People in an old, dark mansion are menaced by a maniac called "The Black Ace."People in an old, dark mansion are menaced by a maniac called "The Black Ace."People in an old, dark mansion are menaced by a maniac called "The Black Ace."
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This is an okay film that is ruined by two bumbling cops Dugan and Clancy who push a witty and clever mystery into the realm of silly. Normally I like the work of Frank McHugh and Allen Jenkins but here they just come off as being bumbling fools. Its awful, or rather not funny. They take the desire to know more out of the mystery and the laughs out of the comedy. There is no real reason for them to exist except to kill time.If you can divorce them from the rest of the movie this is a good little mystery, something not easy to do.
Worth seeing if you run across it. Not sure its a rental but on late night TV its worth trying.
The plot is intriguing. A killer taunts his victims and the police by sending them the Ace of Spades as a sign that they're going to be murdered the following night at 7 P.M.. There are several nicely done scenes with some suspense, including an early 1930's passenger plane ride with lounge chairs rather than the passenger seats we're used to.
I thought the number of suspects should have been increased. There are really only about three people who could have committed the murders. Most good murder mysteries give us at least four or five to consider.
Still, a mixture of light humor together with a few moments of danger makes this film quite pleasant.
Did you know
- Trivia"Crime doesn't pay" says Neil Broderick. This maxim, originating as a slogan of the FBI and given wide currency by the cartoon character Dick Tracy, was first recorded in 1927.
- Quotes
Clancy: What's up, Mr. Drake?
Thornton Drake: You of course know this 'Black Ace.'
Clancy: Oh, sure. We *just* missed catching him about 6 months ago.
Dugan: Sure, we trapped one of his earwiggers. It was like this: I'm wise this guy blatts out for stoolin'. So I'm crowdin' him wit' the heater but he don't belch. I know he's an alky stiff so I start feedin' him the dynamite when Clancy walks in wit' this guy's twist. She's all full o' happy dust and leapin'. He calls for a blizzard so we let 'er have it, figgerin' on the beef, see? She don't open up on the Black Ace, but she spills enough on this earwigger to get him fried in New York last September.
Thornton Drake: What's he talking about?
Clancy: [to Dugan] How many times have I gotta tell ya? These guys don't understand them technical terms!
[to Drake]
Clancy: What he's tryin' to say is this: We buttoned one o' the Black Ace's spies who dropped a dim. He's sweatin' the guy with a rod, but it's no dice. But he remembers that the guy's a stew! So he starts givin' him a jolt now and then. Just then I breezes in with the guy's moll. She's a snowbird. So I gives her a sniff of the gold dust and she opens up on the guy. Last September they gave him the hot squat. That's what he's tryin' to tell ya.
Neil Broderick: [to Dugan] You were a little vague.
Dugan: [offended] Who's a vag?
Details
- Release date
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- Also known as
- A las siete en punto
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- Runtime
- 1h 2m(62 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1