Copyright 6 November 1943 by Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 6 November 1943. Australian release: 18 July 1946 (sic). 5,026 feet. 55 minutes. SYNOPSIS: An upcoming politician is blackmailed by a talking crow.COMMENT: Obviously designed as a spoof, this dreadful little movie does not succeed on any level, thanks to leaden direction, incompetent scripting, abysmal acting and impoverished production values. Admittedly, I did chuckle once or twice. I don't want to give the impression that every movie produced in Hollywood's golden age rates as a potential crowd-pleaser. (Even the studio didn't number this one too highly. No New York send-off and, after sitting on the shelf for some years, released in Australia in the dead of winter). I also want to set the record straight about Gene Lockhart. Gene is a fine actor. But he seems to have limitations. He gave a brilliant performance in Algiers because he followed the director's instructions to the letter. Here, he is cast on his own devices, yet he does nothing. He finds himself in a rare starring part, but makes not the slightest attempt to entertain the audience. Does he put on a funny voice? No! Does he try a peculiar walk? No! Does he run through a series of odd facial expressions? Not a one! Gestures? No. Talk out the side of his mouth? No. Whistle? No. He does absolutely nothing. Nothing! It's incredible, but true. He just stands there (or sits there) stiff as a board and says his lines. At least Jerome Cowan puts a bit of extra verve into his portrayal. It's still not successful, but at least he tries. Even Lou Lubin, struggling against poorly conceived camera angles, is obviously aware the movie is supposed to be funny. True, Cowan, Lubin, Harmon and Emerson are constantly stymied by Lederman's weak, flaccid and almost totally inept direction (or rather lack of direction), but at least they bend themselves into knots in futile efforts to make their lines amusing! On the other hand, maybe Gene honestly thought the movie simply wasn't worth the effort. And there he was right!

Find the crow, and you find the blackmailer. That's basically what portly mayor Gene Lockhart tells private investigator Jerome Cowan. Poor Cowan only got the job because he's the least known private detective in the city, and that joke sets them theme for the style of this tongue-in-cheek murder mystery where all sorts of shady characters come in and out, all looking for the mysterious black bird that holds the secret, not the stuff that dreams are made of. Cowan and secretary Faye Emerson, down to no cases, are thrilled for just one chance, especially since solving this crime could open all sorts of doors. It's an entertaining, extremely fast moving Warner Brothers second feature with witty lines, a few red herrings and just an all round fun atmosphere that proved in movies, sometimes less was more.Lockhart made a career out of playing pompous asses, and obviously knowing that his look archetyped this character, played them to the hilt. Here, he's not quite as pompous, although his initial speech on the radio makes him appear that way. He knows he's in over his head, and if he has any chance of winning re-election, that darn crow must be found. The presence of Bradley Page (one of the screen's most darkest of shady villains) gives an obvious suspect to the dirty goings on, but in only 55 minutes, a ton of other characters are introduced as possibilities. The whereabouts of the actual crow (who ironically sounds like a parrot) is amusing as well. Fun, quick and done, you may not find the revelation of the blackmailer a big surprise, but you'll have a fun time getting there.

Find the Blackmailer (1943) ** 1/2 (out of 4) "B" mystery from Warner has Detective Trees (Jerome Cowan) being hired by John Rhodes (Gene Lockhart), a man getting ready to run for Mayor but he finds himself being blackmailed. It turns out that Rhodes threatened to kill his blackmailer and it was overhead by a crow (!?!) who might be evidence if the man ends up being killed. So the detective must now try to track down not only the crow but soon others are getting in on the mystery. The story to this short never makes any sense but I guess one should expect that since the entire thing is solved in a very short 55-minutes. Most of these "B" mysteries were very short in regards to running time but this one here can't even crack the hour mark but this here is probably a good thing since the story doesn't make much sense and I'm sure had it gone on any longer then it really would have lost its entertainment value. I think for the most part this is a pleasant enough of a film so fans of the genre will at least be caught up in the rather bizarre story. There are so many obvious questions that will pop up in your head including how much evidence any court would take from the eyewitness being a talking crow. I mean, do you really think this talking bird would get someone convicted? Even sillier is how everyone appears to be coming up with their own ideas on who the killer is and what motive he/she must have. For the most part Cowan does a nice job in the lead as he's dorky enough to where you can believe he's this detective that no one wants and the actor also has some nice comic timing that comes in handy. Lockhart is terrific as usual and we get a nice performance from Faye Emerson playing one of the bad guys. The entire detective/bird thing will obviously have film buffs thinking of THE MALTESE FALCON and sure enough Cowan had a brief part in that Bogart classic. He must have payed close attention on how to play a detective and while the end results are far from a classic, this movie at least will keep you entertained if you have an hour to kill.

... because you'll probably need to watch this one twice to figure out exactly what is going on. However, don't let that bother you since a fine-tuned plot is not the point of this little B mystery. With every able bodied male between 18 and 40 in the armed services, WWII gave older players such as Sydney Greenstreet and normally supporting players such as the lead in this film - Jerome Cowan as detective D.L. Trees - a chance at a starring role in major studio releases.The story has to do with a not so successful detective, Mr. Trees, and his seldom-paid secretary and semi-romantic interest, Pandora Pines, getting a visit from the reform candidate for mayor, John Rhodes. It seems that Rhodes' girlfriend has a brother - Fred - that has been in prison. The girlfriend doesn't know about Fred's record and neither do the mayor's potential voters. Fred doesn't see his record as any source of shame. Instead he sees it as a money-making opportunity, and he's been putting the bite on John Rhodes ever since he got out of jail to keep quiet about his sordid past. The final straw is when Fred shows Rhodes a crow that has been taught to say "Rhodes killed me!". Apparently Fred did it for insurance so that Rhodes doesn't kill him, realizing the growing inconvenience he has become, but Rhodes is afraid that if something does happen to Fred he'll be implicated by the talking crow. He therefore pays Trees to steal the bird. And this is only the first ten minutes.Things get wild, wacky, and down-right preposterous from this point forward. The film is loaded with action and the kind of 40's detective story dialogue that you often see parodied but hardly ever laid on so thick in one short film of that era. As for the not-so-well-known cast, they acquit themselves marvelously. Mr. Cowan must have been studying Humphrey Bogart closely during his brief role in "The Maltese Falcon", because he is the personification of the cool-headed P.I. with questionable scruples 40's style.I'm sure this little film helped audiences forget the seriousness of the war for a short period of time back in 1943, and I think you'll find it good escapist entertainment today.