User reviews

The subtitle of this film is The Decapitation of Jefferson Monk. I think viewing this film is a MUST for anyone that actually heard the radio production of I Love A Mystery. When the film is viewed today, it is a decent mystery with a decent cast, BUT when it was viewed by a seven year old kid, it was just plain SCARY. I searched for this film for fifty years, not knowing what I was searching FOR. The opening scenes of the mysterious peg leg "decapitator" had stuck with me and I searched for a film with this character, until I stumbled onto the film, via IMDb. Try to find this film, you will enjoy it... and you would also enjoy the other two films in the series, The Unknown, and The Devil's Mask

There's a real film noir feeling to this Columbia programmer based on the "I Love A Mystery" radio series. The story is a good one, about a man who predicts his own death will happen in a few days (GEORGE MACREADY) and hires two detectives (JIM BANNON and BARTON YARBOROUGH) to help him avoid the hit man.

The plot keeps spinning unpredictably from scene to scene, all of it played in earnest style by the participants, including NINA FOCH as Macready's scheming wife. As a matter of fact, it has the feel of a Cornel Woolrich story, but he didn't pen this one.

Well photographed, given some good production values and it gives George Macready another chance to show just how he could dominate any scene he appeared in. His role here is just as enjoyable as his much more famous screen appearance in Columbia's GILDA.

With a clever script and smoothly directed, it's probably the best in the trio of "I Love A Mystery" series that made it to the screen.

"I Love a Mystery," based on the radio program of the same name, is a 1945 film starring Jim Bannon, Barton Yarborough, George Macready, and Nina Foch. Packard and Doc Long (Bannon and Yarborough) meet Macready in a nightclub with a woman - apparently he knows when he's going to die. A cult, whose ancient leader Macready resembles, wants his head, I guess to replace it on their leader's mummified body, and one of the members is following him. The detectives agree to follow Macready home to see if they can spot the man, and they do.

As preposterous as it sounds (and it is), this is actually a pretty neat mystery, done on New York set at Columbia. There's lots of dry ice and a dark, noirish atmosphere, as well as a few plot twists. It's quite entertaining as well as not being terribly long. And it's a good cast, with the highlights being Macready and Foch as his crippled wife. Growing up, Nina Foch to me was an older woman who did television and quiz shows; later on, I knew she became a big acting teacher in L.A. It's fun to see her as a young woman in films such as this one. It was also fun because I remember Bannon's son from "Lou Grant."

Despite the comments by the other reviewer, I thot this was one of THE most entertaining mysteries of the 30's - 40's! (And, I own over 700 films!). It contains MANY plot twists, and plot "twist-twists"; nothing is as it seems. The entire film gives a creepy, "something is about to happen" atmosphere and shows a VERY creative author, as Calton E. Morse was! A mystery you won't forget!

Norm

Jim Bannon and Barton Yarborough are Jack and Doc, detectives: this particular case has them encountering a man with a peg leg, a woman mysteriously confined to a wheelchair, a Russian psychiatrist who apparently does not speak that language, and a man named Monk (George Macready) who is certain he is going to be decapitated within a matter of days. Told mainly in flashback, the story shows Jack and Doc unfolding the mystery and gradually discovering that not all of these characters are what they seem. Indeed—are any of them?

Macready is excellent as the bizarrely-behaving threatened man who is either rattled or drugged or just unbalanced. Nina Foch is excellent as his wife—from her first appearance there is little doubt that there is more going on behind that face than she is letting on. Bannon is steady if unspectacular as the lead detective, essentially a no-nonsense straight man looking for logical answers. Yarborough's southern drawl as Doc is, I take it, meant to indicate his status as slightly comical sidekick; he says things like, "Hey, you mean all that stuff about the prophecy is just so much razzle dazzle?" but for the most part he stays out of the way.

Overall, an inventive story and solid direction combine to produce a sinister atmosphere in which tension stays high and the viewer is kept guessing. Straightforward performances add weight to this excellently dark mystery.

First of three B detective films from Columbia featuring Jack Packard (Jim Bannon) and his sidekick Doc Long (Barton Yarborough). The story here begins with the decapitation of a man named Jefferson Monk (what a name -- sounds like a superhero's secret identity). Through flashback, we find out Monk approached Packard and Doc for help earlier. He was told by a cult leader he would be dead within a year if he didn't sell them his head! Now the year is almost up. I can't even begin to describe anything else without ruining it for you.

This series was also a popular radio series back in the day. I listened to a lot of old time radio shows on satellite radio years ago. I don't remember ever hearing this program but I do remember Barton Yarborough quite well from other shows. Nobody who's heard his Huckleberry Hound accent is likely to forget it anytime soon. It's a little annoying but he's the comic relief sidekick so I tried to tolerate it. This is one of three films Nina Foch made with George Macready for Columbia in 1945. The most notable one being My Name Is Julia Ross.

