A financially struggling family man (Jeffry Lynn) gets involuntarily involved in the apparent suicide of his boss (Richard Gaines), a failure as a business man, who has lost all of his inheritance, and whose accounting firm is rapidly going bankrupt. When his body is found in the library of his swank Beverly Hills mansion, it looks like a murder, which is what Gaines supposedly wanted, in order for his life insurance money to go to his social-climbing wife (Katherine Emory), whose performance is worth watching, and son. The strong point of the film is Lynn's character's anguish, now leading a double life of sorts as he has to keep everything a secret from his wife (Martha Scott) and two kids. His performance is not half bad, and makes watching the film worth the effort. Henry Morgan's part as a tough wounded WW2 vet and now a star LAPD detective who walks around with a cane is undermined by too many one-liners, although he and Lynn's son (Michael Chapin) make a few references to the gas chamber, letting us know what whoever does get caught will be facing.
Review of Strange Bargain
