I Killed That Man

This starts off quite intriguingly as we witness the dying moments of a felon heading to the chair. Only thing is, he never actually makes it - amidst his final confession in which he is about to implicate his paymaster, he is felled by a toxic dart and the police have rather an embarrassing mess to clear up. For some reason, the elderly "Lanning" (Harry Holman) is front and centre for the blame, but soon the assistant district attorney "Phillips" (Ricardo Cortez) and girlfriend reporter "Geri" (Joan Woodbury) conclude that's a red herring and are soon on the trail of the real criminal. It's hardly the best acted nor written drama you'll ever see, but Phil Rosen does manage to keep the tight cast all rowing in the same direction and the story mixes some light-heartedness - especially from switchboard operator/eavesdropper "Tommy" (George P. Breakston) with just enough mystery to amiably pass an hour or so.

This is a mystery with elements of comedy. It also has (minor) noir elements and a romantic touch.

Ricardo Cortez is excellent in the lead. We begin as a man is about to be put to death in prison. The press and the law are there, as well as a few others who like to observe executions.

Things do not go as planned. And Cortez tries to solve the mystery right on the spot. That doesn't work. His girlfriend, reporter Joan Woodbury, gets involved. Iris Adrian is, as always, effective as a moll.

This sort of thing continued to be standard fare at Warner Brothers till the mid-forties. Interestingly, Monogram does it even better here. The list of players boasts only Cortez as a box-office name. But it's cast in a clever and entertaining manner and neatly directed by Phil Rosen.

Newspaper reporter Joan Woodbury sails up to her editor's desk. The editor is on the phone. "Get me the state prison," he says. Woodbury doesn't miss a beat: "Making a reservation so soon?" This is the kind of snappy dialog that makes this an enjoyable lightweight film.

Plenty of movies from this era featured the crime-solving reporter. Many others starred the assistant district attorney tracking down a murderer. I Killed That Man has both—Woodbury as the reporter, and Ricardo Cortez as her boyfriend who also happens to be the assistant D.A. working on the case.

Other familiar elements also abound: rival reporters envious of Woodbury's connections, the poison dart as murder weapon. George Breakston is entertaining as the D.A. office's receptionist and switchboard operator—besides reading crime non-fiction and proposing inspired solutions to this particular mystery, he offers knowing deductions based on Woodbury's appearance as she sits in his waiting area. (How did he know she got dressed in a hurry that morning? "You got your left stocking on inside out.")

There's only one thing I really want to know after watching this picture: What card catalog numbering system did they use at their local library?

I Killed That Man is a fairly typical Poverty Row mystery film. It tells the tale of a man on his way to execution on Death Row who is suddenly killed by a poison dart by an unknown assailant while in a crowded room. The remaining film details the investigation into who is responsible.

To be honest there's nothing new here. It delivers what anyone familiar with Poverty Row productions will have come to expect, i.e. not too many thrills, not too many sets and not too many surprises. The film does pick up pace towards the end but it takes it's time getting there unfortunately. I've seen another obscure film from director Phil Rosen – Man With Two Lives – and that one was quite a bit more entertaining in my opinion. Having said that I have seen a lot worse than I Killed That Man, it's not exactly a bad watch for a rainy weekend morning.

I'm beginning to find that the poison dart must have been quite popular in early mystery films. This is at least the fourth such movie I've seen. This one involves one of these darts cheating the hangman. A convicted murderer is about to enter the death chamber when he collapses. There are news people and an array of characters in the room, so one of them must have done it. After that it's the usual stuff. There is the aggressive young female reporter who would rather be married than continue her career. She gets in a bit over he head, of course, and sets things on edge. This is better than most. The acting is fine, there are some famous character actors, and the movie has a sense of humor. You can tell the production value is pretty good. If you don't think too much you can sit back and enjoy this like a bad TV show.