Private Eddie Pratt (Eddie Craven) has just married his sweetheart, Sally (Marie Wilson) when he is transferred to a post on Powder Island. Not wanting to postpone his honeymoon, Eddie decides to smuggle his new bride onto the base by hiding her in a duffle bag. Once they reach the island Eddie decides to hide Sally in one of the camp experimental buildings. Once inside the darkened building Eddie sees the body of a man named Reilly (Harland Tucker) who had been tortured and killed. Sally’s scream brings the guard, Private Ferris (William Haade), as well as most of the soldiers in the area.
Lt. Matthews (Regis Toomey) contacts Colonel Hackett (Henry Kolker). The colonel shows up with Dr. Brooks (Charles Trowbridge) and Mr. Jevries (Boris Karloff), a civilian engineer. Hackett seals off the island and begins an investigation. Eddie and Sally are discovered hiding in one of the soldier’s tents. Hackett finds out that they were attacked by the killer as he made his escape. He calls in Colonel Bob Rogers (Cy Kendall) from Army Intelligence to take over the case.
Rogers zeros in on Jevries, a man he remembers from an incident on an army base in the Philippines. According to Rogers, Jevries was responsible for the theft of a company payroll. He was tried, convicted and spent 10 years in prison. In reality the theft was perpetrated by Reilly and Jevries’ wife, Aline (Phyllis Barry). Rogers is convinced that Jevries is now responsible for Reilly’s death and that gun smuggling is involved.
“The Invisible Menace” AKA “Without Warning” was released in 1938 and was directed by John Farrow. It is an American mystery with comedy elements. The film was based on the play “Without Warning” by Ralph Spencer Zink.
For the most part, I found the movie to be rather tepid. It does have several suspects and a red herring or two so figuring out who the killer is can be a bit of a challenge. I wasn’t sure who the killer was until almost at the end of the film. The misleading title doesn’t help at all since it has nothing to do with the film. The “invisible menace” is a regular murderer and nothing supernatural. There are also a couple flashbacks that are suddenly wedged in with the current action. They show up all of a sudden with no real introduction.
It’s a short film and not all that deep. The comic relief is mostly Eddie and Sally Pratt. The premise is a bit silly. Recommend for Boris Karloff completists and anyone who enjoys 30’s style mysteries.