User Reviews

There are a lot of suspects in this above-average third entry to the Ellery Queen series that surpasses the first two with its combination of humor, suspense and an all-around entertaining manner. A superb supporting cast of newcomers join series regulars Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, James Burke and Charles Lane in this intensely entertaining episode. The victim is the always dastardly Douglas Dumbrille, who bails out of a serious business deal after a natural disaster strikes in the location of where it was to take place. In the process, his partner H.B. Warner loses a great deal of money and must sell off his estate, and Dumbrille's son, John deal, joins Warner in being at the top of the suspect list. Others include Dumbrill's dizzy cousin, Spring Byington, her companion (Sidney Blackmer), houseboy Honorable Wu, and even a cute little monkey.

In this episode, autopsy specialist Charles Lane turns into an early version of Quincy as he discovers clues that helps lead Bellamy to the identity of the real culprit. Byington gives a sensational performance as the seemingly dizzy society matron who can all of a sudden turn into a Gale Sondergaard like dark lady. There's plenty of humor abound concerning the little monkey, especially when it gets into Lindsay's hair and later takes off with Burke's hat. But throughout, there's enough suspense and doubt as to who the real killer is, so unlike the first two episodes the film is completely unpredictable. As always, H.B. Warner gives a performance of such gentility that when he is arrested as the main suspect, the audience hopes that somebody else ends up being the real killer. The way that the murder was committed to is also very ingenious and that makes this one quite a bit more intelligent than the previous episodes of the series.

The owner of a company that's about to get destroyed by a storm manages to sell his stocks just before the word gets out; he wins, every other shareholder goes broke. When he is later found dead in his study with a dagger in his hand, Inspector Queen suspects that it may not be suicide, as it appears at first glance, but murder. The chief suspects are one of the shareholders who was forced to sell his house after the disaster, the dead man's lawyer, and the dead man's son, who disapproved of his father's immorality. That last suspect also happens to be a friend of Ellery Queen, who tries to solve the case in order to clear him. But he doesn't try very hard - he only figures out ONE thing about the entire case. Ellery is almost like a guest star in his own movie, and even the joyful Nikki Porter gets sidelined for much of the time. However, the story has some still-topical touches (men who destroy lives in the name of financial gain are certainly no less of a problem in 2011 than they were in 1941), and the solution fits two basic criteria of any mystery tale: a) it is surprising, b) it makes sense. ** out of 4.

I love Ellery Queen in any format. This film is fun. The mystery is good. The cast is nice and varied. The auction scene is great. I wish is was a little longer. The book salesman is a hoot. I wish Raph Bellamy continued in the series. I thought he was perfect. If you do a little research you can find the entire series on DVD.