Nobody Home (1938)

The former partner of a master criminal turns himself in to Scotland Yard. The criminal, a master of disguise, plots to kill his partner, but must first get through the wall of security ... See full summary »

Director:

Maurice Elvey

Writers:

Gerald Elliott, Ian Hay

Stars:

Gordon Harker, Hartley Power, Rene Ray

Cast

Cast overview:
Gordon Harker	...	Inspector Elk
Hartley Power	...	'Chicago Dale' Sandford
Rene Ray	...	Lela Oaks (as René Ray)
Cyril Smith	...	Maggs
Charles Lefeaux	...	Golly Oaks
Una O'Connor	...	Mum Oaks
Meinhart Maur	...	'Dutchy' Alkmann
George Hayes	...	Dandy Lane
Charles Carson	...	Chief Commissioner
Aubrey Mallalieu	...	Banker

Storyline

The former partner of a master criminal turns himself in to Scotland Yard. The criminal, a master of disguise, plots to kill his partner, but must first get through the wall of security Scotland Yard has thrown around him.

---

Genres:

Mystery

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nobody Home

Filming Locations:

British Lion Studios, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Herbert Wilcox Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film of Charles Victor.

---

Connections

Version of The Inn on the River (1962)

User Reviews

Great Mystery With Some Ham-Fisted Comedy

Thoroughly enjoyed 'Return of the Frog' and I felt it was a pleasant surprise. I also thoroughly enjoyed Gordon Harker as Insp. Elk, an actor with whom I was not familiar. I have to admit he did not get off to a promising start. When the picture began here he was, a homely, rumpled, potato-faced fellow who does not fit anyone's image of a Scotland Yard Inspector, but within 5 minutes he took over the role and became - he was - Insp. Elk of the Yard. In fact, he was the glue that held the picture together.

It was too bad that they decided to inject humor into the movie. I dislike the 30's and 40's habit of mixing mystery and comedy on both sides of the Atlantic, but Hollywood does it better. Harker's mumbled asides were extremely funny (listen for them), but the film's sight gags were too obvious and poorly timed.

The story involves a mysterious figure known as The Frog who has a gang of criminals to pull off his villainy, and whose identity is unknown until 15 minutes to go in the film. By the way, disregard the plot synopsis at the top of the IMDb credits, as it isn't even close to the real story. It begins as an American detective from Chicago arrives at the Yard to learn about new police work techniques, and becomes an assistant to Elk. You take it from there. There were no noteworthy actors to my knowledge, save for Una O'Connor but without her trademark shrieking scene.

Return of the Frog was a very worthwhile 75 minutes. Allow for its age and feeble attempts at humor and you have a rating of 7 - and you might not guess the identity of the Frog.