The Menace

Ronald Quayle was sent to prison for the murder of his father. However, like so many folks in Hollywood films, he didn't do it and was set up...presumably by his step-mother. Well, Quayle is able to escape from prison and soon is involved in an accident. He's burned badly and when a surgeon rebuilds his face, he gives the hospital a fake name...Robert Crockett. Now, with no fingerprints due to the fire and a different face, Robert returns to England to prove his step-mother killed his father.

While IMDB says this film was made in the States, I suspect like many films it was made by a British studio owned by Americans. Why would they do this? Well, a British law required a certain percentage of films shown in the country be made in the UK...and several American studios bought up studios in Britain to get around the law. I suspect it was made in the UK because one of the characters says he's from Oklahoma...and sounds British....very British.

I should mention that the print for this film on YouTube is very rough and I only watched it because I've nearly seen all of Bette Davis' movies...and she's in this one. Sadly, it was early in her career and she has a relatively bland and unimportant role as Crockett's girlfriend.

So is it any good? Well, since the story was taken from an Edgar Wallace film, you know the plot will most likely be very good...and murdery! Overall, a decent time-passer mystery film. Not brilliant but enjoyable.