Contrabando de Guerra

The Ellery Queen series for Columbia Pictures concluded with Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen and I will say that it was much to their regret. The famed writer detective catches some Nazi spies operating out of a health club in Manhattan. Must have been in the Yorkville area.

It all starts with James Burke escorting prisoner Louis Donath on a train where William Gargan and Margaret Lindsay are also returning from a vacation. He locks Donath in the drawing room handcuffed and gets slugged and then finds a dead prisoner. Someone was afraid Donath would squeal for a deal in custody.

Donath had a lot to squeal about. There was a shipment of diamonds to be smuggled with an Egyptian mummy consigned to a gallery owned by Gale Sondergaard and her late husband who got late courtesy of Donath. It all leads to a health club managed by Sig Ruman in his best Teutonic accent and manner.

In the end the Marines save the day. Nice to know they're around to be sent for.

Patriotic in its time, the climax now looks quite a bit silly and very dated. Still the mystery itself was nicely put together.