PRC annoying lady--voice from hell--neighborIn most B-mysteries, there are a lot of clichés you come to expect if you watch a lot of these films. One of the most familiar is the stupid cop investigating the case. In reality NO COP is as dumb as these guys and they specialize in coming up with elaborate theories and trying to make the evidence fit their crazy preconceptions. In the case of "A Night for Crime" the cop (Hoffman) isn't just dumb...he's practically brainless! This is a deficit in the film as you can't help but wonder WHICH police force would ever hire such a guy or give him such authority! Fortunately, the other cliché the films has are the amateurs who somehow know MORE than all the cops...and in this case Susan (Glenda Farrell) and Joe (Lyle Talbot) can't help but be smarter than the police!The case begins with a scream...and Joe and Susan find a body in the nearby apartment. Almost instantly, the dopey detective shows up and Hoffman proves he's one of the dumbest policemen in the history of films. Plus, in addition to the body, there's a missing woman to be found. So, the reporter and publicity man decide to figure out the case when the police are so easily baffled. So is the film any good? Not really. As I already mentioned, it has a lot of clichés. The only thing that saves it, a bit, is Glenda Farrell--an actress who usually plays snappy-talking broads. She is enjoyable.

There is low budget, there is no budget, and then there is "A Night For Crime". This is an astonishingly cheap movie, with few exterior shots and even fewer wide shots, probably to avoid exposure of the underdressed sets. Glenda Farrell plays a character very similar to her famous Torchy Blane (a reporter with a knack for solving murder mysteries), only without the same spark (though she has the occasional good line). Lyle Talbot is OK as the male lead, though he doesn't do anything that a hundred other male leads couldn't do in his place. Ralph Sanford has some amusing moments as a Gahagan-like dumb cop, though I found him funnier in "Adventures Of Kitty O'Day" (where he played practically the same part). The mystery plot is not uninteresting, however this film is overcome by its cheapness. ** out of 4.

While Glenda Farrell and Lyle Talbot don't come close to becoming a second rate Nick and Nora Charles, they are somewhat amusing as they get involved in a disappearance and a murder investigation in this low budget mystery. You can't expect a Glenda Farrell film without wisecracks (see any of her 30's Warner Brothers films with Joan Blondell for proof of this), and she has many here as a variation of her former Torchy Blane character. Fellow Warners alumnus Talbot is the publicity man who helps her solve the mystery of what happened to movie star Lina Basquette. The film slows down to a snail's pace every time Farrell is off screen, but for a low budget film, the set is pretty snazzy looking. Fellow former "A" lister Jean Parker would move into the ranks as a variation of Farrell's character in two "Kitty O'Day" features which had similar formulas.

This is an above average PRC mystery. Lyle Talbot is cast as a movie studio publicity man. Glenda Farrell is his brash, wise-cracking girlfriend. When a studio movie star goes missing Talbot is sent out to find her. What he finds instead is a murder case. There is nothing new here and it is the type of story that was popular a decade previous. Ralph Sanford plays the too stupid to be real detective in charge of the murder case. This film is not terrific, but it never gets boring as it often the problem with PRC films. It's really a tribute to old pros Talbot and Farrell, who manage to keep this baby entertaining despite a low budget and a so-so screenplay.