You can tell that this is an A.C. Lyles production, as it has Richard Arlen in the film--and he's in just about every Lyles film of the 60s. In addition, Lyles' trademark of using other stars well past their prime occurs in this film (with the likes of Jackie Coogan, Denis Morgan, Edgar Bergan and Brian Donlevy on hand as well)--though he uses far more younger (and mostly little-known) in many roles as well. In Lyles' westerns of the time, you'd often see NO ONE younger than about 50--so this is a bit of a departure. My guess is using older actors and mostly unknowns seriously cut down on production costs and that's why he did this.
The title, "Rogue's Gallery", is a play on the name of the main character, a private detective by the name of John Rogue (Roger Smith). He's very much a detective in the pattern of a Philip Marlow or Dashiell Hammett character--a guy who is down and out and willing to do just about anything to get himself out of hock. In this case, he's asked by a psychiatrist (Morgan) to follow a strange rich lady (Greta Baldwin) who seems bent on suicide. While this might sound like a simple case, naturally there are LOTS of dangers, klunks on the head and dames--all the usual elements of a dime novel mystery.
So is it any good? After all, the 1940s brought us amazing similar characters by wonderful actors like Humphrey Bogart, Dick Powell and Robert Montgomery--is the little-known actor Roger Smith up to the challenge of such a role? Yep. It's a dandy little film that shows a lot of influence from Robert Louis Stephenson's novel "The Suicide Club". And Smith was quite good in the film--handsome and quite capable. Sadly, however, he soon was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and soon retired from films. He also is the husband of Ann-Margaret.
