Grant Murdock (Arnold Gray) is, what appears to be, a radio singer. He is arrogant, obnoxious, abusive, and an egotistical womanizer. In reality he can’t sing a note. His piano accompanist Norman Wilder (Ralph Forbes) is the real singer. Norman is a hunchback and uses Grant as his face to the world. Norman does the singing and Grant lip syncs.
The mob wants to muscle in on Norman’s territory and tries to buy Grant. Norman laughs it off since he knows Grant is a fraud. This is unfortunate. Elsa Evans (Vivienne Osborne) use to be Lefty’s (Carl Miller) girlfriend but she is now seeing Grant. She was supposed to woo him away from Norman but ended up getting wooed herself. The mob, tired of waiting decides to bump off Norman. Norman’s chauffer Sandy Higgins (Guinn “Big Boy” Williams) is street smart and tricks the mob. Norman survives the attempt.
Laura Hamilton (Gail Patrick) is a wanna be singer. She visits Norman to see if she has enough talent to become a famous singer. If not, she will marry her boyfriend Dr. Robert Brooks (Paul Page) and give up singing. Norman, who is also a teacher hears her sing and tells her she could be a great singer but she would need to dedicate her life to it.
When Norman sees Grant talking to Laura he gets jealous. He tells Grant to leave Laura alone. Grant, being a prick, does what he wants and at that particular moment he wants Laura. What he doesn’t want anymore is Elsa. Elsa is pissed and Norman is pissed.
Norman buys a gun so he can kill Grant. When he gets home he finds that Grant is already dead. He also finds a compact that belongs to Laura. Norman thinks that Laura killed Grant and tries to cover for her by confessing to the crime.
“The Phantom Broadcast” was released in 1933 and was directed by Phil Rosen. It is a poverty row “B” movie by Monogram Pictures. It is also a pre-code mystery based on a story by Tristram Tupper called “Phantom of the Air”.
The pre-code aspects would be that some of the characters use derogatory names when talking about and to Norman making fun of his hunchback. Another would be letting a killer go free. Perhaps even the murdered person trying to have sex with every woman he meets, although it could be considered an essential part of the plot and therefore could have been allowed. There is one little exchange between Laura and her boyfriend Dr. Brooks while she changes and he finishes washing the dishes that would have definitely been censored out even though today you may not even realize it’s there.
It’s a strange little film. Not so much a mystery as it is a kind of love story, but unrequited love. There is a good amount of singing in it, so you need to be OK with that. It is also sad at the end. The movie wasn’t bad, but if you’re looking for a murder mystery or any kind of who-done-it you may want to pass on this. If, on the other hand, you have a fondness for Cyrano de Bergerac you may find it on the charming side.