Small House of Everything

Small House of Everything

Monday, May 5, 2025

OVERLOOKED FILM: MIDNIGHT MANHUNT (1945)

 "A WEIRD WACKY 'WHO-DUN-IT' IN A WAX MUSEUM!"

At least that was the tagline on the original movie poster.

From IMDb:  "In a cheap hotel room in New York City Jelke shoots gangster Joe Wells, takes a package from his pocket and flees.  Wells staggers into an alley.  On her way to her apartment above a wax museum, Sue Gallagher, a reporter for the Chronicle, finds Wells' body and hides his corpse among the wax-figures in the museum and calls her paper to send a photographer so she can get a scoop on the killing of Wells, who had a $5000 reward for his capture, dead or alive.  Meanwhile, Henry Miggs, the museum owner finds the body and is ready to call the police but his handyman , Clutch Tracy, tells him to conceal it and avoid suspicion.  From this point on it is a game of where-is-the-body...and the stolen South American diamonds Wells was carrying."

William Gargan headlines the cast credibly as Pete Willis, a rival newspaper reporter.  Ann Savage (Detour, Scared Stiff, Pier 23) is cute as the ambitious Sue Gallagher.  Dead End Kid Leo Gorcy adds a little bit of flair as Clutch Tracy, B-movie villain George Zukor shows his murderous side as Jelke, and character actor Charles Halton plays Miggs.

Directed by William C. Thomas (They Made Me a Killer, Big Town, Big Town After Dark), who had a bigger career as a producer than a director.  Scripted by David Lang (Queen of Burlesque, Web of Danger, Hellcats of the Navy).

An innocuous little B-movie and a cute time waster.  You could do much worse.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjVhQDdZDRk&t=14s

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