'The Trap' is better than 'The Scarlet Clue', it reminded me of certain mystery movies with Gabin (they were Maigret mysteries), 'The Trap' is more psychological, in its modest way, it's also heartrending, and we know that it is the last time Toler, as he was by then approaching his end, plays the great detective, this time a puzzle plot on Malibu Drive, and many girls, caged; after the denouement, there's a heartbreaking scene, Toler leaving, saying goodbye, and the whole movie has these asides (about race, the movie's own style, etc.), with a self-consciousness less used before. The movie takes an interest in a different type of case: more psychological, and this also expresses the limits of a Monogram script.
Its style and plot is very much that of Monogram's mystery comedies. This movie doesn't resemble the others in at least a few respects: no technological concerns (aside from the garrote), a straightforward mystery, and we get actually less of Birmingham and the son Jimmy (some seem to believe that the assistants took over much of the action in Toler's final movie, but they obviously didn't, in fact we get less of them). Each movie provides a location for the assistants to wander through; in this one, it's a cellar.
Its style and plot is very much that of Monogram's mystery comedies. This movie doesn't resemble the others in at least a few respects: no technological concerns (aside from the garrote), a straightforward mystery, and we get actually less of Birmingham and the son Jimmy (some seem to believe that the assistants took over much of the action in Toler's final movie, but they obviously didn't, in fact we get less of them). Each movie provides a location for the assistants to wander through; in this one, it's a cellar.