MYSTERY IN MEXICO

Jacqueline White and William Lundigan

MYSTERY IN MEXICO (1948). Directed by Robert Wise.

When one of his colleagues, Glenn Ames (Walter Reed), disappears, insurance investigator Steve Hastings (William Lundigan) flies down to Mexico to try to find him. He isn't certain if Glenn might be involved in dirty business concerning a stolen necklace, so he attaches himself to Ames' sister, Vicky (Jacqueline White), to see what she knows -- he's also not certain about her. Vicky is a nightclub singer who goes to work for club owner John Norcross (Ricardo Cortez), who has a jealous girlfriend named Delores (Jacqueline Dalya) --she makes a play for Steve even as Vicky is fighting her attraction to him. When a bartender (Armando Silvestre) who may have information regarding Glenn is killed in a suspicious accident, Steve realizes he is on the right track and there may well be danger involved. 

Lundigan looks for clues

An early film directed by Robert Wise, Mystery in Mexico is pleasant, well-acted, and moves swiftly at a little over an hour's running time. It is also extremely minor-league. Lundigan could do this type of material in his sleep, Cortez is suitably oily and makes a rather loathsome villain, and Jacqueline White is  perfectly adept as the heroine. White was a pleasing leading lady who had a handful of credits and whose most famous film is Narrow Margin. Released by RKO.

Verdict: Acceptable if decidedly minor mystery. **1/2. 

THE BLACK DOLL

Donald Woods

THE BLACK DOLL (1938). Director: Otis Garrett.

Nelson Rood (C. Henry Gordon) discovers a sinister black doll in his study and figures it has something to do with a man he murdered many years ago. He calls his former partners to his lavish estate where he lives with his daughter, Marian (Nan Grey), his sister Laura (Doris Lloyd), her son, Rex (William Lundigan), and the maid Rosita and butler Esteban (Fred Malatesta and Inez Palange). Rood's former partners include Mallison (Addison Richards) and the highly nervous, near-hysterical Walling (John Wray). When Rudd gets a knife thrown in his back, Sheriff Renick (Edgar Kennedy) takes charge of the investigation, but the one who solves the case will be Marion's boyfriend and former private eye, Nick Halstead (Donald Woods of The Lost Volcano).

Nan Grey in a tense moment

The Black Doll is a typical thirties murder mystery with bodies dropping out of closets and the like, stereotypes like the ne-er-do-well nephew who cashes bad checks and the idiotic, dyspeptic police officer, helpless, dumb deputy and so on. As leading man, Donald Woods is pleasant if a trifle bland, but the other performances are all adept enough. I suppose Edgar Kennedy does his comic schtick quite well but it just isn't that funny. Nick seems to come to conclusions without their being a shred of supporting evidence. I confess when the killer is revealed I hadn't the vaguest idea of why he done it. Based on a Crime Club novel that is even more forgotten than this movie.

Verdict: You really won't care who done it. **.