Find the Blackmailer

Politician Gene Lockhart is being blackmailed, so he enlists the help of the most unknown detective (to keep it quiet and out of the news) to get him out of the scrape. Enter Jerome Cowan (Bogart's murdered partner in "The Maltese Falcon"), who has a very likable disposition as a unscrupulous and somewhat sleazy detective. It seems they need a crow that repeats what it hears and it heard the last words of a murdered man, implicating Gene Lockhart. Through a series of twists and turns and interrogations of suspects and run-ins with hoodlums, Jerome tries to get at the truth. What begins very pleasantly and simply turns very complicated quickly with some zippy and witty one-liners. This film was in fact very funny, and by the end I think you'll feel thoroughly satisfied. There's even a twist that you don't see coming. Or do you? Whatever the means to get his man, Jerome Cowan as D.L. Trees earns his money and gives you a good time for a little over an hour. Good job, big guy!

"Find the Blackmailer" is a Warner Brothers comedy mystery that probably was made to capitalize on the string of such films that were highly successful with other studios. Among those were MGM's "Thin Man" of 1934 and its several sequels that carried past the mid-1940s. Some others were Philo Vance and Boston Blackie films that had different stars over the years, and were made by different studios. But this isn't of the caliber of the Thin Man series and its star roles that William Powell and Myrna Loy owned.

Jerome Cowan as private-eye D. L. Trees, and his secretary, Pandora Pines (played by Marjorie Hoshelle) can't match the acting of Powell and Loy. And the writing and screenplay here are definitely second tier. But Cowan and Hoshelle give it their best, and the film is at least entertaining. Even with some plot holes and guess work that doesn't gel with what the audience sees.

One interesting faux pas I noticed in this film is when Trees discovers the body of the murder victim. He then kneels down and proceeds to touch and handle various things - a broken lightbulb by its base, a drink glass, the coffee table. That's a no-no at a crime scene that Powell's Nick Charles and any savvy private-eye would never do. Well, as I said, it's a second-rate job all around.

Here's my favorite exchange of dialog in this film.

D. L. Trees, "Oh, don't bother me. I'm thinking." Pandora Pines, his secretary and girlfriend, "Uh, uh. You just think you're thinking." Trees, "If you really wanna know, I'm thinking how I'm gonna pay your salary." Pandora, "I have it. I'll lend you the money." Trees, "That ain't funny, Magee. Now be quiet. I'm listening to the radio."

This one stars Jerome Cowan as a private eye looking for someone who's threatening Gene Lockhart's run for mayor. It is also a minor spoof of or inside joke on THE MALTESE FALCON as it involves a black bird -- a live crow.

Cowan is a little weak as a leading man, but director Ross Lederman keeps things moving at such a good clip that it's over in less than an hour.

"Find the Blackmailer" stars Jerome Cowan as D.L. Trees, a snappy-talking private eye. It's funny, but although Cowan has well over 200 credits on IMDB, he almost never starred in anything but was a supporting character actor. It's really a shame, as he was great in the film and I would like to see more performances like this. He looks like a normal everyday guy...but comes off well as the snappy private detective.

As far as the plot goes, there is the problem. Although Cowan and all the other actors did a great job, they were saddled with a silly plot...really, really silly. It seems that a new client wants Trees to find a talking crow that has been taught to say that he had murdered someone. Now perhaps I am naive, but I cannot see a crow coming in to court to testify. Fortunately, after a while the talking bird angle becomes less important when bodies start to pile up. But still...a case to find a talking crow?!

Overall, watchable but a bit silly as well. Not surprising when you consider that it's a quickie B-movie...and sometimes plot holes and silly plot devices aren't major concerns by the directors or studios.

Top character actor Jerome Cowan ("The Maltese Falcon") gets boosted to star status for this B level mystery-comedy from Warner Bros. He plays an unpopular private detective, D. L. Trees, who's currently hard up for cash. Then a mayoral candidate (Gene Lockhart, "Miracle on 34th Street") who promises honesty & integrity in his campaign tasks Trees with finding a pet crow that's been trained to talk, since the bird can supposedly implicate the politician in threatening the life of a shady character named Molner.

Like a lot of mystery plots, the story of "Find the Blackmailer" can get convoluted enough that one may indeed need to watch this more than once to understand everything that's going on. Great cinema it's not, but it's a perfectly serviceable, solidly entertaining B movie with a decent sense of humor; a fair number of the lines actually made me laugh out loud. The cast plays their roles to the hilt, and this little movie, despite mostly consisting of snappy dialogue, just races along, clocking in at an impressively brief 56 minutes (one of the shortest movies released by Warner Bros. In 1943).

Mostly, it's a treat to watch Cowan in this starring role, as he handles himself with great style and utters quips frequently. But it's worth sticking with this to the end for that final twist.

Seven out of 10.