THE MANDARIN MYSTERY

US, 1936, 60 minutes, Black-and-white.
Eddie Quillan, Charlotte Henry, Rita La Roy, Wade Boteler, Franklin Pangborn.
Directed by Ralph Staub.

Not essential viewing but of interest to those who have enjoyed the novels and stories as well as the film and television adaptations of Ellery Queen (a pen-name combination of the two authors, Frederic Danney and Manfred Lee). This is one of the earliest film versions featuring Eddie Quillan, much more credible as a comedian in song and dance man although that is the kind of quality he brings to his characterisation of Ellery Queen, writer, son of the police inspector, prone to pratfalls even while solving a case. Wade Boteler portrays Inspector Queen very seriously.

Charlotte Henry plays a young woman who has possession of a most valuable stamp, not particularly careful about security who comes to a hotel to sell the stamp to an expert. Of course, the stamp is stolen. However, the thief is found murdered in the hotel room.

There is a range of suspects, the stamp expert who is interested in the purchase, his two nieces who are his wards and dependent on him for finance, the boyfriend of one of the nieces.

Most of the action takes place in the rooms occupied by the family, especially a central strongroom for the stamps which is also soundproof, something which is tested during the action.

With all kinds of suspicions and interactions, with Inspector Queen being very serious, with Ellery Queen doing a line for the young woman who owns the stamp, who also behaves very suspiciously, the older niece is then murdered.

Everyone is assembled – and the old man who collect the stamps is unmasked.

At this time there was another small-budget equally mystery featuring Donald Cook as the author.