Starring William Gargan, Ann Savage, Leo Gorcey
Directed by William C. Thomas
In a cheap hotel room in New York City Jelke shoots gangster Joe Wells, takes a package from his pocket and flees.Wells staggers into an alley. On her way to her apartment above a wax museum, Sue Gallagher, a reporter for the Chronicle, finds Wells' body and hides his corpse among the wax-figures in the museum and calls her paper to send a photographer so she can get a scoop on the killing of Wells, who had a $5,000 reward for his capture, dead or alive. Meanwhile, Henry Miggs, the museum owner find the body and is ready to call the police but his handyman, Clutch Tracy tells him to conceal it and avoid suspicion. From this point on it is a game of where-is-the-body....and the stolen South American diamonds Wells was carrying.
Ann Savage shows a different side here from her definitive Detour (1945) character. She was also speed-rated pilot and once flew her own plane, a 250 Comanche, winning several tournament awards.
William Gargan often played private detectives, on radio, in television and in films. He was very likely the only actor to have played private eyes who had actually been one. For several years before he became an actor he had been a private investigator for a New York City detective agency. His father was also a detective.
A fun old movie! Entertaining comic mystery. Enjoyable nonsense.