Lt. Peter Duluth (Warren Douglas) is on a thirty-six hour leave from his ship. Peter married Iris (Audrey Long) a year ago and was shipped out before he could have a honeymoon. Today is the anniversary of their wedding. Peter plans on having that honeymoon now, but because there is a convention in town, getting a hotel room is proving to be impossible. They try again at the Sherwood Hotel, but the desk clerk (John Newland) tells them that they have no rooms available. At the desk is a woman, Mrs. Rose (Stephanie Bachelor) who takes pity on the couple and gives them her room for the night. She tells them that she is eloping and will be going out of town for the night. She gives them her key.
In the hotel room Iris answers a phone call. The man at the other end asks Iris a lot of questions. She tells Peter that he sounded sinister. While Iris gets ready for an evening out, Peter goes to the hotel spa to enjoy the steam room and have a massage. While he is in the steam room he meets a detective, Joe Hatch (Grant Withers) who says he is trailing a wayward husband. After his massage, Peter finds that his naval uniform has been stolen and in its place is a regular civilian suit. Hatch tells Peter that he has a detective agency with his partner, Bill Daggett (George Lynn). They offer to help find his naval uniform. They learn that the man who stole the suit sounded like the man who called the hotel room.
In the hotel bar the couple is approached by a man who mistakes Iris for her cousin Mona Crawford (Audrey Long). The man, who Iris and Peter begin to call Mr. Moustache (Lloyd Corrigan), warns Iris that “the roses are out”. He seems convinced that Mona is in danger. Worried about her cousin, Iris and Peter go to Mona’s house and find her dead. Clues lead them to another woman, Rita Brown (Tala Birell). When Rita ends up dead as well, Peter finds himself suspected of murdering both women. Other clues lead them to believe that there is a third murder being planned, but they don’t know who the potential victim is. While trying to evade police, Peter and Iris are also trying to find who the third victim could be so they can warn her. Their attempts put them in line for also being murdered.
“Homicide for Three” was released in 1948 and was directed by George Blair. It is an American “B” crime thriller with comedic undertones. The movie is loosely based on the book “A Puzzle for Puppets” written in 1944 by Patrick Quentin. Quentin used the Peter Duluth character in several books.
The movie starts out strong but then dissolves into an almost farce. The acting is OK, but the characterization is weak. At only an hour long, it is a fast-paced mystery. I wouldn’t look for too much here but some light entertainment and some decent rapport between the two main characters. Even though this isn’t a heavy film, it does have a lot of mismatched components creating confusion and a few comedy moments. You have people portraying dual characters, characters who aren’t what they seem, con artists, red herrings, misunderstandings and for good measure, a circus.
I was a little disappointed in Grant Withers performance. I liked him in the “Jungle Jim” serial and in the Mr. Wong movies with Boris Karloff but here he seems rather stiff. He appears to be just going through the motions here.