAI CHEST (1948). Director: William Beaudine.

Judge Armstrong (Pierre Watkin) is stabbed in his study by a shadowy figure. More murders follow, but what is odd is that the fingerprints of an executed man keep showing up at the crime scenes. Charlie Chan (Roland Winters) is on the case! Suspects and others include the judge's secretary, Phyllis (Deannie Best); the butler, Bates (Olaf Hytten); Armstrong's nephew, Victor (John Alvin); the lawyer Seward (Tristram Coffin); and Walter Somervale (Erville Alderson). Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland), Charlie's chauffeur, and his son, Tommy (Victor Sen Yung/Young), get involved in the action [such as it is] along with Lt. Mike Ruark (Tim Ryan of Who's Guilty?). There's also a snarky funeral director played by the ever type-cast Milton Parsons. This is a mediocre mystery, but as usual the darn thing is nevertheless entertaining. Aside from the regulars, the supporting cast in this is especially obscure.

Verdict: Chan soldiering on. **1/2.

WHO'S GUILTY?

WHO'S GUILTY? (1945). 15 chapter Columbia serial. Directors: Howard Bretherton and Wallace Grissell.

Henry Calvert is murdered and there are numerous suspects, including the creepy housekeeper Mrs. Gill (Minerva Urecal), his sister Sarah (Belle Mitchell), his lawyer Horace Black (Sam Flint) and even the butler Patton (Charles Middleton, famous as "Ming the Merciless"), among others. Meanwhile there's a hunt for family treasure in a mine, and eventually a hooded figure shows up to cause more mischief. Bob Stewart (Robert Kent) from the State Board of Investigation, "aided" by comedy relief reporter Duke Ellis (Tim Ryan), tries to ferret out the guilty party while bickering with pretty and mysterious Ruth Allen (Amelita Ward), who won't tell exactly what she has to do with the Calverts. Who's Guilty?, alas, is not one of the more memorable chapterplays, and after awhile you won't really care who's guilty or much of anything else. Ryan gives a good performance, and Urecal is fun as the mouthiest and most disagreeable housekeeper on record. The versatile Charles Middleton is fine but wasted in the small role of the butler, even if Patton isn't exactly a typical domestic.

Verdict: Guilty of being just a bit boring. **.