Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Franchot Tone | ... | Howard Malloy | |
Jean Wallace | ... | Barbara Whitfield | |
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Myron McCormick | ... | Charles Riggs |
Marc Lawrence | ... | Angelo Agostini | |
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Winifred Lenihan | ... | Mrs. Hartley |
Doe Avedon | ... | Caroline Riggs (as Betty Harper) | |
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Hedley Rainnie | ... | Sigmund Kosterich |
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Walter Vaughn | ... | District Attorney Walker |
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George Breen | ... | Knuckles |
Robert Gist | ... | Tommy Quigley | |
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Hester Sondergaard | ... | Mrs. Borg |
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Luella Gear | ... | Pet Shop Owner |
Alexander Campbell | ... | Pemberton | |
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Robert Noe | ... | Waldron |
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Alexander Lockwood | ... | Nichols |
When the owner of a printing shop is found dead, the District Attorney assumes that it was a suicide. But the Assistant D.A., Howard Malloy, suspects that there is a connection with an extremist political group called the 'Crusaders'. When a journalist whose articles had attacked the Crusaders is also killed, Malloy is convinced. With help from the widow of a prominent judge, he conducts an investigation. As he does so, he meets a peculiar political boss and also an attractive night club singer, each of whom could become either a source of help or a source of danger. Written by Snow Leopard
Combining elements of a political thriller with elements of a mystery story, "Jigsaw" ends up being somewhat uneven, but certainly interesting enough to make you keep watching. The mystery angle is the part that works the best, keeping you guessing much of the time. Most of the production is strictly B-quality, but the performance of Franchot Tone, some cameo appearances worth watching for, and some interesting plot ideas bring up the overall quality.
The initial story idea is a bit routine, with Tone as an Assistant DA who is concerned about the activities of an extremist political group. While not entirely predictable, this side of it is never all that interesting either. The group remains too vague to seem like more than a small-scale threat. What perks things up is when Tone begins meeting a series of interesting characters from an assortment of backgrounds, with each of them either a potential friend or a potential enemy.
The finale of all this intrigue sets up a very interesting showdown between a number of groups in an art museum. The low production values keep it from being as memorable as it could have been, but it is still a good idea. Likewise, the movie overall never quite comes together as well as it could have, but it does have a number of positive things to offer.