As far as I know, "Miss Pinkerton" is the only old-dark-house whodunit that Joan Blondell ever made (though she has played the amateur detective, as she does here, several times) (and maybe you could count "Topper Returns"). She's a joy, as always. The film employs nearly all the genre cliches (only a thunderstorm is missing), and has so many sinister characters that, as Blondell herself says to inspector George Brent, "You have arrested everyone in this cast except me!". There is so much plot to be covered in 65 minutes that you cannot afford not to pay attention or you'll be lost. If they had made another "Miss Pinkerton" film with the team of Blondell and Brent, I would watch it. **1/2 out of 4.

Nurse Joan Blondell is bored with the humdrum goings-on at the hospital where she works. So when offered a little excitement by helping the police with a murder investigation, she jumps at the chance. Pleasant old dark house mystery with a little bit of comedy added to the mix. Joan's wonderful, as she always was in the '30s. Pretty, funny, immensely likable. Very fetching in that nurse uniform. She's one of the most underrated stars of her era. She's got nice support here from George Brent in an early role and many fine character actors like Holmes Herbert and C. Henry Gordon. Also Elizabeth Patterson (Miss Trumbull from I Love Lucy) plays the old lady Blondell is assigned to take care of. Well-directed by Lloyd Bacon with some nicely-framed shots and some spooky use of wind and shadows. The film ends in such a way one might think this was the first of a series. Unfortunately, that's not the case and there were no sequels.

Hard to believe that Joan Blondell only got 65 minutes to strut her stuff in "Miss Pinkerton". She plays a very bored nurse ("I'm beginning to envy the patients - at least things happen to them"!!) and in answer to her prayers she is assigned to look after an elderly lady who has gone into shock after finding a murder victim. She is really working for Inspector Patton (dishy George Brent) who gives her the moniker "Miss Pinkerton". The apparent "suicide" is a young man whose death has paved the way for the happiness of the rest of the family. This is a really enjoyable comedy/mystery, there are plenty of scary shadows on the walls, things that go bump in the night, the usual suspects - a dour maid, an ominous butler (who threatens to kill a little dog, Miss Pinkerton's "palsy walsy"), a nervous doctor and a jittery patient - did I mention Miss Blondell is a terrific screamer - she would give Fay Wray a run for her money!!!! The judge rules suicide but Miss Pinkerton is not buying it - then a young girl appears, it is Paula Brent (Ruth Hall) she married the murder victim while loving Elliot (Donald Dillaway) yet another person who has been caught prowling around the house and is now charged with murder!! Oh yes, there is also the stenographer Miss Lenz (Mary Doran, to all those devotees of pre-coders, enough said).George Brent was just the perfect unobtrusive leading man which made him so popular in the early 30s handsome but with a personality that wouldn't overpower the leading lady. Lyle Talbot also played a bit as a newsman. In 1933 Ruth Hall was in a short "Hollywood on Parade" which introduced several Hollywood starlets (Mary Carlisle, Patricia Ellis, Gloria Stuart etc) who were chosen as stars of tomorrow and unfortunately Ruth was the only one who didn't make good (her very pronounced lisp could have been the trouble) - her best years were 1932 - 1933.Pinkerton is synonymous with detective agencies. Alan Pinkerton, a Scotsman, emigrated to the United States and after serving in the Civil War he became Chicago's first detective and started his own agency. He was involved with tracking down the Reno Gang and Jesse James and at the time of his death was working on a centralized criminal data base that is still used by the F.B.I.

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.