Dynamic Chester Morris leads a high grade cast in this excellent who-done-it from Jefferson Pictures Corp. who only produced 4 films over the 1932-33 period. Unusual for poverty row films, the comedy actually enhances the film with Frank McHugh and Allen Jenkins (both from Warners, as was the director, Frank Enright) both giving hilarious performances as a pair of bumbling detectives.
When crime writer Neil Broderick (Chester Morris) meets pretty Martha Winters (Vivienne Osbourne) on a train, he confesses he is basing his new book on a real killer - "The Black Ace", who is on a murderous rampage in a small town. He always leaves a calling card - a black ace - and always warns his victims of their death beforehand. Neil is on his way to meet Thornton Drake (Henry Stephenson), an expert on The Black Ace, hoping he will be able to help him with his research. Martha then reveals she is the daughter of Winters, Drake's fussy old assistant. When Neil arrives, he finds himself in the thick of things - a message has just been found embedded in a jigsaw - "tomorrow at seven". They are then joined by two bumbling detectives - Clancy and Dugan, who come to get the "real dope" on the phantom killer. Together, they all decide to fly down to Drake's plantation in Louisiana, where they hope to escape the killer but things go wrong, however, when Winters is murdered mid flight.
Once they arrive at the plantation the movie becomes part of the "old dark house" genre. Neil phones the coroner but secretly signals someone hiding outside, when the pilot tries to phone his office, the wires are mysteriously cut, a letter is found in Winter's pocket revealing the identity of the Black Ace but after a black out the letter disappears. Charles Middleton makes his ominous presence felt as a "creepy" coroner.
Identity of the killer is kept just out of reach as each person who arouses suspicion is usually the next person killed - although there is a small clue when Neil arrives at Drake's house. Special mention should be made of the unjustly forgotten Vivienne Osbourne, who will be remembered for her spellbinding performance as the evil prostitute in "Two Seconds" and as the unforgettable murderess in "Supernatural". She deserved to be a much bigger star than she was.
Recommended.
When crime writer Neil Broderick (Chester Morris) meets pretty Martha Winters (Vivienne Osbourne) on a train, he confesses he is basing his new book on a real killer - "The Black Ace", who is on a murderous rampage in a small town. He always leaves a calling card - a black ace - and always warns his victims of their death beforehand. Neil is on his way to meet Thornton Drake (Henry Stephenson), an expert on The Black Ace, hoping he will be able to help him with his research. Martha then reveals she is the daughter of Winters, Drake's fussy old assistant. When Neil arrives, he finds himself in the thick of things - a message has just been found embedded in a jigsaw - "tomorrow at seven". They are then joined by two bumbling detectives - Clancy and Dugan, who come to get the "real dope" on the phantom killer. Together, they all decide to fly down to Drake's plantation in Louisiana, where they hope to escape the killer but things go wrong, however, when Winters is murdered mid flight.
Once they arrive at the plantation the movie becomes part of the "old dark house" genre. Neil phones the coroner but secretly signals someone hiding outside, when the pilot tries to phone his office, the wires are mysteriously cut, a letter is found in Winter's pocket revealing the identity of the Black Ace but after a black out the letter disappears. Charles Middleton makes his ominous presence felt as a "creepy" coroner.
Identity of the killer is kept just out of reach as each person who arouses suspicion is usually the next person killed - although there is a small clue when Neil arrives at Drake's house. Special mention should be made of the unjustly forgotten Vivienne Osbourne, who will be remembered for her spellbinding performance as the evil prostitute in "Two Seconds" and as the unforgettable murderess in "Supernatural". She deserved to be a much bigger star than she was.
Recommended.