A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the clues to the case, from which the identity of the perpetrator may be deduced before the story provides the revelation itself at its climax. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric, amateur, or semi-professional detective.
Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murder mysteries. Dannay and Lee wrote most of the novels and short story collections in which Ellery Queen appears as a character, and these books were among the most popular American mysteries published between 1929 and 1971. Under the pseudonym Ellery Queen, they also edited more than thirty anthologies of crime fiction and true crime. Dannay founded, and for many years edited, the crime fiction magazine Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, which has been published continuously from 1941 to the present. From 1961 onwards, Dannay and Lee commissioned other authors to write thrillers using the pseudonym Ellery Queen, but not featuring Ellery Queen as a character; some such novels were juvenile and were credited to Ellery Queen Jr. They also wrote four mysteries under the pseudonym Barnaby Ross, which featured the detective Drury Lane. Several movies, radio shows, and television shows were based on their works.
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction. By 2022, mystery films are generally referred to as detective fiction.
Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Warner Oland, Keye Luke and Virginia Field. The main character is Charlie Chan, a Chinese-Hawaiian detective. This was the sixteenth and final Charlie Chan film with Oland portraying Chan. The film features Keye Luke as Charlie's son Lee and character actor Harold Huber as a French police inspector. It was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Shirley Grey was an American actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1930 and 1935.
Footsteps in the Dark is a light-hearted 1941 mystery film, starring Errol Flynn as an amateur detective investigating a murder.
The Mandarin Mystery is a 1936 American mystery crime film directed by Ralph Staub, loosely based on The Chinese Orange Mystery, a novel featuring detective character Ellery Queen.
The Barton Mystery is a 1932 British crime film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Ursula Jeans, Ellis Jeffreys and Lyn Harding. It was based on the play The Barton Mystery by Walter C. Hackett.
Let Us Live is a 1939 American crime film directed by John Brahm starring Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry Fonda and Ralph Bellamy.
The Falcon Out West is a 1944 American mystery film directed by William Clemens and starring Tom Conway, Joan Barclay and Barbara Hale. The film was part of RKO's The Falcon series of detective films, this time, a murder set in Texas.
The Crime of Helen Stanley is a 1934 American pre-Code crime film directed by D. Ross Lederman and starring Ralph Bellamy, Shirley Grey and Gail Patrick. The film is also known as Murder in the Studio. It was the third in a series of four films featuring Bellamy as Inspector Trent of the NYPD following on from Before Midnight and One Is Guilty. The final film Girl in Danger in the sequence was released later in the year.
Girl in Danger is a 1934 American crime film directed by D. Ross Lederman and starring Ralph Bellamy, Shirley Grey and Arthur Hohl. Produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures, it was the fourth and final entry in a series featuring Bellamy as NYPD Inspector Steve Trent. The three previous films were Before Midnight, One Is Guilty and The Crime of Helen Stanley.
Find the Witness is a 1937 American drama film directed by David Selman and starring Charles Quigley, Henry Mollison and Rosalind Keith. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures.
Bombay Mail is a 1934 American pre-Code drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Tom Reed. The film stars Edmund Lowe, Ralph Forbes, Shirley Grey, Hedda Hopper, Onslow Stevens, and Jameson Thomas. The film was released on January 6, 1934, by Universal Pictures. The film is based on the Lawrence Blochman novel of the same name which was originally published in 1933 in the pulp magazine Complete Stories.
The Squeaker is a 1930 British mystery crime film directed by Edgar Wallace and starring Percy Marmont, Anne Grey and Gordon Harker.
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime is a 1941 American mystery film directed by James P. Hogan and written by Eric Taylor. The film was loosely based on the 1938 novel The Devil to Pay by Ellery Queen. It stars Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, Spring Byington, H. B. Warner and James Burke. The film was released on August 14, 1941, by Columbia Pictures.
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery is a 1941 American mystery film directed by James P. Hogan and written by Eric Taylor. It is based on the 1939 play The Three Scratches by Ellery Queen. The film stars Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, Anna May Wong, James Burke and Eduardo Ciannelli. The film was released on March 24, 1941, by Columbia Pictures.
Before Midnight is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery crime film directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Ralph Bellamy, June Collyer and Claude Gillingwater. Produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures, it was the first in a series of four films featuring Inspector Steve Trent of the NYPD. Bellamy featured in all three sequels One Is Guilty, The Crime of Helen Stanley and Girl in Danger.