Employs the dreaded "flashback-within-a-flashback" device but it doesn't hurt as the plot is simple enough to follow. Some nice atmosphere and creepy moments, such as when a peg-legged man with a mask attacks Monk on a foggy street. The decapitation angle seems pretty risqué for the time. It's a bizarre and enjoyable entry into a very crowded genre.

The "I Love A Mystery" radio series starred three heroes--Jack, played by Jim Bannon. Doc, played by Barton Yarbarough, and the British Reggie, played by an up and coming American radio voice actor named Tony Randall.

The three films that were based on the series starred the original actors who played Jack and Doc--but Reggie was nowhere to be seen. What happened? Maybe Bannon and Yarborough physical appearances resembled their radio voices, but poor Randall didn't and the radio show didn't want him in the movie because it might ruin what listeners imagined what Reggie looked like.

Whatever the cause, Tony Randall would have to wait about another ten years or say to get his movie fame,while Jim Bannon and Barton Yarborough would fade to nostalgic obscurity of what-ever-happened-to-land and answers to Trivial Pursuit Games.

BTW. in case you're wondering. I liked the movies. They're from an age of long ago when you based movies on pulp stories and radio shows. Cheese, you say? Well, I LOVE cheese! :) Class Dismissed!

I love a mystery, especially if there are plenty of well-crafted twists and turns along the way and everything is wrapped up neatly by the end; unfortunately, I Love A Mystery, based on a popular radio series of the day, is a tad TOO convoluted for its own good, the story becoming very muddled and the characters' machinations stretching plausibility to breaking point.

The basic plot sees a pair of private detectives, Jim Packard (Jim Bannon) and Doc Long (Barton Yarborough), trying to work out who is plotting to kill wealthy playboy Jefferson Monk (George Macready). Their investigations involve an ancient Oriental secret society, a mummy with a mouldy head, a one-legged man carrying a head-sized valise, a strange globe-hopping musician playing Tchaikovsky, several murders, a scheming wheelchair-bound wife (Nina Foch), and a mysterious brunette femme fatale (Carole Mathews), with flashbacks, and flashbacks within flashbacks, only serving to make matters even more confusing.

This first of three B-movies is based on a popular radio program, "I Love a Mystery". It is about a mystery worked on by two pals, Doc and Jack...although, oddly, they are not that prominently featured in the film.

The film begins with a rather grisly scene where one of the detectives goes to the morgue...and finds a decapitated man. The story then goes back in time to when Jefferson Monk (George Macready) came to the private detectives. He has a bizarro story about some weird story about being followed and later being approached by a secret society...because they want to buy his head after he dies! What happens next in the story is just odd and instead of telling you more, I'll just say it's very convoluted and unusual!

The best thing about this film is the creepy atmosphere. Also, Macready was a great actor and was excellent here as well. As far as the detectives, however, they were a dull pair and really had little to do until the very end. Worth seeing but so strange you are left a bit confused by the whole thing.

Socialite Jefferson Monk is in the morgue decapitated by a car crash. The story is recounted three days earlier. Jefferson is distraught over someone following him. He predicts that he will be killed and lose his head in three days. Detectives Jim Packard and Doc Long listen to him in disbelief but they promise to follow him and his companion Jean Anderson. Jefferson is confronted by a strange man with a disfigured face and he is saved by the two detectives. They bring him home and meet his wheelchair-bounded wife Ellen.

There is a few too many exposition scenes. While I like the premise, the movie has to keep adding to it which leaves it spending too much time in exposition mode. The other issue is the attempt at being exotic. It struggles with white actors while trying to center the cult around the Himalayas. It's almost funny to see old Hollywood doing the exotic east. The mystery points directly to a solution which obviously everyone including the audience can solve almost immediately. That leads to another mystery but that solution leads to a problem with the beginning of the tale. There is no reason why Jefferson would involve the two detectives. This is coming from a radio series. I can see how some of these reveals are compelling to a radio audience. It's not quite as compelling for a movie.

I am a fan of mystery movies, and this is one of my all time favorites. I love the plot twists and the eerie atmosphere. I remember when I first saw this film, many years ago, how astonished I was when the villains are murdered one by one. My only complaint with the film is the phony arrest and jail break of Jack Packard. This was silly and unnecessary. Jack Packard should have been able to nail the killer without these shenanigans. This being said, I recommend this film, especially if you like mysteries and are looking for something different. Jack Packard, played by Jim Bannon, is an excellent screen detective, and Doc Long, played by Barton Yarborough, is a likeable sidekick who provides some comic relief, and best of all is Jefferson Monk played by George Macready.

Based on a radio broadcast, this noirish film is deliciously melodramatic. And it retains elements that are reminiscent of its radio origins, like a scream that is a plot point, but unnecessary.

The story includes a flashback within a flashback, and feels like a campfire tale of rich details. There are prophesies of bad fortune, mummies, a one-legged man, Eurasian artifacts, mysterious strangers, and practitioners of the occult.

This is a murder mystery. It features the superior sleuthing of Jack Packard (Jim Bannon) and his sidekick Doc Long (Barton Yarborough).

