The Inner Circle (1946)

"Hello, this is Johnny Strange of Action Incorporated.", 4 July 2015

This is the ad Johnny Strange (Warren Douglas) places for a secretary: "Wanted: secretary to human dynamo. Exclamation point. Must be blonde, beautiful, between 22 and 28, unmarried, with a skin you love to touch and a heart you can't." Before he can finish, Gerry Smtih (Adele Mara) interrupts and takes the position. Her first function is to take a call form a mysterious woman looking for help. Johnny arrives at the appointed place at the appointed time to find a heavily veiled woman with a Spanish accent. She takes him to a house where Johnny finds a dead man on the floor. What has Johnny gotten himself into? 

I've read the reviews on IMDb and see that opinions are pretty much split on The Inner Circle. Personally, I loved it. It's fast paced, has some interesting characters played by an above average cast for this kind of movie, an interesting plot, nice cinematography, witty and sharp dialogue, and just about everything else. Other than the final scene where the mystery is solved, it all works for me. Even with the ridiculous ending, it's still a joy to watch everything before that unfold. What fun! The Inner Circle looks and feels like much more than the 40s B movie it is.

I mentioned the cast and what a cast it is. Warren Douglas, William Frawley, Ricardo Cortez, Will Wright, and Dorothy Adams are all outstanding. But to me (and most everyone else), it's Adele Mara who really stands out. She's a real delight.

Overall, I'm going to give this breezy, fun film a 7/10.

7/10