Phil Richards (Ricardo Cortez) has sold his nightclub to a man from Boston named Kilpatrick, and the club has shut down for a farewell party for the employees, at which singer Dixie Way (Nan Wynn) sings a cute novelty number in the boss' honor to the tune of "I’m Just Wild About Harry." But not everyone is wild about Phil: Shaffer, a local hotheaded big shot, is angry that his higher bid for the club wasn't taken, and Clare, Richards' former mistress, is so mad that she pulls a gun in him in his office to try and stop him. Reporter Pete Kennedy (William Lundigan) goes to the airport to meet Kilpatrick to get his side of the story, but Kilpatrick is shot dead, and Pete joins up with policeman Bill Ryder to investigate. Complication: Both Pete and Bill are sweet on singer Dixie. Another complication: Helen Armstrong, Phil's fiancée, and her brother Roger. They both seem a little fishy, but Roger is beat up in his apartment, and a handkerchief with the initials "A.M.”" is found there--could it belong to Al Martin, an associate of Phil's? One more complication: Clare is found dead and it looks like Phil was the culprit, but Pete doesn't think so.
The climax of this mystery involves a nice car chase with a fiery crash, though the final wrap-up is limited to expository dialogue and didn't make too much sense to me. Still, this is an enjoyable hour-long B-movie done by a studio (Warner Bros.), a director (William McGann) and a cast who were all fairly expert at this kind of thing. William Lundigan is always an appealing "lanky lug" kind of guy and Ricardo Cortez is good at keeping us off guard as to whether he's a good guy or a bad guy, or somewhere in between. Nan Wynn is unmemorable but she gets a couple of songs along the way. Regis Toomey is fine as the cop. The tone is light and fluffy, and the rivalry between Lundigan (pictured above) and Toomey is good-natured. Despite a botched ending, this is worth watching. [TCM]
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