UNMASKED

Raymond Burr may need Perry Mason 

UNMASKED (1950). Director: George Blair. 

Roger Lewis (Raymond Burr of Abandoned) is a ruthless man who publishes a rag exposing the peccadilloes of prominent citizens. His main backer is actress Doris King (Hillary Brooke of Confidence Girl), a barracuda who wants to divorce her husband -- down on his luck producer Harry Jackson (Paul Harvey) -- and marry Roger, although he's much more interested in his secretary, Mona (Grace Albertson). Early in the film Roger gets rid of the annoyingly insistent Doris and manages to pin the murder on her estranged husband. As detective Jim Webster (Robert Rockwell) tracks down Jackson, his devoted daughter, Linda (Barbra Fuller), tries to get him to turn himself in. Meanwhile both Jim and Linda are determined to prove that the reptilian Roger Lewis is actually behind the murder, but Lewis may be too clever for them ... 

Barbra Fuller

Unmasked is a minor suspense film that is bolstered by a terrific lead performance by Raymond Burr, who seemed to specialize in bad guys (a la Rear Window) before landing the plum assignment of Perry Mason. Rockwell, most famous as the principal on Our Miss Brooks, is pleasant but unexciting as the detective, Brooke is snappy in her customary fashion, Harvey is suitably desperate, and Fuller offers a good, intense performance as Linda. Norman Budd also makes an impression as "Biggie," a character who unwittingly and unwisely pits Lewis against his main enemy, the mobster Johnny Rocco (John Eldredge, who is also excellent). Barbra Fuller figured that taking an "a" out of her first name would be more distinctive, and she did it years before Barbra Streisand did the same thing. George Blair also directed Insurance Investigator with Eldredge and Brooke.

Verdict: Despite several good performances, this doesn't really make the grade. **. 

INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR

Audrey Long and Richard Denning

INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR (1951). Director: George Blair. Colorized.

Insurance investigator Tom Davison (Richard Denning) is called in when the head of a real estate company, Sullivan (Roy Gordon), is found dead on the staircase outside his office. His associate, Hammond (John Eldredge), suspects that Sullivan was drinking heavily and had a tragic fall, but Sullivan's daughter, Nancy (Audrey Long), doesn't find this credible. Davison decides to pretend to be Nancy's cousin, and she gets him a job at the real estate office, where he can spy on Hammond and another agent, Addie (Hillary Brooke), who's having an affair with Hammond. Then someone inadvertently steps into an elevator shaft and has a deadly fall ...

Reed Hadley and Roy Barcroft

Insurance Investigator is a $1.99 item from Republic studios, and plays, like many of these B productions, like a TV show. Denning is, as always, a likable player, but he adds absolutely no nuances to his performance and his Tom Davison is no different from his Michael Shayne, Mr. North, or other characters that he's portrayed. Audrey Long is appealing and professional as the (supposedly) grieving daughter who carries on a romance with Davison, or at least tries to. Reed Hadley and Roy Barcroft add a bit of tension to their scenes as the resident bad guys behind a nasty insurance scheme. We're supposed to believe that an unsuspecting person can open the door to the elevator even though the car is on another floor. Well, maybe ... George Blair also directed Exposed. 

Verdict: Even color doesn't add much to this cheapie. *1/2. 

CONFIDENCE GIRL

Hillary Brooke

CONFIDENCE GIRL (1952). Written and directed by Andrew L. Stone. 

Roger Kingsley (Tom Conway) is a supposed insurance investigator who is working with the police to bring down confidence woman Mary Webb (Hillary Brooke). In reality Mary is Kingsley's girlfriend and his helpmate in various crooked shenanigans. Kingsley has gone so far as to circulate a phony picture of Mary and to pass off the fingerprints of an unidentified dead woman as Mary's. Kingsley's latest scheme involves setting Mary up as a genuine psychic in the hopes that it will lead to lots of cash. But will the cops be fooled so easily? 

Tom Conway and Hillary Brooke

The cheaply-made Confidence Girl is more entertaining than it might seem at first, though one has to take it with a large grain of salt. Some of the tricks that Mary and Roger use to fleece people seem very genuine, but the business with the psychic is another matter. Doing her act in a nightclub, Mary is given tips about people in the audience from the parking attendant and the hat check girl. Reasonable so far. But then we learn that there's a whole group of people working upstairs with peepholes over every table and hidden mikes. How Roger hopes to make any money by employing over a dozen people to help Mary in her act is a question that's never answered. Mary tries to unveil a murderer at one point, and when she realizes that some people could be fleeced out of their life savings she develops a conscience. 

Confidence Girl begins well as Mary and Roger play their cons on a department store (for a mink coat) and on a pawnbroker who gets greedy when he thinks a cheap violin is worth thousands, but the business with the psychic and a man accused of murdering someone with poisoned liquor doesn't quite work. Andrew L. Stone went on to much better things, such as The Last Voyage and The Steel Trap. 

Verdict: Entertaining enough if minor-league. **1/4.