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Police Lt. Kenny Williams (Melvyn Douglas) is torn between his obligations to his job, and his fiancé Maxine Carroll (Joan Blondell) who just happens to be the mayor's secretary. His job and his fiancé are both very demanding of his time and are constantly at odds. It seems that every time Kenny and Maxine have a date, he is called away.

Lately there have been a string of murders and the press has dubbed the evil-doer "The Phantom Slugger." This keeps Kenny busy.

Can he solve the case AND satisfy Maxine with a ring on her finger?

Random Notes:

This is a poor imitation of the Thin Man series. The tone of the film is wildly uneven and there's no chemistry between the stars. They're obviously trying way too hard to make this into a similar success.

There's a mildly funny sequence where it is decided that one of the force's detectives must dress in drag and hang out on the street hoping to lure the murderer out of hiding. It was cute.

The ending is really stupid.

*shrug*

You know you're in for a treat when a film opens with Joan Crawford walking on the beach in a big dress AND HEELS!

Our story starts with drama at a beach property being rented by Eloise Crandall. The next door neighbors Osbert and Queenie Sorenson (Natalie Schafer) can hear her crying and pleading with their housemate Drummy. Eloise is drunk and distraught about something, and mutters about going to the police. Then we see her rushing through the darkened house after (the unseen) Drummy, out onto the deck, where she crashes through the railing, and falls to her death, sprawled out like a swastika on the beach rocks below.

Lynn Markham (Joan Crawford) arrives the next day. She owns the house. Her wealthy husband had passed away recently and she decided to move into the property for some quiet reflection. The real estate rep, Jan, shows her the house, explaining that the previous tenant moved out in a hurry, and avoids telling her the truth about what happened the night before.

It isn't long before Drummy (Jeff Chandler) shows up and does his best to charm Lynn, but Lynn is having -none- of it ... for now. You can see where this is heading, but it's still fun getting there.

The bottom line is that Osbert and Queenie have made an "inve$tment" in Drummy, and his job is to woo wealthy widows and drain their bank accounts. Will this work on Lynn, the way it worked on Eloise?

Random Notes:

Nobody can deliver a sarcastic line like Joan Crawford. There are way too many to choose from here but one of my favorite is when Osbert and Queenie show up unannounced at her home and Lynn says "I'd like to ask you to stay for a drink, but I'm afraid you might accept." And she -continues- to read them for filth!

Drummy: "How do you like your coffee?" Lynn: "Alone!"

When Drummy keeps popping up at the house Lynn says, "You must go with the house, like the plumbing."

Lynn: "I wouldn't have you if you were hung upside-down with diamonds!" ... Um. WTF?

There's a fair amount of physical violence in this film. Lynn throws a drink in Drummy's face, she slaps him, bites him, and smacks him in the head with a telephone receiver. Drummy also manhandles Lynn and tears her dress ... just before she is "overcome with passion" and they get to bangin'.

There are some odd choices when it comes to Lynn's wardrobe. In addition to the aforementioned "strolling the beach in heels" scene, we see her wandering her darkened home alone, listening to music, dressed in a gorgeous gown, face and hair fully made up, and flashing jewelry ... At home. Alone. Then there's the scene where she wears a big long sleeve jacket over her bathing suit while she huddles by the fire for warmth. Um. Maybe she should put on something to cover her legs if she's cold?

The theme music by George Gershwin is wonderful, and very atmospheric.

There's a twist at the end! Can you see it coming?

One can make a pretty strong argument that this isn't a very good film, but those flaws are what make it so enjoyable!

Highly recommended!