This
has the feel of a B pict from Universal Studio that they could market as
horror and double-bill with The She-Wolf of London. It went over the allotted
production schedule. It took 13 days. It has a black cat, a creepy old house
and a few murders, but calling it horror is a stretch. More a suspense murder
film. And for what it sets out to be, it isn't bad. Lots of shadows and the
slow opening of doors in a dark house. A few screams. A cat that creeps.
The whittling down of suspects. And best, it only runs for 58 minutes.
Back in those days it seems that all reporters
had smart fast mouths and a sarcastic jibe for every occasion. Audiences
must have liked that. Now we just find them annoying. Terry (Fred Brady)
and his photographer Pidge (Noah Beery Jr aka Rocky) are assigned to investigate
a fifteen year old murder. An elderly lady has written the newspaper that
she found $200,000 related to the murder. Terry tells one of the suspects
(Jonathan Hale) who tells his lawyer (Douglass Dumbrille) who tells his secretary
who tells a private eye (Paul Kelly) about this and along with his daughter
(Lois Collier) go to the isolated house on an island. Nice going Terry. Just
bring together the killer and future victims. Pulitzer Prize material. As
Pidge tells him, "Just wait till all of them are dead except us and we will
know who the killer is". Pretty much.
