In the 1930s and into the 40s, a popular sort of film were murder mysteries where non-policemen decide to investigate and prove to be smarter and more effective than trained detectives! In many cases, these know-it-all amateurs were newspaper reporters, but school teachers, doctors and many others seemed more adept at solving crimes than the dopey police!
"The Shadow Laughs" is such a film....with a fast-talking reporter who investigates crime and is much more successful than the law. However, unlike most of these films, it's an incredibly cheap picture....far cheaper than the many made by Monogram and other tiny studios of the day. Apparently, Trojan Pictures wasn't quite as good as the other so-called 'poverty row' productions.
The film begins with a bank robbery performed by a bank employee. But in a REALLY badly written scene, the thief tells his unseen accomplice that he's NOT happy and plans on going to the police....a stupid cliche which means that the guy will soon be found dead. Is anyone THAT stupid??? And, because of this, the cliche is a bad one.
Now, enter the nosey and very pushy reporter. He shoves his way into the investigation and is able to make the cops, not surprisingly, look pretty dumb.
The dialog is bad, the production very cheap looking and there is only one reason I would recommend the movie....to see Cesar Romero in his first film. But to me, this isn't enough reason to watch a movie that is essentially like 10000 others...but much more poorly made.