The Shadow Laughs

There's a bank robbery, and reporter Hal Skelly is assigned to cover it. He gets a lead on five stolen $1000 bills. They begin turning up tied to murders.

It's an early example of Snappy-Pattering Reporters Solving Crimes. The problem is that the witticisms are not particularly good, and that Skelly delivers them in a hesitant manner, as if he's polishing them as he goes along. It's a potentially interesting way of delivering them, but it doesn't work. Of more interest is Rose Hobart as his love interest. With a short haircut, she looks striking and modern. You can also spot Cesar Romero in his movie debut as a hood.

Arthur Hoerl directs from his own script. This is, I expect the reason why this movie drags so badly. Although his scripts for other directors were not particularly distinguished, his record of more than 150 writing credits over 45 years indicates that he worked cheap and fast enough to keep the shoe-string producers content. His last credit was on a movie in 1968, the year he died at age 76.