L'assassin au gant de velours

Van Heflin plays the head of the police crime lab who investigates the murder of a district attorney and a mayor. His assistant (Marsha Hunt) is in love with him but he doesn't show her that kind of attention. So when his friend (Lee Bowman), a special prosecutor working for the mayor, starts romancing her we get ourselves a good old-fashioned love triangle.

Heflin is terrific and has great chemistry with lovely Hunt. The killer's identity is easy to figure out. It's pretty much the most obvious suspect. But thankfully the film doesn't expect that mystery to play out too long and we're let in on his identity relatively quickly. Pretty good B movie from director Fred Zinnemann (his first film). The script is smart and the forensic angle is fresh for the time. The love triangle part of the story is weak but that sort of thing was very common back then.

This low-budget MGM crime flick is surprisingly entertaining. The best way to enjoy it is to suspend what you know about today's film-making and settle into a more innocent time when plots—like the movies themselves—were in black and white, when characters were labeled good or bad, when dialog was crisply effective (though artificial) and when even the deadliest dramas ended with wedding bells. One thing that separates "Kid Glove Killer" from similar films of the 1930s and '40s is the fact that its protagonist, Gordon McKay (Van Heflin) is not only a cop. He's in charge of a police crime laboratory. With the aid of his assistant, Jane Mitchell (Marsha Hunt), McKay solves murders and rids the city of corruption by using a microscope, a spectrograph and other tools that—mutatis mutandis—will be used again in crime-scene-investigation stories for decades to come, up to and including the current "CSI" television series. McKay scrapes beneath fingernails, vacuums people's hair and analyzes fibers to get trace evidence that will nail the crooks. The fact that you know all along who the crooks are doesn't spoil the fun—it's that kind of movie. Embedded in the investigation is a love triangle whose outcome is so obvious that you can go for popcorn without missing a beat. The acting is above par. Van Heflin's performance is adept if unspectacular. (That same year Heflin won a best-supporting-actor Oscar for "Johnny Eager.") Lee Bowman is suavely manipulative as a power-seeker. Marsha Hunt makes what she can of a role that has her wearing a lab coat one minute and an evening gown the next. In those days, of course, it was a Hollywood cliché that a professional woman would slog away at her job only till she could junk it in favor of marriage. This movie observes the cliché, but there is a hint of feminism in the fact that Jane Mitchell—whom everyone calls simply "Mitchell"—works as a chemist, a job more often held by men. Notable among supporting players are John Litel as a crime boss and Eddie Quillan as a victimized citizen. If you look fast, you can see Ava Gardner and Robert Blake in uncredited bit parts. This was Fred Zinnemann's first feature film, and he keeps the whole thing moving to a time clock. The bare-bones production and its repeated use of the same interior sets are not major drawbacks. "Kid Glove Killer" was never intended to be pâté de foie gras. It's a ham sandwich. Pass the mustard.

(Slight Spoilers) Intelligent little murder drama where were shown who the murderer is even before he murders his victim. Working for the election of Richard Daniels, Samuel S. Hinds, for mayor of Chatsburg crusading lawyer and crime-fighting, that's a laugh, radio personality Jerry Lidimer, Lee Bowman, is in the know to just what Daniels is to do to in combating crime after he gets into office. Jerry is really working for the Matty Mob who's paying him $1,000.00 a week for his services.

Having Matty's hit men knock off Mayor Daniels crime-fighting attorney general Hunter J. Turnley, by telling them wheres he's going on vacation and thus away from his police protection, Jerry is now made by the unsuspecting Mayor Daniels special prosecutor which makes him even more effective for the mob not the law-abiding people of Chatsburg who he's sworn to serve.

Mayor Daniels later gets this special delivery letter that asks him about a reference for Jerry and how he was able to pay up front $28,000.00 in cash for a $80,000.00 insurance policy. Daniels knowing that Jerry was flat broke where he started to work for him less then a year ago also knows that there's something not kosher with Jerry and tells him that he's going to announce an investigation on his finances the next day.