So take a trip back to yesteryear, and enjoy this retelling of a radio whodunit.

Monk hires the detective firm of packard and long to figure out who's following him. It seems to be a man with a wooden leg. Something about a prophecy, and people threatening mister monk. And his invalid wife. They have somehow gotten mixed up with a secret society, which seems to want to cause him harm. Can the detectives figure out what's going on in time? Stars jim bannon, george macreaady, barton yarborough. Nina foch is monk's wife. It probably made for a fascinating radio program, but for some reason, it comes across like dry toast with no butter on film. Not sure why. Not much chemistry between the actors. And it happens in a very linear fashion... they don't really figure anything out..things just happen, one after the other. Directed by henry levin. Maybe the sequels are better.

I Love a Mystery (1945)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The first of three films from Columbia based around the popular radio program I Love a Mystery. In the film, detectives Jack Packard (Jim Bannon) and Doc Long (Barton Yarborough) meet a man (George Macready) who fears he's going to die in a matter of days because a secret cult wants his head to put on the body of their mummified master. The detectives begin to unravel clues that might lead to the man's wife (Nina Foch) who is also being stalked by the cult. Due to how they were showed on TCM I ended up watching the second film in the series, THE DEVIL'S MASK, first and hated it from start to finish so I really wasn't sure what to expect from this film. Turns out that it's one of the more unique murder/mysteries from this era due to dark, foggy streets, a rich atmosphere, interesting characters and a rather ugly subject matter. The word decapitation is used throughout this film and one of the biggest plot moves is that this man is going to have his head cut off. How this got past the censors is beyond me but it's these dark touches that really make this film stick out, especially when compared to other films like this. Director Levin does a very good job at building up the atmosphere as we get several classic touches from the dark streets, people hiding in shadows and of course one plot twist happening after another. The movie actually manages to be very believable in all the twists that happen and it's helped even more by the fact that the mystery itself is a good one. Bannon is very good in the role and his laid back approach makes for an interesting leading man. Yarborough, playing pretty much a country bumpkin, isn't too bad either. Macready does a real good job playing the scared man who feels he's about to die. The film belongs to the ladies though as Foch is terrific in her few scenes as the wife and we also get a great femme fatal in Carole Mathews playing a strange woman who Macready meets in a bar. At 69-minutes the film runs just long enough to get enough right and it doesn't over welcome itself by going for too long. Fans of this genre will want to check this out just for the darker than normal subject matter and the fun performances.

I kove A Mystery was the first of tree films that Columbia Pictures did based on the radio detective series of the same name. Stars Jim Bannon and Barton Yarborough came overfrom radio to do their roles as a pair of San Francisco based private eyes. Harry Cohn reasoned correctly the radio listeners were a built in audience to fill movie seats. And I'm sure listeners were grateful to have the opportunity to put faces to voices.

George MacReady plays a millionaire playboy trying to find out who's been haunting him with a prophecy about decapitating him to replace the head on the body of a long dead eastern cult leader. Among other things prophesied were a paralyzing illness now affecting MacReady's wife Nina Foch.

Of course it's carefully planned scheme, but tables do get turned and that's all I have to say.

It's a really silly plot, but with players like MacReady and Foch thy make it interesting.

In San Francisco, detective partners Jack Packard and Doc Long are hired by socialite Jefferson Monk who believes someone is following him with the aim to kill him.

A little off beat mystery with some fine performances and atmosphere, but I found it a little hard to follow, as it was a bit confusing and lacked drive and was a bit dull - the heroes didn't help, they were lacklustre. In contrast, George Macready excels as a tortured soul. Which isn't surprising as he was a very talented actor with a distinctive voice. It's standard B-movie fare which would have been bettered with the "unknown", a far superior addition to the series.

There's a good, exotic little mystery buried somewhere inside the jumbled screenplay and the deadly casting of the two leads—Bannon and Yarborough. Bannon's career shows a competent action hero. Here, however, he brings down his scenes with a wooden style that's unfortunate, to say the least. Note that he doesn't even move his shoulders during his disguised piano playing. Ditto Yarborough's acting style, and whose Dixie accent is supposed to project, I guess, a folksy charm. Together, they're a zero at the heart of events. Maybe a better director could have gotten a livelier performance out of them-- I don't know. Nonetheless, if there's a single reason the series failed to catch on, I expect it's because of this central casting flaw.

Fortunately, there're a number of imaginative touches in the 60-minutes that almost redeem the flaws. That false face is truly chilling; the secret society and the missing head add real color; plus, the several plot twists are highly original and unforeseen (at least, by me). Too bad they're buried in a script that's really hard to follow with its many underdeveloped characters shuttling in and out of the meandering narrative.

It is a good chance, however, to catch two fine actors, MacReady and Foch, who would combine the following year in the cult classic My Name is Julia Ross (1945). Here, they're not at their best, but still worth watching. I'm just sorry this promising screenplay wasn't sent back for narrative improvements, and maybe a better director. Because the seeds of a first- rate mystery do show through.