The Devil's Mask

"The Devil's Mask" (1946) is one of the "I LOVE A MYSTERY" series of B-movies produced by Columbia Studios, based on the then-popular radio show. Poker faced Jim Bannon heads up a duo of private detectives who appear in each of the mysteries.

This one begins after a shrunken head is found in the ruins of a crashed plane that was headed from California to Latin America. A woman, who believes that her step-daughter is planning to kill her, hires the pair of detectives.

The mystery deepens when the woman's butler is killed by a poison dart from a blow-gun similar to those used by the jungle tribe of head-hunters responsible for the shrunken head. Add a blackmailing psychiatrist, a crazy taxidermist, a ferocious black panther, a few nebulous characters of dubious repute, and you have an atmospheric little chiller that's most enjoyable.

You may be able to figure out who the killer is, but that won't stop you from searching out more of these neat little "I LOVE A MYSTERY" thrillers.

A woman thinks her daughter is out to kill her, and hires a detective agency to help her. "Devil's Mask" had a perfectly respectable cast, and a good solid script. With shrunken heads from south America, a panther, and even the use of hypnosis were all probably pretty new and exotic in 1946. (Although, when they try to put someone under hypnosis, they shine a bright light in the actor's eyes, and loudly tap a pencil over and over, so not sure how deeply the actor could have gone under....) The acting by some of the actors is a tad flat, and assistant detective Doc Long (Bart Yarborough) spouts more southern descriptive phrases than necessary, probably the reasons for the low rating on IMDb and membership in the "B Movie" club. The lead detective playing Jack Packard , Jim Bannon, had played detectives and cowboys, and was married to Bea Benaderet (Pearl Bodine, in the Beverly Hillbillies). Another interesting connection, Frank Wilcox, who plays Professor Logan, would also go on to be the oil company president on "Beverly Hillbillies". Also.... Mona Barrie and Bea Benaderet were both in "The First Time". Anita Louise, who plays the daughter Janet in Devil's Mask, was really only six years younger than the Mother Mitchell (Mona Barrie). good Whodunnit. no big glaring plot holes. no big car chase scenes.

This is the second film to be based on the popular American radio programme 'I Love A Mystery', and I reckon it's an improvement over the first, the plot easier to follow, with stars Jim Bannon and Barton Yarborough having settled into their roles as private detectives Jack Packard and Doc Long.

This time around, Jack and Doc are hired by Louise Mitchell (Mona Barrie) who believes that her life is in danger from her stepdaughter Janet (Anita Louise), who thinks that her father was murdered by his wife while on safari, her suspicion fuelled by love letters between Louise and her dad's associate, Prof. Arthur Logan (Frank Wilcox). As the pair of private eyes investigate, they encounter Janet's somewhat shady love interest Rex Kennedy (Michael Duane), a killer with a deadly blowpipe, a crooked hypnotist, a savage black panther, an animal loving taxidermist, and a shrunken head containing a secret code.

Director Henry Levin maintains a snappy pace, Bannon and Yarborough make for a great pairing, and the plot is just the right amount of bonkers with being TOO preposterous.

Janet Mitchell (Anita Louise) doesn't trust her stepmother. Janet's father has been killed in a South American jungle and we see who she blames. A man with a deadly blow gun is creeping around the grounds of the Mitchell residence where the two women live. Their butler is killed by a poison dart but was he the intended victim of the blow gun attacker? I felt as though I should be rooting for Janet but we do see an unstable side to her. At one point she admits she likes playing with fire and she has a boyfriend who says he would do anything for her. Janet is put under hypnosis and reveals some strange observations concerning her father while under. I found this Columbia B mystery unusual and entertaining and it should keep you guessing right through to the end. It was originally on a double bill with Richard Dix's Mysterious Intruder.

Good combination of horror and noir. Now if I could just figure out whose head belongs on which body, I might be able to figure out the plot. But, no matter since the film is carried by some great noirish atmosphere. The gloom hangs heavy over everyone, so you just know anything might happen. The movie's adapted from a radio stage play and it shows in the stretched out storyline that sometimes appears to ramble. Still, brighter bulbs than mine may be able to follow out the mystery part. Anyhow, I really like the obscure Michael Duane as the ambivalent Rex Kennedy; he brings unexpected depth to the part. The cast is basically an ensemble of no-names, who, nevertheless do well enough in their roles. No, the movie never rises above programmer status, but does show how imaginative these bottom-of-the-bill B- movies could be.