He is a private investigator who seems to be quite used to having very tricky cases to handle, and this one is a real mess. There are many intrigues intertwining each other here, one is about a kidnapped daughter lost since many years, another is a scandal book getting written about inconvenient truths about a lot of important people, and some will do anything not to have that book written. There are a number of blondes involved here, a few of them like Kim Novak, and as usual in hard-boiled Darren McGavin thrillers there are quite a few murders, all occurring as great surprises. The interesting thing here, which makes the film worth watching, is the presence of Jackie Coogan as a night club master, and he actually gradually takes over the film with quite a few surprising revelations on the way: you will see him performing both as entertainer and tap dancer. As the comedian he is, he brings some refreshment into the general mess. However, one blonde survives, and as usual in Darren McGavin thrillers, she delivers the final repartee: "If you don't wake me up when you come I'll kill you."
Review of Anatomy of a Crime
