Such a frustrating disappointment

i must have seen a different film!!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Miss Pinkerton has Joan Blondell cast as a nurse who is sent out on assignment to take care of bedridden Elizabeth Patterson. Her nephew and last of her once wealthy family has just killed himself and the cops headed by George Brent are on the scene. Or did he kill himself? Brent suspects murder.Since he kind of likes Blondell at first sight Brent departs from normal investigative procedure. He has Blondell not only taking care of Patterson, but he wants her to keep her eyes and ears open for anything incriminating. Despite the coroner Brent thinks murder was done.Turns out murder was done and it's done again and on this Blondell may even have had a hand. Of course it was murder and it was a rather complicated scheme where the victim was in on it but was double- crossed by accomplices. There is in fact some money still left and enough to kill for.Joan Blondell's effervescent personality and quick wit is on full blast for Miss Pinkerton. It's a somewhat lame story, but watching her covers over a lot of the faults.

Most of the action takes place in an old, Victorian style mansion which art director Jack Okey excels in recreating here. In fact, his sets are one of the film's major assets. Yet another plus is the extraordinary direction by Lloyd Bacon. In fact, all the scenes in which Elizabeth Patterson appears are handled in a most unusual – at least for Lloyd Bacon – manner, using tilted camera angles, mirror shots, close close-ups and weird lighting effects. Indeed the most stunning effect of all occurs right at the character's death. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is handled in a far less dramatic manner. Another minus is that there is no music score to help the mood. This lack also forces viewers to focus on the dialogue which seems a trifle stagey and is certainly overplayed by some of the actors, particularly John Wray. Fortunately, sound effects and McGill's fine photography help cover up some of the worst lapses.

The Best Thing that can be said about this Pre-Code "Old Dark House" Mystery is that the Print is Pristine. It Looks Smooth and Shiny, the Contrast is Excellent and it is just well, Swell.The Opening has Joan Blondell as the Title Character Stripping to Her Undies and a bit of Inner Thigh (a post code no-no) with Stockings is Exposed and there is some Talk with a Youngster about Visiting Her Boyfriend's Bedroom. That' the Extent of the "Forbidden Hollywood" Stuff.But this one is Played Very Light Anyway and it is Virtually Impossible to Keep it all Straight as there is so much Talk and so many Suspects that the Mystery gets Less Mysterious and More Confusing as Things Move Along.The Sets are Creepy Enough and some of the Characters Moving in and out of Suspicion are also Nutty, and there are Shadows Galore to Up the Spooky Level, with some Screams and Lurkers about. Worth a Watch, and take the Challenge to Decipher the Plot and Characters.

With Joan Blondell and George Brent, this should have been a lot better and I think it's very skipable. The film starts with a totally outlandish premise. A nurse (Blondell) is a bit bored by her routine, so to help her get a bit of excitement, her boss assigns her to work with the police as a "special agent". It seems that a man was murdered and they want Blondell to look after his aunt--as she might know something about the killing. Now think about it--there is a murder and the police recruit a civilian to get in the middle of it!! Considering there's a decent chance she, too, will be killed! There's certainly more to the film than this premise, but overall it's pretty dull and wastes good actors. Heck, you don't even see Blondell and Brent interact much until towards the end of the film. Perhaps this was because both were relatively early in their careers. Regardless, there are many, many more murder mystery films with more interesting material and dialog. Worth watching if you are an old movie buff, but probably not for most tastes.