a5c7b9f00b Susan Hart, assistant to private detective Russ Ashton, is given a camera concealed in a hat box and assigned to take a picture of a woman. A gun is accidentally hidden in the box and the woman is killed. Susan is charged with murder, but Russ and his less-than-useful associate, Harvard, get on the case and prove that the fatal shot was fired by the killer from across the street. Plot summary from IMDb: "Susan Hart, assistant to private detective Russ Ashton, is given a camera concealed in a hat box and assigned to take a picture of a woman. A gun is accidentally hidden in the box and the woman is killed. Susan is charged with murder, but Russ and his less-than-useful associate, Harvard, get on the case and prove that the fatal shot was fired by the killer from across the street." While I agree with most of this, the gun wasn't "accidentally hidden". It was placed there on purpose so Susan would be charged with murder.<br/><br/>The Hat Box Mystery is a fun, little, noir-ish mystery. When I say little, it runs only 44 minutes and the first three or four minutes are taken up introducing, not just the characters, but the actual actors. This is strictly a low-budget B-quickie, but The Hat Box Mystery overcomes some of its budget limitations (static camera, stage-bound sets, uninspired lighting), and delivers a reasonably entertaining story. Tom Neal and Pamela Blake give very nice performances. Allen Jenkins and Virginia Sale provide the comic relief that, unfortunately, misses more than it hits. The supporting cast is adequate. The movie flows fairly nicely, only interrupted by one of Jenkins' gags. Overall, not a bad way to spend 3/4 of an hour. The Ashton Detective Agency needs money badly, so when Russ Ashton is called away to Washington on a case, secretary Susan Hart takes on an infidelity case where she has to photograph a man's wife as she leaves an apartment using a camera disguised in a hat box. Susan doesn't realize that the camera camouflages a gun, and Mrs. Moreland (the woman) is shot. Ashton returns to find Susan in jail, so he tries to find the man (Stevens) even though he has a vague description. Stevens and his gang find out that Ashton and his sidekick Harvard, are on his trail so he tries to get him out of the way. Ashton then uses Susan as bait to trap the killers in order to prevent her from being tried for murder. Decent programmer with an enjoyable foursome of Neal, Blake, Jenkins, and Sale making the film seem like an OTR mystery show. The pacing of the film is great, with a lot going on considering the film's run time of 44 minutes. The plot is a bit predictable and done before, but the characterizations make it fun. Rating, 7.
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355 weeks ago