Larry Doyle (Robert Armstrong) is a reporter for The Chicago Record. Having gotten a big scoop on and solving a major crime he is given an award in the form of a police special revolver and a fifty-dollar bill. Larry and his reporter buddies, Whalen (James Burtis), Dunn (Monte Collins) and Weeks (Sam Lufkin) party up a storm. When Doyle eventually wakes in the morning, he finds himself on a train in St. Louis, Missouri.
At a lunch counter he notices that a young woman, Anne Ogilvie (Maxine Doyle), doesn’t have enough money to pay for her meal. Almost out of money himself, he covertly pays her bill. Later, while sending a telegram to his boss, Jo Jo Jonas (Henry Kolker), asking for money, he sees her again trying to send a wire to her mother. Now totally out of funds she tosses the message away. Larry fishes it out of the garbage and understands her situation. Worried about her state of mind he begins talking to her. He tells her that he too is broke and convinces her to partner up with him to raise some money.
Jonas refuses to send him any funds, but when Larry’s friends find out where he is, they pool their resources and send him fifty dollars. Now flush Larry pays off the hotel bill and splurges the rest. Still needing money, he goes to the Saint Louis News and tries to get a job with the managing editor, Marvin (James Burke). When Jonas refuses to vouch for him, Marvin tosses him out. Larry vows to get a story on a criminal the police have dubbed The Eel (LeRoy Mason) to prove his worth.
In the meantime, Larry pawns the revolver given to him by the Chicago police commissioner. The pawn broker sells the gun to the Eel. Larry and Anne head to a gambling joint called the Trocadero Club to try to increase their fortune. At the club Larry ends up in the middle of a robbery and shoot-out. Larry ends up with the loot and wanted for murder.
“The Mystery Man” was released in 1935 and was directed by Ray McCarey. It is an American low budget poverty row crime “B” movie.
There’s not a lot here, but what is here is charming and fun. It’s almost an amalgam of genres, part rom-com and part low budget crime film. Most of it is comedy, and when it gets to the crime part it is faster paced. The lead ends up being the usual wrong man in the wrong place type character. It’s your standard Monogram silliness but standard is quite often entertaining.
The lead is played by Robert Armstrong. He is more of a character actor, but he does have some street creds to back him up. You may remember seeing his face as Carl Denham in “King Kong” 1933 and in “Son of Kong” 1933. He was also Max O’Hara in “Mighty Joe Young” 1949. He’s been in films and television shows from 1927 to 1964.