Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940)

The mysteriously ill John Braun makes a new will, leaving out his daughter Barbara, over the protests of his wife. The trouble began when the daughter wanted to marry Mr. Braun's doctor, ... See full summary »

Director:

Kurt Neumann

Writers:

Frederic Dannay (story), Manfred Lee (story),

Stars:

Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin

Cast

Cast overview:
Ralph Bellamy	...	Ellery Queen
Margaret Lindsay	...	Nikki Porter
Charley Grapewin	...	Insp. Queen
James Burke	...	Sgt. Velle
Michael Whalen	...	Dr. James Rogers
Marsha Hunt	...	Barbara Braun
Fred Niblo	...	John Braun
Charles Lane	...	Dr. Prouty
Ann Shoemaker	...	Lydia Braun
Marion Martin	...	Cornelia
Douglas Fowley	...	Rocky Taylor
Morgan Wallace	...	Zachary
Byron Foulger	...	Amos
Katherine DeMille	...	Valerie Norris

Storyline

The mysteriously ill John Braun makes a new will, leaving out his daughter Barbara, over the protests of his wife. The trouble began when the daughter wanted to marry Mr. Braun's doctor, James Rogers. Mrs. Braun asks Inspector Queen to help find the long-missing Barbara. The inspector's son, Ellery, works on the case. He goes to a home frequently visited by Dr. Rogers where the bell is answered by Nikki Porter who Ellery mistakes for Barbara and insists she return to the Braun home. Nikki does, to protect Barbara, and a short time later finds herself alone in a room outside Braun's bedroom. She finds him dead - his throat cut. No weapons are found and the door to the room where Nikki had been is locked, and she is suspected. Ellery hides Nikki in his apartment. Braun's body, sent for an autopsy, disappears and in its place is a life-sized statue of the dead man. Elley finds the body in a closet, the police prepare to send it downtown but someone drives off with the ambulance. Ellery, ...

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Plot Keywords:

ambulance | statue | doctor | autopsy | raven | 

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Taglines:

HE'S ON THE SCREEN NOW! (original poster-all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Linda Impostora

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larry Darmour Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Film Daily - Hollywood - Tuesday, Feb. 20, 1940: Producer Larry Darmour has closed on the film rights to more than 30 "Ellery Queen" mystery novels and the weekly transcontinental radio broadcasts. He has exclusive picture rights for three years and will make two or three pictures a year, possibly for distribution by Columbia Pictures Corporation.

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Connections

Followed by A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942)

User Reviews

REBOOT by Columbia Pictures...

Ellery Queen had made two (2) previous appearances during the 1930s. THE Spanish CAPE MYSTERY (1935) Liberty Pictures, featuring Donald Cook and THE MANDARIN MYSTERY (1936) Republic Pictures, with the light-weight Eddie Quillan. Producer Larry Darmour cornered the rights to the Ellery Queen novels and through Columbia Pictures and Harry Cohn launched a new series of films. Starting with ELLERY QUEEN, Master Detective (1940).

Ralph Bellamy for the first four (4) pictures played 'QUEEN' with Margaret Lindsay as romantic interest and side-kick, 'NIKKI PORTER'. Bellamy after a strong start at RKO had slipped into character parts and second leads by the latter half of the 1930s. The same could be said about Ms. Lindsay over from Warner Brothers. This series kept them working and in the company of other professionals like Charlie Grapewine as Inspector Queen. Here also was Marsha Hunt, up and comer on loan-out from M.G.M. and Katherine DeMille who plugged in character parts too her other interests. Former Silent Director Fred Niblo (BEN-HUR, 1925) also picked up a check. For plot details, read the synopsis, it's all there.

Bellamy plays 'QUEEN' with a light touch, but with a earnest intelligence, making him a viable character. Ms. Lindsay also hits her mark with a attractive appearance and winning smile. Though She seems to wear the same suit the entire film. The rest of the cast and a quick running time makes this a worth while watch. After the first four (4) films William Gargan would pick up the 'QUEEN' mantle with Ms. Lindsay soldiering on. Gargan proved a acceptable replacement and would rate the entire series a even IMDB******Six(6) or a Standard Rating of Two(2)**Stars.