A Desperate Chance (1942)
"A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen" (original title)

Director:

James P. Hogan

Writers:

Frederic Dannay, Manfred Lee,

Stars:

William Gargan, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel

Cast

Credited cast:
William Gargan	...	Ellery Queen
Margaret Lindsay	...	Nikki Porter
John Litel	...	Norman Hadley
Charley Grapewin	...	Insp. Queen
James Burke	...	Sgt. Velie
Frank M. Thomas	...	Capt. H.T. Daley (as Frank Thomas)
Lilian Bond	...	Adele Belden
Morgan Conway	...	Ray Stafford
Jack La Rue	...	Tommy Gould
Noel Madison	...	George Belden
Charlotte Wynters	...	Mrs. Irene Evington Hadley
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Johnny Arthur	...	Riley (a reporter)
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Door sign painter
Billy Bletcher	...	Quarantine sign poster
Arthur Q. Bryan	...	Waymond Wadcwiff

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | character name in title

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Taglines:

Ellery Queen untangles a web of mystery!

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 May 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Desperate Chance

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larry Darmour Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by The Lido Mystery (1942)

User Reviews

If you're going to San Franscisco....be sure to solve a murder!

Ellery Queen is about to leave for San Francisco, where his new book will be set, when he is visited by a woman who asks him to find out if her husband is alive or dead; supposedly he drowned in a boat accident a few years ago, but someone who looks a lot like him was recently seen in SF. Ellery takes Nikki Porter with him and has her impersonating the missing man's wife, to bring him out into the open. The plan works, but a case of embezzlement and a murder bring Inspector Queen to SF as well, and guess who the chief suspect for both crimes is: the man Ellery was looking for! "A Desperate Chance For Ellery Queen" had the potential to be one of the best entries in the series, but it's a little too messily put together to achieve that. Kudos, however, to Lilian Bond for her sexy femme fatale. I think it's the first time in the series where another woman steals the show from Margaret Lindsay. ** out of 4.