cm-albrecht This woeful film begins with a flimsy, transparent and preposterous plot, followed by wooden performances and action from actors who recite their stilted lines mechanically. George Macready was so outstandingly bad that I'm amazed he wasn't immediately banned from Hollywood forever. Fortunately for all of us he survived to become a pretty good actor. The direction was slow and predictable every step of the way and of course, since this was obviously filmed on pocket change, the entire production showed it. "I Love a Mystery" may have been a popular radio show in its day, and evidently some fans enjoyed this film as well. When TCM offered this, I taped it, hoping for something more in the line of some of the other '40s noir films. Sad.

csteidler Jim Bannon and Barton Yarborough are Jack and Doc, detectives: this particular case has them encountering a man with a peg leg, a woman mysteriously confined to a wheelchair, a Russian psychiatrist who apparently does not speak that language, and a man named Monk (George Macready) who is certain he is going to be decapitated within a matter of days. Told mainly in flashback, the story shows Jack and Doc unfolding the mystery and gradually discovering that not all of these characters are what they seem. Indeed—are any of them? Macready is excellent as the bizarrely-behaving threatened man who is either rattled or drugged or just unbalanced. Nina Foch is excellent as his wife—from her first appearance there is little doubt that there is more going on behind that face than she is letting on. Bannon is steady if unspectacular as the lead detective, essentially a no-nonsense straight man looking for logical answers. Yarborough's southern drawl as Doc is, I take it, meant to indicate his status as slightly comical sidekick; he says things like, "Hey, you mean all that stuff about the prophecy is just so much razzle dazzle?" but for the most part he stays out of the way.Overall, an inventive story and solid direction combine to produce a sinister atmosphere in which tension stays high and the viewer is kept guessing. Straightforward performances add weight to this excellently dark mystery.

dougdoepke There's a good, exotic little mystery buried somewhere inside the jumbled screenplay and the deadly casting of the two leads—Bannon and Yarborough. Bannon's career shows a competent action hero. Here, however, he brings down his scenes with a wooden style that's unfortunate, to say the least. Note that he doesn't even move his shoulders during his disguised piano playing. Ditto Yarborough's acting style, and whose Dixie accent is supposed to project, I guess, a folksy charm. Together, they're a zero at the heart of events. Maybe a better director could have gotten a livelier performance out of them-- I don't know. Nonetheless, if there's a single reason the series failed to catch on, I expect it's because of this central casting flaw.Fortunately, there're a number of imaginative touches in the 60-minutes that almost redeem the flaws. That false face is truly chilling; the secret society and the missing head add real color; plus, the several plot twists are highly original and unforeseen (at least, by me). Too bad they're buried in a script that's really hard to follow with its many underdeveloped characters shuttling in and out of the meandering narrative.It is a good chance, however, to catch two fine actors, MacReady and Foch, who would combine the following year in the cult classic My Name is Julia Ross (1945). Here, they're not at their best, but still worth watching. I'm just sorry this promising screenplay wasn't sent back for narrative improvements, and maybe a better director. Because the seeds of a first- rate mystery do show through.

Neil Doyle There's a real film noir feeling to this Columbia programmer based on the "I Love A Mystery" radio series. The story is a good one, about a man who predicts his own death will happen in a few days (GEORGE MACREADY) and hires two detectives (JIM BANNON and BARTON YARBOROUGH) to help him avoid the hit man.The plot keeps spinning unpredictably from scene to scene, all of it played in earnest style by the participants, including NINA FOCH as Macready's scheming wife. As a matter of fact, it has the feel of a Cornel Woolrich story, but he didn't pen this one.Well photographed, given some good production values and it gives George Macready another chance to show just how he could dominate any scene he appeared in. His role here is just as enjoyable as his much more famous screen appearance in Columbia's GILDA.With a clever script and smoothly directed, it's probably the best in the trio of "I Love A Mystery" series that made it to the screen.