The bad news is that I saw the shortened 53 minutes of this Guy-Kibbee-as-a-retired-detective mystery. The good news is that I loved it. I wish they could have found the whole film and preserved it. Oh well. But it concerns a young couple who stole some emeralds as a joke and wants to return them. They go to Guy Kibbee for help, but he tells them to go home and leave him alone. He's retired. But when he finds out they've got a tail on them and that he knows the low-class mugs, he doesn't like the situation and decides to help out after all. An attempt to return the jewels goes awry with a murder and the jewels being stolen again. What makes this mystery entry so enjoyable besides Guy's usual likable disposition was the clever and snappy dialogue. I found this film because I was perusing Amazon's array of old mysteries and this had high marks. So I bought a copy not knowing that there would be missing footage. If you come across it, don't miss this Guy Kibbee rare gem. There may have been a Hugh Herbert (check him out, too,) but there was nobody like Guy Kibbee. And, here he saves the day.
Review of Jim Hanvey, Detective