Panic-stricken Jerry rigs Mayor Daniels car and the next morning as the Mayor is about to start the car motor he's blown to bits. Having a perfect pasty to take the fall diner owner Eddie Wright, Eddie Quillan, Jerry is now in the clear not only to be special prosecutor but mayor as well of Chatsburg. This will give the Matty Mob the run of the city with nothing to fear from the police and the law. What Jerry didn't count on is the man in charge of police lab Gordon McKay, Van Heflin.

Getting all the evidence together Gordon and his pretty assistant Jane Mitchell, Marsha Hunt, at first exonerates the accused and bewildered Eddie Wright of Mayor Daniels murder. With Jerry desperately trying to put the frame on poor Eddie and with a little conniving, on his part, Gordon gets the goods on Jerry by getting a sample of his hair which has particles that were found at the murder scene.

The ending has Jerry who found out about Gordon's evidence against him ,from an unsuspecting Jane, have it out with Gordon, who knew he was coming to murder him, who called the police in advance and also gets Jerry pinned with a dart that he was practicing with all through the film.

Van Heflin was both valiant and funny as the somewhat peculiar lab technician Gordon McKay and his scenes with the pretty Marsha Hunt were, besides a number of fight scenes, the highlight of the movie "Kid Glove Killer".

This is a wonderful little picture from MGM as it delivers on all levels. Unlike many "B-pictures", this film features better production values, better characters and a much better written script than usual. While MOST B-movies have plot holes and logical errors, this one is very tight and interesting and seems superior to the usual detective films.

Van Heflin plays a brilliant forensic scientist who works for the police. In many ways, he seems like a 1940s version of the TV show CSI--but his assumptions and equipment seem rather realistic and less fantastic than the shows we see on television today. For example, when Van finds what MIGHT be evidence, he is very hesitant to make huge logical leaps and is very cautious and thorough. In addition, he uses standard equipment of the day to investigate the crimes (whereas, CSI often features procedures that are NOT really used today).

Van is ably assisted by the pretty Marsha Hunt--who Van seldom seems to recognize for her many talents. Finally, after seeing no reaction from him, she begins to date the District Attorney and they become quite serious.

There's a lot more to the story than this, but I don't want to spoil it. Just be prepared to be impressed by an intelligently written and acted film--and much of the credit should go to the great director, Fred Zinneman, who is able to get the absolute most from the material. It's not surprising to find that Fred went on to better and more prestigious projects--probably thanks to his success with little films.

FYI--Although the forensics are pretty good, at one point Van picks up what's left of a pipe bomb with his bare hands. What about fingerprints?!

Van Heflin is a forensics man trying to solve a couple of murders in "Kid Glove Killer," a 1942 MGM film also starring Marsha Hunt and Lee Bowman. As in "The Grand Central Murder," it's Heflin's performance that puts this film across, though this time he is aided by the lovely Marsha Hunt as his assistant, whom he calls "Mitchell." Lee Bowman plays a crooked politician pretending to be a good guy, and as a result, he's eager to see an innocent man put away for murder. He also is after the aforementioned Mitchell, who is waiting around for Heflin to make a move. Hunt's role is somewhat dated (or maybe not) - she's on her way to becoming a good forensics person, but says that the job is not for a woman and she wants to get married. Evidently that will put an end to her career.

Heflin was an interesting actor who could do character roles and leads. This film was made around the time of his breakthrough role in "Johnny Eager," after which he hung up his B movie mantle and moved on to bigger things. He always brought wry humor and subtle characterizations to his roles as well as excellent timing. Lee Bowman was a mustached actor who looked like he came from the Warren William era. He's solid but not terribly exciting. Hunt brings warmth and sparkle to her role.

There was, in my opinion, a major problem with the plot having to do with Heflin testing to find particles in the hair of various suspects some time after the crime - wouldn't the particles have come out when they washed their hair? You really end up thinking no one ever took a shower.

Nice beginning for Zinnemann, who would go on to direct some big features such as "High Noon."