Hardly a mystery because it's obvious who killed the cranky old aunt (Barbara Everest), this Republic programmer is fortunately short (even in its theatrical running time, now only available missing a good reel for TV broadcast) but ultimately predictable. Everest has kept her niece and nephew (Evelyn Ankers and George Leigh) under her thumb (simply because sour rich old aunts were created to do things like that), and when a valuable broach is stolen from Everest, all suspicions point to Leigh. But there's no evidence, no broach found upon searching his room, and when she's found murdered the next morning, Leigh has the perfect alibi: he was in jail on a drunken charge.
Nobody else had motive so police inspector Richard Fraser is stumped. But it's soon apparent to the audience how Leigh got away with it thanks to clandestine meetings he has with cockney thief Barry Bernard who proceeds to blackmail him. Fraser remains stumped until a body is found in the Thames, so this ends up being a "let's see how the killed is exposed" escapade that is more talk than action, although it never has told to become boring. But it's one of those old dusty thrillers that is easy to forget once it's all over.
Nobody else had motive so police inspector Richard Fraser is stumped. But it's soon apparent to the audience how Leigh got away with it thanks to clandestine meetings he has with cockney thief Barry Bernard who proceeds to blackmail him. Fraser remains stumped until a body is found in the Thames, so this ends up being a "let's see how the killed is exposed" escapade that is more talk than action, although it never has told to become boring. But it's one of those old dusty thrillers that is easy to forget once it's all over.