THE TIGER WOMAN (1945)

Private detective Jerry Devery goes to the Tiger Club nightspot thinking he's been summoned to meet a cop but instead he's met by Sharon Winslow, wife of the club's co-owner Fred. Sharon knows that gambling kingpin Joe Sapphire is about to put out a hit on Fred for his huge debts and she asks Jerry, a friend of Sapphire's, to negotiate an understanding, despite the fact that she is in love with Fred's business partner, Steve Mason. Jerry summarizes the case as, "Wife wants to keep hubby intact to keep boyfriend out of trouble." Jerry finds out that the hit is off, as Fred has recently made a big payment to Sapphire which may have been embezzled from the Tiger Club. Sharon plans to tell Fred about Steve, but Fred is found dead at his study desk, a suicide note next to him. To ensure that Sharon gets the insurance money, Steve burns the suicide note, and when the cops declare it murder, Sapphire worries that he'll be a suspect, though Jerry assures Sapphire that he is Sapphire's alibi since they were together at the time of Fred's death. A cleaning lady says a desperate young woman named Carrington was the last person to see Fred alive, and soon the cops are after her. Steve starts feeling guilty about the innocent woman being framed, but we find out (and have suspected for some time) that Sharon is the actual murderer, and she's not about to risk losing her insurance money for anyone. This is a nifty little hour-long B-film, sometimes referred to as film noir because it involves a femme fatale. The various twists in the plot are good ones, and though some are predictable, they are still fun to follow, and a couple are surprising. Kane Richmond, handsome and underrated B-movie star of serials and mysteries, is very good as Jerry, who comes off as pretty smart but still a half-beat behind the bad girl, Adele Mara as Sharon, also very good.  The two have good chemistry even though you know it won't last. Familiar faces include Richard Fraser (Steve), Gregory Gaye (Sapphire—it's nice to have a gambling thug who is a bit civilized), and Cy Kendall as the cop, who doesn't have a lot to do but is always a welcome face. The plot is tricky but easy to keep track of. Don't get this confused with the 1944 serial with the same name—there are no literal tigers here, and no jungle goddesses. Still, entertaining. Pictured are Mara and Richmond. [YouTube]