8/10
Fast-moving and slick whodunit
6 September 2011
Private detective Van Heflin and police inspector Sam Levene butt heads in this lighthearted murder mystery set in and around the train station. Heflin is assisted by his wife; the interaction between Heflin's "Rocky" and Virginia Grey's "Butch" sparkles but, alas, only in little bits at a time—this screenplay moves along much too swiftly to allow a lot of character development. But that's okay; what dialog is here is snappy, concise and often delivered at a rapid-fire pace.

No tears are shed for stage star Mida King (played by Patricia Dane mainly in flashbacks). Mida has been murdered—and everyone had a motive. But how was it done? And by whom? It takes Heflin just over an hour to sort it out.

This is a quickie, all right, but script, acting, direction are all smoothly proficient. No one will confuse this MGM product with something from a poor sister studio like, say, Monogram.
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