Lynn Bari is the widowed mother of three children: Peggy Ann Garner, Connie Marshall, and Dean Stockwell. She supports them by writing mystery novels about a private detective named Bill Smith. She is trying to finish her 28th, and the children are smart and considerate.... and when a murder is committed next door, they figure that if she solves the mystery before the police, it will be terrific publicity. Enter the homicide detectives: James Gleason, as the sergeant, and Randolph Scott as his lieutenant, named "Bill Smith" in this movie.
It's an adroit mixture of cute kids, traditional mystery and self-aware humor, originally from the pen of Craig Rice, well acted by everyone on hand. Director Lloyd Bacon had switched from his long-time home base at Warner Brothers a couple of years earlier, without missing a beat. Scott was appearing in his penultimate non-western role, although he would make almost forty more movies. Miss Bari -- heralded as "The Woo Woo Girl" during the War -- was in the middle of a 134-feature movie career that stretched from 1933 through 1968 but never got her out of the B ranks for more than a picture or two. Well, the breakthrough to "star" is often a matter of mysterious chemistry and the right role.
Some people may find this a trifle contrived and sticky-sweet for their tastes. I think of it as a nice change-of-pace from dark noirs and serious dramas.
It's an adroit mixture of cute kids, traditional mystery and self-aware humor, originally from the pen of Craig Rice, well acted by everyone on hand. Director Lloyd Bacon had switched from his long-time home base at Warner Brothers a couple of years earlier, without missing a beat. Scott was appearing in his penultimate non-western role, although he would make almost forty more movies. Miss Bari -- heralded as "The Woo Woo Girl" during the War -- was in the middle of a 134-feature movie career that stretched from 1933 through 1968 but never got her out of the B ranks for more than a picture or two. Well, the breakthrough to "star" is often a matter of mysterious chemistry and the right role.
Some people may find this a trifle contrived and sticky-sweet for their tastes. I think of it as a nice change-of-pace from dark noirs and serious dramas.