My score of 7 is relative to other B-movies. "Hollywood Stadium Mystery" is much better than average for a low-budget B-film, as it has wonderful chemistry between the two leads (Neil Hamilton and Evelyn Venable). Plus, it's pretty good as a mystery.
The film starts off with a really neat set of opening credits--very creative and it caught my attention. Then, I noticed early on that there were several very good false alarms that caught the viewer off guard. I love it when I am surprised when I see a film! The film is essentially a romance AND a murder mystery--and I am sure this combination is a bit unusual to say the least! The District Attorney (Hamilton) and playwright (Venable) both investigate a crime that occurred at the arena just before a boxing match began--and both of our heroes have a friendly wager as to which one will solve the crime. The interplay of these two was very nice and didn't appear like what you'd expect in a B--it was very witty and fun. As for the mystery, it's not bad but clearly secondary to these two characters.
There is only one major qualm about the film--and it's clearly a sad product of the times. One lady wants to hide from the police so she puts on black-face!! Uggh!! But, this sort of thing wasn't far from the norm in those old days, so it's something you'll have to look past--understanding the context of the times.
If you are interested in seeing this film, follow the link on IMDb and download it for free. You'll enjoy it for what it is--a nice little B-movie with a bit extra when it comes to writing.
really neat opening credits lots of early false alarms Smiley Burnett black-face
