Jim Fleg (George Sanders) is a rare book thief and forger. His most recent theft is the only surviving copy of Richard Burbage’s edition of Hamlet from the Public Library. In the process of stealing the book, Fleg kills a guard at the library. Fleg uses the book to create fake copies which he sells to rich collectors as the original. He uses a go-between, Myra Blandy (Gail Patrick). Fleg steals the books and makes the forgeries while Myra sells them to rich dumb Americans. Myra sells one of the copies to a man named Martin Cleaver (Sidney Blackmer). Cleaver suspects that the book is a forgery and confronts Myra demanding his money back. Cleaver doesn’t know that Myra works for Fleg.
Myra tells Fleg that she sold one of the copies to Cleaver even though Fleg told her not to. Fleg suspects that Cleaver is actually working for the Nazis and wants nothing to do with any retribution from them and tells Myra to return the money. Myra, on the other hand, thinks that Cleaver is just a collector and believes that she can handle the man. She goes against Fleg’s orders and refuses to return the money.
Myra is approached by Hal McByrne (Richard Denning) about the stolen edition of Hamlet. McByrne is a private detective working for one of the men that got swindled. He has also traced other forged works to Myra and is looking to find Fleg. Myra has managed to get herself in the middle of a spot of bother, but she is nothing if not resourceful. She decides to set McByrne up by sending him to the library for a book. She then tells Cleaver that it is Fleg that will be at the library. After that she calls Fleg and tells him about McByrne and where he will be.
At the library Cleaver gets killed by one of Fleg’s men. Fleg, pretending to be a police detective orders his men, who are also pretending to be police, to close the library. He also orders that everyone be kept as material witnesses. Fleg intends to use the opportunity to kill McByrne and steal five rare books to add to his collection. Myra has other plans up her sleeve. Everyone’s plans get upset when a scheduled air raid drill plunges the library into darkness.
“Quiet Please: Murder” AKA “Death from the Sanskrit” was released in 1942 and was directed by John Larkin. It is an American crime thriller with enough film noir influences to make it borderline noir. The film was based on the story “Death Walks in Marble Halls” by Lawrence G. Blochman. The story first appeared in “American Magazine” in 1942.
This was actually a fun little movie. I’m surprised it isn’t better known than it is. It’s a busy plot for such a short film. At times it can seem a little confusing but if you pay attention, it all fits together rather well and moves along at a brisk pace. It has a lot of noir elements to it and a fair amount of action. Among the great cast there is a femme fatale and a private detective, although not hardboiled. The bulk of the film takes place in the library, which adds some interesting color to the atmosphere. There’s lots of murder and mayhem in among the stacks.