I Love a Mystery

First of three B detective films from Columbia featuring Jack Packard (Jim Bannon) and his sidekick Doc Long (Barton Yarborough). The story here begins with the decapitation of a man named Jefferson Monk (what a name -- sounds like a superhero's secret identity). Through flashback, we find out Monk approached Packard and Doc for help earlier. He was told by a cult leader he would be dead within a year if he didn't sell them his head! Now the year is almost up. I can't even begin to describe anything else without ruining it for you.

This series was also a popular radio series back in the day. I listened to a lot of old time radio shows on satellite radio years ago. I don't remember ever hearing this program but I do remember Barton Yarborough quite well from other shows. Nobody who's heard his Huckleberry Hound accent is likely to forget it anytime soon. It's a little annoying but he's the comic relief sidekick so I tried to tolerate it. This is one of three films Nina Foch made with George Macready for Columbia in 1945. The most notable one being My Name Is Julia Ross.

Employs the dreaded "flashback-within-a-flashback" device but it doesn't hurt as the plot is simple enough to follow. Some nice atmosphere and creepy moments, such as when a peg-legged man with a mask attacks Monk on a foggy street. The decapitation angle seems pretty risqué for the time. It's a bizarre and enjoyable entry into a very crowded genre.

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.

Despite the comments by the other reviewer, I thot this was one of THE most entertaining mysteries of the 30's - 40's! (And, I own over 700 films!). It contains MANY plot twists, and plot "twist-twists"; nothing is as it seems. The entire film gives a creepy, "something is about to happen" atmosphere and shows a VERY creative author, as Calton E. Morse was! A mystery you won't forget!

Norm

I am a fan of mystery movies, and this is one of my all time favorites. I love the plot twists and the eerie atmosphere. I remember when I first saw this film, many years ago, how astonished I was when the villains are murdered one by one. My only complaint with the film is the phony arrest and jail break of Jack Packard. This was silly and unnecessary. Jack Packard should have been able to nail the killer without these shenanigans. This being said, I recommend this film, especially if you like mysteries and are looking for something different. Jack Packard, played by Jim Bannon, is an excellent screen detective, and Doc Long, played by Barton Yarborough, is a likeable sidekick who provides some comic relief, and best of all is Jefferson Monk played by George Macready.

"I Love a Mystery," based on the radio program of the same name, is a 1945 film starring Jim Bannon, Barton Yarborough, George Macready, and Nina Foch. Packard and Doc Long (Bannon and Yarborough) meet Macready in a nightclub with a woman - apparently he knows when he's going to die. A cult, whose ancient leader Macready resembles, wants his head, I guess to replace it on their leader's mummified body, and one of the members is following him. The detectives agree to follow Macready home to see if they can spot the man, and they do.

As preposterous as it sounds (and it is), this is actually a pretty neat mystery, done on New York set at Columbia. There's lots of dry ice and a dark, noirish atmosphere, as well as a few plot twists. It's quite entertaining as well as not being terribly long. And it's a good cast, with the highlights being Macready and Foch as his crippled wife. Growing up, Nina Foch to me was an older woman who did television and quiz shows; later on, I knew she became a big acting teacher in L.A. It's fun to see her as a young woman in films such as this one. It was also fun because I remember Bannon's son from "Lou Grant."