Rogues' Gallery
Reporter Patsy Reynolds and photographer Eddie Porter are assigned to interview John Foster, head of the Emmerson Foundation regarding a listening device the organization is working on. Foster evades them and they to the lab to see Professor Reynolds, the real inventor. Soon, they are involved in several shootings, blueprints that change hands several times, a corpse in their car that appears and disappears a few times, the loss of their jobs and several people who either think they are killers or candidates for being killed.
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- Cast:
- Frank Jenks , Robin Raymond , H.B. Warner , Ray Walker , Davison Clark , Robert Homans , Milton Kibbee
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Reviews
Absolutely Brilliant!
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
A feisty girl reporter and her photographer buddy cover murder involving a professor, his big money sponsors, and an amazing invention, all combined in light-hearted fashion of the day (1944).I can see late shifts at WWII defense plants getting a kick out of this clichéd fare. Combine fast- talking reporters with a secret invention, disappearing corpses, and an array of murder suspects, and you've got a sure-fire B-movie. Jenks may get top billing but it's Raymond's movie. Her mouth speaks in machine gun bursts, while she charges forth like a tank on steroids. All in all, she's no cuddle bunny, but she is going to get the story no matter what. Surprisingly, there's no hint of romance anywhere, a definite departure from the norm. That's probably because the younger leading men are in uniform.Too bad that the mystery part doesn't really gel since the focus is on characters rather than the murky plot. Note HB Warner as the skeletal professor. His silent film credits are impressive as heck. His presence here must be for paycheck only. Anyhow, it's a wartime programmer, nothing special but competently done.
Curious knockoff, Hey, it was popular, so why not continue the trend? of the "Front Page", where a pair of pushy and nosy reporters attempt to get the big scoop on a newfangled electronic device that you eavesdrop on conversations everywhere. Everyone wants to get their hands on the invention, even if that means, yes, murder! The pair of reporters are quite smart-alecky, often finisihing their sentences by saying a cute line in unison (They like to say "Here We Go Again!" a lot). Of course the two are the ones who see everything, so they're running around all over the place during the story. It's alright I suppose, but looks cheap and somewhat unintentionally funny (the lady reporter doesn't take her huge hat off at all during the movie). Okay for what it is.
A reporter and her photographer are assigned to look into a new scientific invention that can pick up sound with out a microphone from a great distance. Of course everyone wants it so inevitably murder follows. Jokey, fast moving comedy mystery tale is an okay 1940's programmer. The plot and the comedy aren't bad, unfortunately the two leads, Robin Raymond and Frank Jenks, come off as abrasive instead of charming and I kept hoping that someone would kill them so a pair of new leads could take over. (They are the fast talking reporter clichés to the nth degree). Worth a look on a slow night but not really something you need search out. 5 out of 10, it should be a point or two higher but the leads annoyed me too much.
This is one of those silly 1940's mysteries with an aggressive female reporter and her half-wit cameraman, trying to get a really big "scoop." They go to the laboratory of a scientist who has invented a device for listening in on people, no matter where they are. There are a couple murders and bodies disappearing. The huffy police detective who is constantly being called to investigate things that change before he arrives. He grunts and snarls. He won't admit it, but he really likes Patsy, the reporter. There are many pratfalls, one, where the butler barely touches the cameraman and he goes flying through the living room, landing in an easy chair. It adds slapstick, which, in this case, is a distraction. The invention is taken for granted and used in the solution of the crime. It implies that there are such devices. To this day, we have nothing like this. The byplay between the two principles is pretty funny. There are some good character actors, doing slow burns, sneaking up on people, sounding very sombre. I'm a sucker for these old movies and did get a kick out of this one.