A Close Call (1942)
"A Close Call for Ellery Queen" (original title)

Two mysterious seamen come from Alan Rogers' past to blackmail him as he seeks to locate his missing daughters. Ellery Queen is called in by Stewart Cole, Rogers' secretary. Queen goes to ... See full summary »

Director:

James P. Hogan

Writers:

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

Stars:

William Gargan, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin

Cast

Credited cast:
William Gargan	...	Ellery Queen
Margaret Lindsay	...	Nikki Porter
Charley Grapewin	...	Insp. Queen
Ralph Morgan	...	Alan Rogers
Kay Linaker	...	Margo Rogers
Edward Norris	...	Stewart Cole
James Burke	...	Sgt. Velie
Addison Richards	...	Lester Younger
Charles Judels	...	Corday
Andrew Tombes	...	Bates
Claire Du Brey	...	Housekeeper
Micheline Cheirel	...	Marie Dubois
Ben Welden	...	Fisherman
Milton Parsons	...	Butler
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Lane	...	Coroner

Storyline

Two mysterious seamen come from Alan Rogers' past to blackmail him as he seeks to locate his missing daughters. Ellery Queen is called in by Stewart Cole, Rogers' secretary. Queen goes to the estate and finds one daughter already there and the second one expected. When she arrives, it is Ellery's secretary Nikki Porter posing as the daughter as Ellery had her intercept the real heiress after learning of a plot to swindle Rogers. The blackmailing seamen are killed at a waterfront café after getting the blackmail money, Rogers is suspected and Inspector Queen arrives to arrest him, but he is also found dead.

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Plot Keywords:

daughter | secretary | blackmail | arrest | estate | 

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Taglines:

Uncanny Mystery! Unseen Dangers! Unbearable Suspense! (original poster)

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 January 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Close Call

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larry Darmour Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by A Desperate Chance (1942)

User Reviews

Shouldn't the title be "A Close Call For Nikki Porter"?

Because she's the one who gets herself into the most trouble here, by impersonating one of the two long-lost daughters of a rich man with a shady past; after seeing her father's ad in the paper, the REAL daughter travels all the way from Tahiti to America to meet him, but she runs into Nikki first, and when Nikki sees a strange letter that warns the real daughter NOT to return, she decides to take her place and find out what's going on. Ellery Queen is unaware of most of this, but a double murder soon brings him (and his father, of course) to the same household. This film marks a turning point in the series, as William Gargan replaces Ralph Bellamy as Ellery Queen; to be honest, the change is barely noticeable, as both actors are agreeable without really bringing much personality to the role. As usual for this series, it's Nikki Porter who steals the show; Margaret Lindsay, this time getting to pose as a French-speaking girl, is the best thing about this dense but rushed mystery. ** out of 4.