L'oeil caché

Hidden Eye, The (1945)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Sequel to Eyes in the Night has the blind detective (Edward Arnold) trying to track down a killer who has murdered four people in a rich family. I haven't seen the original film but this one here is a pretty solid entertainment but we've seen this type of mystery countless times before. Having the lead detective blind was a new angle on the story and his ways of solving a crime without sight was rather interesting. The best performance in the film has to go to his dog, Friday, who is constantly entertaining. Arnold is also very good in his role and really sells himself as being blind. The film only runs 70-minutes and at times it drags along but there's certainly worst out there.

Eddie Arnold is the blind detective MacLain, helped by his dog and an assistant. now that a couple people from the same family have been knocked off, MacLain is brought in to track down the killers. a lot of discussion on perfumes. and Sumatra keeps coming up. a tired, running gag where MacLain's assistant keeps spilling perfume all over himself. co-stars Frances Rafferty and Ray Collins. the wheels turn slowly as MacLain comes up with clues. and he keeps laughing. it's a little odd. it kind of stumbles along. it has all the usual elements of a crime story, but it's just not very compelling. Directed by Richard Whorf. only directed about ten films, then it was a whole lot of television. no big deal. whatever.

As a genial blind detective, EDWARD ARNOLD chuckles his way through his familiar role as the man whose keen mind and senses detect things that a man with eyesight cannot possibly see. In this particular mystery, the murderer is revealed halfway through and the suspense lies in wondering how Arnold will get on his scent.

WILLIAM PHILLIPS has a good supporting role as his assistant who's assigned to test some perfumes. His scene at a perfume counter is the film's only solid comic moment and he shares it with the unbilled and unknown AUDREY TOTTER as an amused clerk. FRANCES RAFFERTY is the pretty leading lady, a woman about to inherit a huge fortune upon the death of her wealthy uncle. The crime is planted on her fiancé and it's up to Arnold to find a way to reveal the true murderer.

JACK LAMBERT makes a good thug, but Edward Arnold's bland portrayal of the amiable blind man is a bit tedious after awhile. Overall, it's pretty mild stuff.

Edward Arnold was an excellent actor, and all films with him are outstanding for his contribution. He made two films as the blind detective Maclaine with his good dog Friday, and although rather short, they are both excellent, the second even better than the first. There is nothing cheap or artificial in the construction of the intrigue, which eventually keeps constantly increasing in excitement and suspense, and you have to worry at times about the detective, especially when his dog gets into trouble. Ray Collins is abominable as the corrupt godfather-like guardian, and it is impossible not to fall into the trap of suspecting the wrong person of all these family murders. This is great entertainment for a chamber drama of murder at home.

I love old B-detective films such as Charlie Chan, The Saint, Boston Blackie and The Falcon. In addition to these very popular series, MGM tried to make a string of films starring veteran character actor Edward Arnold as a blind ex-police captain who now investigates crimes on his own. Unfortunately, while I really liked the first two films of the series, there must not have been much interest as MGM killed the series and only ended up making the two.

What a shame, as I found them charming and innovative--something that is lacking in most films of the genre. I liked Arnold's easygoing manner (though my wife felt he laughed too much) and his guide dog, Friday, was a great sidekick--practically stealing the show. The plots were creative, the supporting acting very good and the production values many steps above lower budget Bs. About the only thing that was a deficit was the use of stunt doubles. All too often, it was VERY obvious that it was not the rotund and middle-aged Arnold but a younger and thinner man with significantly more hair! In this regard, it reminded me a lot of the work done on the original STAR TREK television series--where it was obviously NOT Kirk, Spock or McCoy in the action scenes.

By the way, if you get a chance, try seeing the first film (EYES IN THE NIGHT). It's really funny watching Arnold's character deliberately trying to be super-obnoxious and irritating!