The Mantrap (1943)
Henry Stephenson stars as a retired Scotland Yard detective. He is regarded as an icon because he has written volumes of books on the art of detection. While Stephenson is being honoured for his past successes, he senses modern detectives, particularly the current District Attorney, look at him and his methods as outdated. This spurs the old man out of retirement to prove himself to the know-it-all modern detectives.
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If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.
really a hidden gem.While main character Humphrey Quilp was only a pupil of Holmes, the plotting and dialog are pure Holmes/Conan Doyle. Pretty funny and clever script by Curt Siodmak. Jam packed with dialog and scenes, like a 90 minute mystery condensed into a 60 minute time slot. As such, it's never dull and keeps your attention. The modern police humor him and his "prehistoric" methods (such as noticing subtle yet simple illogical discrepancies), while he humors their total blindness to the details. The actual humor in the film is never broad but usually circumstantial- people getting annoyed with each other, or Quilp's friend (a Watson stand-in) who worries about his health and pulls cigarettes or drinks out of Quilp's hand when he isn't aware. Interestingly, Quilp drives (and advocates) an electric car. Certainly ahead of his time.Don't want to say more and spoil your experience.
Henry Stephenson stars as a retired Scotland Yard detective. He is regarded as an icon because he has written volumes of books on the art of detection. While Stephenson is being honoured for his past successes, he senses modern detectives, particularly the current District Attorney, look at him and his methods as outdated. This spurs the old man out of retirement to prove himself to the know-it-all modern detectives.As fate has decreed, there is a modern murder case that has stumped the District Attorney's office. Lloyd Corrigan, playing his usual amiable eccentric, is Stephenson's aid in sleuthing. This film is a very gentle and unusual mystery that was a welcomed diversion for this veteran mystery lover.