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 cases. From 1929 to 1971, Dannay and Lee wrote around forty novels and short story collections in which Ellery Queen appears as a character.
A mystery film is a 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. Mystery films include, but are not limited to, films in the genre of 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.
The Saint in Palm Springs is a 1941 American mystery crime film directed by Jack Hively and starring George Sanders, Wendy Barrie and Jonathan Hale. It was produced and released by Hollywood studio RKO Pictures. The film continued the screen adventures of the Robin Hood-inspired anti-hero, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint", created by Leslie Charteris. This sequel was based upon a story by Charteris; however, many changes to his concept were made. Charteris later novelised his version of the film story as the novella "Palm Springs", contained within the 1942 collection The Saint Goes West. This was the sixth of eight in RKO's film series about The Saint.
Footsteps in the Dark is a 1941 American comedy mystery film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall and Ralph Bellamy. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. Flynn plays a novelist and amateur detective investigating a murder. It takes its title from the 1935 play Footsteps in the Dark by Ladislas Fodor and also used material from the 1937 play Blondie White by Jeffrey Dell.
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.
Murder in Trinidad is a 1934 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Louis King and starring Nigel Bruce, Heather Angel, Victor Jory, and Murray Kinnell. It was produced and distributed by Fox Film. It is based on the 1933 novel Murder in Trinidad by John Vandercook, which provided the loose inspiration for the later films Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939) and The Caribbean Mystery (1945).
Murder Over New York is a 1940 American mystery film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. The cast also features Marjorie Weaver, Robert Lowery and Ricardo Cortez. Chan must solve a murder mystery while attending a police convention. Shemp Howard plays "Shorty McCoy" in an uncredited appearance.
A Holy Terror is a 1931 American pre-Code Western movie starring George O'Brien, Sally Eilers, Rita La Roy, and Humphrey Bogart. The film is an adaptation by Ralph Block, Alfred A. Cohn, and Myron C. Fagan of the novel Trailin'! by Max Brand. It was directed by Irving Cummings.
The Notorious Lone Wolf is a 1946 American mystery film directed by D. Ross Lederman and starring Gerald Mohr, Janis Carter and Eric Blore. It is the twelfth Lone Wolf film produced by Columbia Pictures. The picture features Mohr in his inaugural performance as the protagonist detective Lone Wolf alongside Janis Carter and Ian Wolfe as Adam Wainwright, the film's antagonist. The screenplay was written by Martin Berkeley, Edward Dein, and William J. Bowers.
The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date is a 1940 American mystery crime film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Warren William, Frances Robinson, Bruce Bennett and Eric Blore. It is the sixth Lone Wolf film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features William in his fourth appearance as the title character and Edward Gargan, Lester Matthews and Don Beddoe as the film's antagonists. The screenplay was written by Salkow and Earl Felton.
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.
The Circus Queen Murder is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Adolphe Menjou, Donald Cook and Greta Nissen. It is the sequel to the 1932 film The Night Club Lady in which Menjou had also starred as Thatcher Colt. The film is based on a story by "Anthony Abbott", a pseudonym used by Fulton Oursler.
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.
Philo Vance's Secret Mission is a 1947 American mystery film directed by Reginald Le Borg and starring Alan Curtis, Sheila Ryan and Tala Birell. It was part of a series of films featuring the detective Philo Vance made during the 1930s and 1940s.
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.
