Private Detective

This is a fairly good B murder romance along the lines of the Torchy Blaine series (although the Torchy Blaine flicks were a tad more entertaining). It is obvious this early in her career that Jane Wyman is headed for star status which eventually earns her the Oscar for "Johnny Belinda." Dick Foran is actually better in a romantic police lieutenant lead than he was in the saddle. His singing cowboy westerns left much to be desired. And actually Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom handles himself quite well as a comic foil, much better than many of his goofy, stupid counterparts in all those B detective movies of the 30's and early 40's. The story is not bad either and well-suited for its 55 minute time slot. A minute more would have been too long for this type movie, which in many ways is similar to the 30 to 60 minute TV shows of early television. Directors of today should learn that two hours or more is too long for most films. Much of the movie is routine but such talent before the camera makes it entertaining. If you enjoy the genre, then you should be pleased with this entry.

Jane Wyman follows her similar role in Torchy (Blane) Plays with Dynamite with another Noel Smith-directed "B" movie pitting the skills of a female private detective against the might of the police department. Private Detective never quite makes up its mind whether it wants to emphasize the love interest or solving crime. Not that there isn't a plethora of crimes to be solved: we are treated to murder, blackmail, kidnapping – and that is just by the bad guys. The cops go in for breaking and entering big time with Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom as Detective Brody breaking down two of four doors attempted. Mike Mazurki does this type role much better. Morgan Conway is also hard to believe in his role as he was equally implausible as Dick Tracy in later movies.

The crime plot revolves around the framing of a "Reno divorcée" (who has a questionable relationship with her so-called fiancée) for the murder of her ex-husband. The murder is not too hard to solve so we would think then that the love interest would be played up instead. It would appear that some of the storyline ended up on the cutting room floor since there are good set ups for scenes that simply do not appear and then are referred to later at least in passing.

The writing clearly has a feminine touch with barbs being thrown at male chauvinism and oblique criticism of the stereotypical role women should play. This part of the storyline at least has continuity. Jane Wyman as Myrna 'Jinx' Winslow tells her boss no to "shhhh" her and then quits as she is fired from the Nation-wide Detective Agency. She keeps the job for at least one more case and after solving the murder tells her boyfriend Detective Lieutenant Jim Rickey (Dick Foran) that "I don't want to be a detective anymore." Not recommended unless you are trying to study how women are portrayed in traditional men's roles or just want to watch Jane Wyman going through the scenes with lots of very different hats and fur coats and even on the ledge of a tall building while wearing high heels.

"The dirty heel," mutters detective Jane Wyman of the Nationwide Detective Agency. She refers to sleazy lawyer Morgan Conway, who is scheming with a client to swipe his own child's inherited fortune.

Soon enough, the client (a first class rat himself) is murdered—but who did it? The lawyer? The ex-wife? The chauffeur? What about the ex-wife's new fiancé?

Jane Wyman is lively and likable in this very entertaining and compact B mystery. Dick Foran co-stars as Wyman's fiancé, a cop working the same murder case. He would very much like for her to hurry up and marry him and "retire" from her job—however, Wyman is always at least a step ahead of him in the investigation, and is clearly the brains of this couple.

Max Rosenbloom is a fellow cop, Foran's partner in crime fighting; part comic relief and part muscle, he breaks down doors and makes encouraging comments. Good old Joseph Crehan is the police captain begging for some results from his detectives. Foran gives it a game effort…but boy, is his character boring! To be fair, I suppose it wasn't his fault that the script gave Wyman all the good lines.

Overall, some good action scenes and rapid dialog delivery—along with Wyman's snappy performance—keep this one moving along nicely.

Millard Lannon and his wife Mona are battling for the custody of their son Bobby who inherited $5 million from his grandfather. Private detective Myrna Winslow (Jane Wyman) refuses to testify for Millard who only wants the money. She quits and proposes marriage to police detective Jim Rickey (Dick Foran). Millard with his lawyer Nat Flavin calls in a fake threat from Mona. Mona comes to see her son Bobby. Millard is shot dead. Mona runs away. With a neighbor as a witness, Mona is immediately the prime suspect. Myrna and Jim investigate from opposite sides.

It's under an hour and it's fine. Jane Wyman plays a good wildcat investigator. Foran is rather forgettable. As a crime story, it's all fairly straight forward. Mona's innocence is never in doubt. It would be more compelling to have Rickey and Winslow team up. That way, they can develop more combative chemistry and take this movie to the next level. In general, it's pretty basic and fine.

1939 is considered the top year for classic films from Hollywood with the release of Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, The Adventures of Robin Hood and countless others, however while all those masterworks were being created it's good to remember that the studios were still cranking out B programmers to fill the bill and this is as good an example of that as any.

Jane Wyman having worked her way through bits and supporting roles has one of her first leads here as Jinx Winslow, girl detective. She's cute and sprightly and in an interesting contrast she has a few scenes with the ill fated Gloria Dickson, a promising contract player until her sad death a few years later in a house fire at just 28. In their scenes the blush of stardom is all over Jane, not only is she far more animated than Gloria but she registers on screen in a way that Dickson does not and never would. A clear demonstration of star quality, Jane is vibrant whereas Gloria is flat, it doesn't help her though that she's made up in the most overdone and unflattering hair and makeup.

As for the rest of the movie and the cast, the story is nothing that hasn't been done a million times but it moves at a good clip and that blank wall of an actor Dick Foran takes up space like he always does, how he worked so much is a mystery