Pretty Good

good back-story, and good acting

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Reporter William Boyd hops along a lavish ocean liner in an effort to question a public utilities company owner who ends up murdered. With the aide of an aging actor and his daughter (Sheila Terry), Boyd gathers everybody who is a suspect together, and reveals the killer. That's basically all in this slow moving mystery that of course has leading man Boyd sparring with leading lady Terry before the final clinch, a predictable aspect of many a B murder mystery that laces in bits of comedy before everything is wrapped up. There are a few surprise, especially how the killer is revealed, an element that might have you jaw dropped. For me, it did come as a complete surprise, the one aspect of the film that I did not expect and left me touched in spite of how bored I had been over the past hour.

William Boyd took a break from Hopalong Cassidy to do this B movie mystery for Republic Pictures in which he plays an investigative reporter hot on the trail of a Samuel Insull like utility magnate who is fleeing and absconding with a whole lot of his investor's money.The culprit Lee Shumway takes a passenger liner bound for Europe and Boyd follows him on board and sails with him. During an amateur theatrical production on shipboard someone slips real bullets into a gun and Shumway is shot dead. There are a host of suspects as a whole lot of people lost money investing with the dead magnate.Go Get 'Em Haines which sounds like a rousing sports drama instead of a murder mystery is a nicely paced mystery which we have to give some allowances for as it is the product of a B film studio. Herbert J. Yates didn't exactly bust the budget for this one, but Boyd does nicely in the role.Alas though for his career and for better or worse he was Hopalong Cassidy and the public wasn't going to accept at this point as anything else.

This should only be a genre-film "6 of 10" stars, but I've given it an extra star on the basis of William Boyd's performance. Although Boyd always entertained as Hopalong Cassidy, His eventual identification with that role alone essentially tunneled him out of any notice as the highly talented naturalistic actor that he was. He really shines in this film as a headstrong but clever reporter trying to discover why there would be two different murders of the same man.The rest of the film is typical of "Poverty Row" efforts of the time,although above average in its pacing - and once the mystery kicks in, it is surprisingly effective, playing with and against audience expectations in a way that leaves the discovery of who-done-it a surprise.As to the narrative that leads up to the mystery - it's breezy and not without its entertainment value. I admit considerable continuity lapses, but th pacing rushes us past them, so I won't complain.Most reviews I've seen complain of the musical number in the middle of the film, but anyone who knows the comic song tradition that came out of Vaudeville like "Second Hand Rose" or "Harrigan") will recognize it as a novelty song, and rather a charming one at that.But at any rate, at only about a hour's run, it's worth it to see Boyd in grand form as someone other than the cowboy savant, Hopalong.

This film has one of the very very rare roles where William Boyd wasn't Hopalong Cassidy once he started in that role. Here Boyd plays a reporter who is told to get the scoop on a millionaire who's utility company is tanking, taking with it the fortunes of many small time investors. Arriving at the rich man's house he sees someone that looks like his man sneaking out a back door. Giving chase he follows him to the docks and on to a ship heading for Europe. Soon things become complicated as murders on board on on land occur.This is a nifty fast moving thriller. Boyd wanders through the film as if he owns the place and its clear why he was a big star. its also clear that had he been able to do something other than Hopalong he might have been even bigger (would that have been possible?). The mystery itself is a bit convoluted and I'm not sure the film plays fair (I blindly guessed the killer before we had even met all of the suspects) but its no matter since whats of interest here is the interplay between Boyd and the rest of the cast and the ship board setting. If there is any weakness its the musical number that takes place as part of a shipboard entertainment, it's not that its bad, it just that its filler. Worth a look.