The Hat Box Mystery (1947)

A hat box as a murder weapon?, 5 July 2015

Plot summary from IMDb: "Susan Hart, assistant to private detective Russ Ashton, is given a camera concealed in a hat box and assigned to take a picture of a woman. A gun is accidentally hidden in the box and the woman is killed. Susan is charged with murder, but Russ and his less-than-useful associate, Harvard, get on the case and prove that the fatal shot was fired by the killer from across the street." While I agree with most of this, the gun wasn't "accidentally hidden". It was placed there on purpose so Susan would be charged with murder.

The Hat Box Mystery is a fun, little, noir-ish mystery. When I say little, it runs only 44 minutes and the first three or four minutes are taken up introducing, not just the characters, but the actual actors. This is strictly a low-budget B-quickie, but The Hat Box Mystery overcomes some of its budget limitations (static camera, stage-bound sets, uninspired lighting), and delivers a reasonably entertaining story. Tom Neal and Pamela Blake give very nice performances. Allen Jenkins and Virginia Sale provide the comic relief that, unfortunately, misses more than it hits. The supporting cast is adequate. The movie flows fairly nicely, only interrupted by one of Jenkins' gags. Overall, not a bad way to spend 3/4 of an hour.

5/10