William Lundigan (Lt Harry Grant) is on the case of a killer who strangles his victims from behind but with the added curiosity that he only strikes when it rains. The victims seem random. Dorothy Patrick (Ann) plays a journalist who is likable enough but prone to sticking her nose everywhere in order to get a story.
There are memorable scenes that include Lundigan talking to a life-size dummy of the murderer, and the moment that the murderer suspects he has been rumbled, although I think it was a shame to make him start running at that moment. The film starts well with an opening scene of Dorothy Patrick waiting in the rain and we also have the anticipated face to face moment at the end of the film between Lundigan and the killer.
While Lundigan comes across at times as monotone and some of the dialogue between him and his police colleague Jeff Corey is rather wooden, it doesn't detract from the story, and the best acting comes from Paul Guilfoyle as the husband of a murder victim. Unfortunately, not enough is made of the role of Dorothy Patrick. I would have liked to see her more involved in the unravelling of the mystery and maybe have a confrontation between her and the murderer. As it is, she has a very fluffy role and is given an irritating, cutesy answer to everything when she repeats the word "connections".
This film runs its course but unfortunately lacks any real suspense. While there are many good moments, you feel that better use could have been made of them in the development of the story and ultimately, the film comes across as routine. Nice idea about having a psychopath whose trigger is rainfall, though.
There are memorable scenes that include Lundigan talking to a life-size dummy of the murderer, and the moment that the murderer suspects he has been rumbled, although I think it was a shame to make him start running at that moment. The film starts well with an opening scene of Dorothy Patrick waiting in the rain and we also have the anticipated face to face moment at the end of the film between Lundigan and the killer.
While Lundigan comes across at times as monotone and some of the dialogue between him and his police colleague Jeff Corey is rather wooden, it doesn't detract from the story, and the best acting comes from Paul Guilfoyle as the husband of a murder victim. Unfortunately, not enough is made of the role of Dorothy Patrick. I would have liked to see her more involved in the unravelling of the mystery and maybe have a confrontation between her and the murderer. As it is, she has a very fluffy role and is given an irritating, cutesy answer to everything when she repeats the word "connections".
This film runs its course but unfortunately lacks any real suspense. While there are many good moments, you feel that better use could have been made of them in the development of the story and ultimately, the film comes across as routine. Nice idea about having a psychopath whose trigger is rainfall, though.