The Mysterious Miss X

Michael Whelan and Chick Chandler are making their way back to New York after their mystery play -- with Whelan in the lead -- collapses in the sticks. They're staying at a small-town hotel when they discover a corpse. The police think Whelan's prop ID as a Scotland Yard inspector are real, and soon they are looking for the murderer; Lynne Roberts, despite or perhaps because of their efforts, goes from being an innocent bystander to the chief suspect.

It's directed by Gus Meins, so it's hardly surprising that this B murder mystery concentrates more on the comedy than the mystery. It's certainly watchable, although the mystery is of the "If anyone was asked, it would be cleared up immediately" variety. Although Chandler is intended as the principal comic, Mabel Todd gives the funniest performance. With Regis Toomey, Dorothy Tree, and uncredited Alan Ladd and George Montgomery.

"The Mysterious Miss X" is a cheap B-movie from Republic Pictures. While I usually like Bs, I must admit I had a hard time watching this one because of the infusion of 'comedy' into the film, as Chick Chandler and, especially, Mabel Todd were simply grating.

The film begins with Keith and Dan checking into a hotel. During the night, there is a murder in the room next to Keith's and the police arrest him without a huge amount of evidence. Later, they release the pair when they are convinced Keith is a famous inspector from Scotland Yard. Can Keith and his dim buddy manage to solve the crime before the police realize their mistake?

Every time Mabel Todd talked, my wife was visibly annoyed. She even said "did people think she was funny?"...and apparently at the time, her ditsy routine was considered funny. But the writing and characters simply are tough to like and the film's plot very familiar. Watch it if you want, but you could easily do better.

The lousy production quality is just one of the faults of this Republic film. Most of the cast are obvious weak actors. The screenplay isn't very good, and the story has several obvious flaws. It would better have been billed a comedy, except that Chick Chandler and Mabel Todd's silliness and goofy attempts at humor just don't fly. They soon become irritation.

"The Mysterious Miss X" is a hard film to sit through. I did and hope this saves other potential viewers a waste of time. Three stars may seem generous, but the actors deserve something. With a decent script most of them would have been able to do better.