Scotland Yard Investigator

Hollywood once again demonstrates how flush with imported talent it was with this plush Republic potboiler (thanks to what are presumably standing sets handsomely lit) starring Sir C.Aubrey Smith and Erich von Stroheim! The latter looks extremely dashing in a toupee as a Bond villain set on adding the Mona Lisa to his collection of stolen masterpieces. (Both are supposed to be experts on art, yet fail to notice that the film's McGuffin is obviously a quickly knocked up copy.)

A sort of sequel to the same director's 'Secrets of Scotland Yard' of the previous year; the actual Scotland Yard Investigator who gives the film it's title being in fact very marginal to the proceedings.

When the Germans were marching into Paris, the French government sent the Mona Lisa to England for safekeeping -- don't ask me, this is what the movie says -- and they stuck it into a mountain vault under the supervision of C. Aubrey Smith. Now they want it back, so Smith hands it over. Then a few hours later, in walks Erich von Stroheim in a preposterous pompadour. The couriers were working for him, and here's the picture they snatched. It's an obvious forgery. And so both men set about looking for the real one, without the French being told

It's an obvious paycheck movie for both actors, but it's always fun to watch each of them doing his shtick. Director George Blair keeps the fog machines running full blast in this Republic programmer to make it look like England. After all is said and done, I'm still not sure how they lost the painting.

Although shot on a dental floss budget by Republic, Scotland Yard Investigator proves to be an interesting little crime thriller and the leading actors Erich Von Stroheim and C. Aubrey Smith get a chance to carry a film for a change instead of being in support.

For reasons I don't understand Von Stroheim is given a full head of hair and we miss that bald menace, but even with a wig he's as coldly Teutonic as ever. Von Stroheim plays an art collector who has robbed a lot of valuable art objects over the years so that he could enjoy them in his privacy and deprive the world of same. Now with the close of World War II, he's out to get the biggest prize of all, the Mona Lisa which was given temporary shelter in the United Kingdom during the late war from another German art collector, Herman Goering.

C. Aubrey Smith is the man charged with keeping the Mona Lisa as director of Great Britain's national gallery, but then someone else steals it out from under Smith and Von Stroheim. Smith has to get it back before an international incident is caused by the theft between Great Britain and France.

Forrester Harvey is another player here, he's a cockney art dealer and fence and he pulls the caper off. The rest of the film is a cat and mouse triangular game between Smith, Von Stroheim, and Harvey.

Harvey by the way though he's a drunk is not a total fool. In some ways he's more entertaining than either of his adversaries.

Scotland Yard Investigator for its miniscule production values is pretty good, carried as it were on the backs of two very familiar character actors.

Not really a surprise in this little feature. Republic studios manufactured this kind of products as dozens per month. Not boredom in that story of robbery, counterfeit and intrigue in the art collectors world.

Von Stroheim gives here an acceptable performance as a ruthless collector ready at anything to achieve his purposes, including murder. And he is not the only one. Not action packed movie but still absorbing.

Forget the classic romance between this detective and the girl. Usual cliché we unfortunately can't miss. I will say that Aubrey Smith is delightful in the old fellow character.

There are not too many films starring C. Aubrey Smith in the lead and watching that old boy as the big star is always fascinating. A very descent film, with great acting. Made me very happy finding a copy of the film after searching for it for years.