John Miljan is famous detective Bill Holt. He and his butler, an ex-prizefighter who likes to cook and clean, stay at a friend’s house in the country. Holt wants to write a book about himself. He’s interupted by the neighbors, including wacky Muriel (Idris Adrian) and is invited to a party. He goes.
Muriel latches onto him and intros him to her ex-husband Campbell Snowden. Her current husband Harry is in a sanitorium. Holt takes a shine to Jane Maxwell (Irene Ware). She’s Harry’s ex-fiance. Meanwhile, Muriel calls a gangster she’s blackmailing and asks for some rum and a little gift. Outside, she’s attacked by the gangster. Holt to the rescue. Muriel fades out at midnight and is off to sleep. A few minutes later Bill goes home.
It’s 4am. Bill’s trying to type. Gunshots ring out next door. He and his sidekick rush over. Harry’s escaped from the sanitorium and is now lying on the ground with bullet holes. The butler shot him while Harry was trying to sneak in via the roof. Inside and up the stairs, there’s a fainted Jane and the body of Campbell Snowden. A bloody knife is next to him. Since he was killed by a blunt object, the knife must have sunk into someone else. Let’s all go see how Muriel’s doing. Not so good. The bloody sheet is the tipoff that she won’t be wacky anymore. Both murders are blamed on the dead Harry.
After a run in with the gangster and his gang, Holt and Jane settle down for a bite to eat. A tough piece of chicken gives him all he needs to solve the case.
The movie has its dumb spots but overall it is entertaining. Miljan made over two hundred movie and TV appearances. Iris Adrian played a lot of gangsters molls. Her last appearance was on, of all things, “The Love Boat.”
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