Reporter Chick Chandler hates circumstantial evidence. He feels that far too many people have been convicted on it. He cites cases in which people have been imprisoned for decades, or guillotined, only later to have been found innocent. He cooks up a scheme with Arthur Vinton to prove his point. He will set up a strong case for having killed Vinton based purely on such evidence. They quarrel publicly. Later, Chandler returns to Vinton House, where they fire off a gun, confirm that Vinton will go far away under an assumed name. Chandler leaves. Vinton sets fire to his house. Then a gloved hand appears, with a gun. Vinton is shot and killed, and Chandler is convicted and sentenced to hang.
It's a cheap but nicely performed B mystery from ambitious Poverty Row studio Chesterfield. Director Charles Lamont keeps the performers moving at a good clip. I have noted before how many Gower Gulch movies in this era plodded in their line readings and editing. Not this one! The tight dialogue makes the occasional pauses for silent, visual reactions by the players stand out, as they should.
It's a cheap but nicely performed B mystery from ambitious Poverty Row studio Chesterfield. Director Charles Lamont keeps the performers moving at a good clip. I have noted before how many Gower Gulch movies in this era plodded in their line readings and editing. Not this one! The tight dialogue makes the occasional pauses for silent, visual reactions by the players stand out, as they should.