The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (1942)

To boost listener ratings, radio personality Mike Jason (Dennis O'Keefe) encourages sponsors, of his murder mystery radio show, to offer a reward to anyone who can locate safe cracker Jimmy... See full summary »

Director:

Bernard Vorhaus

Writers:

Olive Cooper (screenplay), Paul Armstrong Jr. (story),

Stars:

Dennis O'Keefe, Ruth Terry, Gloria Dickson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Mike Jason
Ruth Terry	...	Bonnie Forbes
Gloria Dickson	...	Cleo Arden
Roman Bohnen	...	Tom Forbes / Jimmy Valentine
George E. Stone	...	Mousey
Spencer Charters	...	Cheevers Snow
William B. Davidson	...	Cyrus Ballard
Roscoe Ates	...	Dan Kady
Bobby Larson	...	Mickey Forbes
Joe Cunningham	...	Charles Stanton
Harry Shannon	...	Pinky
Jed Prouty	...	Maxwell B. Titus
Patsy Parsons	...	Marlene Titus (as Patsy Lee Parsons)
Linda Brent	...	Letitia Hinkle
Wade Boteler	...	Warden Carl Jones

Storyline

To boost listener ratings, radio personality Mike Jason (Dennis O'Keefe) encourages sponsors, of his murder mystery radio show, to offer a reward to anyone who can locate safe cracker Jimmy Valentine, who is reportedly retired. Jason and co worker Cleo Arden, not Eve, ( played by Gloria Dickson) lead the hunt . which takes them to a small and previously quiet town. There is little tough guy Mousey (George Stone, who else ?), who becomes over zealous over the possibility of winning the reward. There is Bonnie (Ruth Terry), Mike's teen girlfriend , who adds further mayhem. The original film was cut to 54 minutes due to its' B movie billing and later television. At times. scenes may seem unconnected, for that reason.

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Plot Keywords:

assumed name | radio program | b movie | small town | murder | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Find Jimmy Valentine

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min 53 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remake of The Return of Jimmy Valentine (1936)

User Reviews

Nifty second-feature

In his landmark tome "B Movies", the normally reserved film historian Don Miller heaps two pages of praise on this small-town comedy-mystery, calling it the apogee of Republic Pictures' output. Unfortunately, it was not a success at the box office, and was cut to a mere 54 minutes for second feature and television distribution under the title "Unforgotten Crime". This is the version in circulation today (if anyone stumbles upon the full version, please inform!) -- obviously, much of the story set-up is missing, causing some of the plot and character motivations to be fuzzy. Nonetheless, it's still a boisterous and clever little programmer, with an infectiously enthusiastic cast of b-movie stalwarts. Much of the pleasure comes from the odd romantic triangle of womanizing (self-) promoter Dennis O'Keefe, the lively but naive teenager (Ruth Terry) who immediately goes gaga over him, and his sophisticated co-worker (Gloria Dickson), who radiates plenty of Eve Ardenish attitude and sarcasm. This was one of noir master John Alton's earliest gigs as cinematographer, and although it's not the most suitable material, he manages to give a striking pulp-magazine-cover aura to the crime scenes. In fact, one scene of mayhem involving a sexy manicurist is quite jarring amid the lighthearted Mayberry-like atmosphere. Director Vorhaus and Alton later teamed up for the more appropriately cynical "Bury Me Dead" and "The Spiritualist".