O Papagaio Negro

In the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made hundreds, if not thousands of cheap B-mystery movies. Most have a certain sameness about them--and "The Case of the Black Parrot" is no exception. What do they have in common? Well, usually the police are pretty dim and it takes a non-professional (often a newspaper man or woman) to solve some murders. They also usually have the most convoluted plots and schemes. Because this film is so typical, I cannot highly recommend it...but it's not terrible.

The case involves a piece of furniture being shipped from France to the Unites States. But later, folks involves with it start dying...with marks much like snake fangs on the back of the hand of the victims. So, it's up to (naturally) a bright newspaper man (William Lundigan) to put the clues together and capture the baddie...though the baddie pretty much just turns himself in at the end. Few real surprises and, of course, a fantastical sort of way of killing people.

This Warner B mystery begins aboard ship. Paul Vantine is shipping back to America a forged version of the Boule Cabinet. The Boule is a Louis XIV style antique housed in Paris. He's an admirer of the forger known as the Black Parrot. With him is his niece (Maris Wrixon) and her new beau (William Lundigan). Inspecting the cabinet in his stateroom, Vantine is outraged to find that he has the original Boule, as he is so intent of having the Black Parrot copy. During a faked alarm call when all passengers have to report to the ship's lifeboats, the stateroom gets broken into and the cabinet opened. Somebody is after something the cabinet secretly contains. Later there are murders and various people have an interest in the Boule. I think vintage mystery fans will like this one.

Lacklustre whodunit from Warners. Plot concerns a valuable antique cabinet being brought back from France to US. The furniture item appears a mysterious piece of work that may or may not be a copy of the real thing. Reporter Moore (Lundigan) and ditzy photographer Tripod (Foy Jr.) get involved with the cabinet and an exotic someone calling himself The Black Parrot. Soon a series of mysterious deaths occur surrounding the furniture piece. Is the Parrot responsible and just who is he really.

It's a typical amateur sleuth programmer from that period. Unfortunately, the results are dimmer than most. Only the unknown method of killing registers as imaginative. Otherwise, the acting, visuals, and script are pedestrian, at best. Moreover, I don't recall a single scene not taking place on a set. It's a real cheapo for the otherwise respectable Warner Bros. I suspect the project was mainly to showcase pretty boy Lundigan-- who parades through his part-- in hopes of advancing his career. If so, I doubt that it worked for him any better than it does for the audience.

A stylish programmer. William Lundigan is always appealing and Maris Wrixon is generally fun to have around, if only for her name (though here she is quite good.)

The plot is elaborate and somewhat preposterous. And I guessed the mystery within the first few moments. But it's chic and nicely turned out for a cheapie.

The Black Parrot is a notorious forger who is rumored to have stolen the Mona Lisa. Paul Vantine has purchased a cabinet despite suspecting it as a Black Parrot fake. He is certain that even a forgery would climb in value due to the exemplary work. Paul and his niece Sandy Vantine show the cabinet to reporter Jim Moore, and his buddy Tripod Daniels. Upon further inspection, Paul realizes that it is actually the real deal worth $250k.

I've never heard of this movie, or the play, or the novel, or the author. That's the vast majority of literary works in the history of humanity. Not everyone or everything become the popular zeitgeist. Nothing is really standing out in this movie. Jim Moore isn't that interesting. None of the actors are really breaking through. They seem like fine professionals. It's a run-of-the-mill murder mystery in a mansion. It's all rather borderline nothingness.