Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime

There have been tons of Ellery Queens over the years in the movies and on TV and Ralph Bellamy does an admirable job in this flick. There's a lot of humor in the film. Spring Byington as a dotty matron who thinks more of her pet monkey than her family is a lot of fun, though you're never quite sure if she is as dotty as she seems. Bellamy is unflappable, jaunty and confident in the title role. His relationship and repartee with his secretary are delightful. There's a very funny scene with Ellery at an auction of the contents of a country house. The mystery isn't a bad one, though there's a good chance you will eliminate enough suspects on your own to figure out whodunnit. That won't take away from the fun of viewing. If you like the Falcon series with George Sanders and Tom Conway, you'll probably enjoy this, if you can find it. I have a copy only because I caught it on TV once and taped it. Someone ought to restore the print and issue it on DVD so everyone can enjoy Bellamy in a fine comedy-mystery role.

Well, don't let the title lead you astray - this murder plot is, though complicated and twisted enough, far from perfect in the way of logic, because the authors just hide too many facts, present us more suspects than Chandler and scatter more red herrings than Agatha Christie... But it certainly IS fun guessing all the way (and Nikki's idea isn't even bad; it MIGHT have been the solution just as well!), although I doubt if many viewers will really find the murderer at last.

Anyway, this movie, the third one where Ralph Bellamy plays 'Ellery Queen', differs from the previous ones in a welcome way: it takes things less serious and 'allows' some jokes to be thrown in. So you can really prepare yourself for an enjoyable 'whodunit' with moments of suspense as well as fun!

Ralph Bellamy makes the third of four appearances as "master detective" Ellery Queen in Columbia's Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime. The principal villain is crooked stockbroker John Mathews (Douglass Dumbrille), whose Wall Street manipulations render Ray Jarden (H. B. Warner) penniless. Mathews' chicanery seems particularly coldblooded, inasmuch as his daughter Marian (Linda Hayes) is engaged to Jarden's son Walter (John Beal). When the latter disappears, Mathews asks Ellery Queen to locate the young man.

An entertaining enough Ellery Queen mystery that has humour and plenty of monkey business. The suspects are quite diverse, one of them is Spring Byington who steals every scene she is in. She's dizzy one minute and callous the next. The ending, though, could've been clearer. The zaniness needed to be reined in a bit.

"Walter" (John Beal) returns home to his father's home ready to console him for losing all his money after the collapse of the Southern Valley Electrical Company. Surprisingly, though, he finds "John" (Douglass Dumbrille) in good spirits having seen the writing on the wall and sold his stock earlier. Disgusted that this will leave the other stockholders ruined, he heads to the home of his gal "Marian" (Linda Hayes) whose father "Ray" (H. B. Warner) is having to sell up to pay his $200,000 debt. This is where the eponymous PI (Ralph Bellamy) comes in. The young man engages him to buy up the estate secretly so that he can return it to him. The decent old man refuses to accept and when, shortly afterwards, "John" is found murdered the hunt for a killer is on. It's quite a complex little mystery this, with plenty of red herrings and just about everyone is a suspect - even the usually butter-wouldn't-melt Spring Byington as the distant cousin "Carlotta" - a woman who keeps a monkey that might have homicidal tendencies. It's quite quickly paced and entertaining enough with pistols, pens, bows and arrows before a dunking in a swimming pool and a rather lame ending. The star for me was probably his wily assistant "Nikki" (Margaret Lindsay) who has the best of the dialogue and though it's all pretty forgettable, it's an OK watch for an hour.

Ralph Bellamy is again Ellery Queen, this time in Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime.

A crooked stockbroker (Douglas Dumbrille), knowing a project he and his clients have stock in is going down, sells his shares and sells short. He doesn't mention it to his other clients, one of whom (H. B. Warner) bankrupt.

The stockbroker is found dead, and his estranged son (John Beal) is an immediate suspect. It's up to Ellery, his dad, and his sidekick (Margaret Lindsay) to figure out what really went on and who is responsible.

Not bad.