The invisible mystery
Detective Lieutenant Jerry Brown (Roland Drew) is in charge of the homicide squad. His fiancé Sue Walker (Grace Bradley) is a reporter on the police beat for the Gazette. Sue has been investigating the gambling racket and some recent murders. Much to her fiancé’s chagrin. With connections everywhere Sue seems to be one step ahead of the police.
The latest murder is at Lefty Ross’ (Sidney Grayler) place. Sue sees Gloria Cunningham (Jean Brooks) in the crowd with Arthur Enslee (Alex Callam). Enslee is the attorney for both the gambling hall owners and Gloria’s father. Gloria is the daughter of Mr. Cunningham (Boyd Irwin), one of the towns leading citizens and anti-gambling proponent. Gloria is also the girlfriend of District Attorney Richard Sutton (Crane Whitley). Sue agrees to give Gloria a break and not report that she was at the scene. At least for now.
In the meantime the police know very little about the murder. Witnesses report that Jimmy Clark, the murdered man, was called to the telephone in another room. Shots were then heard but no weapon was found. The murder prompts the DA to end all gambling in the city. He warns all club owners that if they continue, their establishments will be closed. Lefty decides to tell the DA what he knows. Lefty makes an appointment to see Sutton in his home. Before he can spill the beans he is called to the phone. Lefty is killed in the same manner as Jimmy Clark.
The police learn that the murders are the result of poison pellets inserted in the phone handsets and not due to the victims being shot. When another murder happens, it’s Sue that comes up with the missing clue as to how the murders happened. Now the question is who is doing the murdering?
“The Invisible Killer” was released in 1939 and was directed by Sam Newfield. The film is a low budget poverty row murder mystery from Producers Picture Corporation.
There really isn’t a lot to say about this movie other than its average. No great stars, no great plot or even any twists or turns. Not even much in the way of red herrings. The film is only about an hour long and most of the action is between the cop and his girlfriend. There is a slight mystery but it isn’t long before you figure it out. The main mystery is why they called the movie “The Invisible Killer”.
Grace Bradley does have a small fan base so fans of hers may get more out of it. Otherwise, it’s just a regular mystery movie, light on the mystery. It’s not bad and it’s not good. I wouldn’t go out of my way to find it or spend a lot of money for it. It’s available on you tube. You can watch it there and see if it’s to your liking but don’t expect to find a very good copy of it anywhere.