The Hat Box Mystery (1947)

42% User Rating

44min

"Like-a-Jack-in-the-Box----Murder jumped out and claimed its Victim!"

Susan Hart, assistant to private detective Russ Ashton, is given a camera concealed in a hat box and assigned to take a picture of a woman. A gun is accidentally hidden in the box and the woman is killed. Susan is charged with murder, but Russ and his less-than-useful associate, Harvard, get on the case and prove that the fatal shot was fired by the killer from across the street.

Lambert HillyerDirector

Cast

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Tom Neal

Russ Ashton

Pamela Blake

Susan Hart

Allen Jenkins

'Harvard'

Virginia Sale

Veronica Hoopler

Leonard Penn

Stevens, aka John Moreland

Olga Andre

Marie Moreland

Tom Kennedy

Policeman Murphy

Al Hill

Flint

Edward Keane

District Attorney

Zon Murray

Joe

A. Robert Nunes

Witness (As Bob Nunes)

Jack Cheatham

Policeman

Steve Clark

Telephone Re-Connect Man (uncredited)

William Ruhl

Blackmailer (uncredited)

Reviews (1)

All Reviews

CinemaSerf

Rating 50%

July 7, 2022

Pamela Blake is "Susan", the assistant to PI Tom Neal ("Russ") whose business has rather hit the skids. Whilst he is away, she takes on a case trying to prove infidelity and using a hat box that, ostensibly, conceals a harmless camera she follows her target. Unfortunately, her snaps have a fatal consequence and she is charged with murder. It falls to "Russ" and his hapless helper "Harvard" (Allen Jenkins) to get to the bottom of it before "Susan" is toast. It's all just a routine B-drama with little jeopardy or menace, but it does have quite a few quite engaging scenes between "Harvard" and waitress "Veronica" (Virginia Sale) who offers him her body but he'd rather have a goose-burger.... It's short and sweet, and though pretty unremarkable, it does pass 45 minutes easily enough.