ELLERY QUEEN, MASTER DETECTIVE

US, 1940, 69 minutes, Black-and-white.

Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, James Burke, Michael Whalen, Marsha Hunt, Fred Niblo, Charles Lane, Anne Shoemaker.

Directed by Kurt Neumann.

The first of seven films, 1940-1942, supporting features at Columbia Studios, featuring stories by Ellery Queen and featuring the writer and his detection. Ralph Bellamy appeared in four of these to be followed by William Gargan for three. But, Margaret Lindsay was present in all seven as Nikki Porter, eventually Ellery Queen’s secretary, Charley Grapewin as Inspector Queen, Ellery’s father, and James Burke as his assistant, providing a lot of the comedy and even some slapstick.

Each film involved a murder, or more, the police investigation, Elleru either called in or joining in, and Nikki Porter becoming involved. In fact, in this film, she had not met Ellery Queen but has been writing novels, rejected considered not in the league of the Queen stories (though she has all his books). The basic situation is that a celebrity body builder/health expert (played by veteran director, Fred Niblo, who directed the 1925 Ben Hur) is found dead. The doctor assisting him is a with his daughter. He is also concerned that the health expert is dying of cancer, experts called in, examination of x-rays – and then the man is dead.

The doctor and his fiancee are very friendly with Nikki Porter and go to her for help. She goes to investigate at the family home but is detained after finding the body and she becomes a suspect. And, with Inspector Queen involved, that is how she meets Ellery Queen who decides to help her, taking her home, some complications with his father and meals so that he has to set her up as the cook! Soup put of vans and burning the steaks and pouring water over to quench the fire!

Many complications, suspicions about the health expert’s associates and their previous work, but, they are not the murderers and, as always, it is someone that we had not suspected.

At the end, Ellery hires Nikki Porter as his secretary… And the series goes on.