Monday, May 13, 2019

I Killed That Man (1941)

A murder mystery with a fascinating set-up, a condemned prisoner Nick Ross (Ralf Harolde) begins to spill the beans on who was the mastermind behind the murder he committed when he is killed by a poison dart in front of an assembled audience including the DA Roger Phillips (Ricardo Cortez).

The investigation begins, one of the audience is the murderer... and the mastermind. The DA early on arrests a friend of Ross, Lanning (Harry Holman) though he really thinks it is someone else but has no idea who. Meanwhile sparky young reporter (and Roger's squeeze of course) Geri (Joan Woodbury) is also looking into the case.

The film is fast moving with some noirish touches and has some sharp witty dialogue. The plot is fairly familiar but the execution chamber setting for the crime adds some variety. Unfortunately it is pretty obvious who is the killer as he is so over the top suspicious.