The Inner Circle (1946)

Director:

Philip Ford

Writers:

Dorrell McGowan (writer)
Stuart E. McGowan (writer)

Release Date:

7 August 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Plot:

A private detective finds himself with a perfect new secretary. But after a notorious gossip columnist turns up murdered, she may prove too good to be true.

Plot Keywords:

Secretary | Gossip Columnist | Groundskeeper | Nightclub | Radio Program

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Adele Mara	...	Geraldine Travis, alias Gerry Smith
Warren Douglas	...	Johnny Strange
William Frawley	...	Det. Lt. Webb
Ricardo Cortez	...	Duke York
Virginia Christine	...	Rhoda Roberts
Ken Niles	...	Ken, Radio Announcer
Will Wright	...	Henry Boggs
Dorothy Adams	...	Emma Wilson
Martha Montgomery	...	Anne Travis Lowe
Edward Gargan	...	Parking Ticket Cop
Fred Graham	...	Duke's Henchman
Eddie Parker	...	Duke's Henchman
Robert J. Wilke	...	Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)

Also Known As:

The Twisted Circle (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

57 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Company:

Republic Pictures

Quotes:

[first lines]
Johnny Strange: [over the phone] Hello, this is Johnny Strange of Action Incorporated. No, not Strange Action Incorporated. Johnny Strange *of* Action Incorporated. Yeah. I want to place an ad in the Help Wanted Female. Mm-hm. Wanted: secretary to human dynamo. Exclamation point. Must be blonde, beautiful, between 22 and 28, unmarried, with a skin you love to touch and a heart you can't.

zippy low-budget mystery

Warren Douglas, with his B-movie leading-man good looks, appeared in a string of low budget murder yarns. Although regular commercial TV was still a few years away, this film seems to have a 'look' similar to television's detective shows of the 1950's. In fact, a number of this film's supporting cast members would be commonly seen in supporting roles on television, less than ten years hence.

In this particular outing Warren Douglas plays a private eye named 'Johnny Strange' (no kidding), who runs a detective agency called (get ready--) "Action Incorporated".

The story line is somewhat commonplace, starting with the murder of a well known radio personality, and involving a strange "Spanish woman" (that's how the other characters refer to her), some skulking house servants, a missing diamond, a duplicate beautiful blonde, and--of course-- a blustery, mis-guided police detective (William Frawley, who could play these roles in his sleep).

This poverty row feature might turn up on TV, but more likely than not, you'll have to rent or buy a copy of this film from a dealer of video obscurities. Although typical of it's genre, it's an enjoyable watch, nonetheless.

Recommended.