CinemaSerf

This is quite a complex tale of murder, blackmail and impersonation. Wealthy Tom Powers ("Johnston") hires private investigator Franchot Tone ("Bailey") to investigate his wife. The digging reveals she had rather an unsavoury past as a dancer who hooked up with an actor and had pinched $40k from her old employers. She turns up dead under Malibu pier and Tone is soon prime suspect for Robert Barrat's "Lt. Quint". It moves along efficiently, with plenty of twists and turns and the support from the two ladies Janet Blair and Janis Carter as well as from John Ireland and a very brief appearance by Raymond Burr keep this drama running well - except, that is, for Tone. He is dreadful - a good looking man with all the charisma of a cheese plant; and virtually no natural abilities with the camera at all. It is also far too long - could have lost 20 minutes without detracting from the plot in any meaningful way. Worth a watch, though.