The Westland Case | |
---|---|
Directed by | Christy Cabanne |
Screenplay by | Robertson White [1] |
Based on | Headed for a Hearse by Jonathan Latimer |
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ira Morgan [1] |
Edited by | Otis Garrett [1] |
Music by | Charles Previn [1] |
Production company | Crime Club Productions [1] |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 63 minutes |
Country | United States [1] |
Language | English |
The Westland Case is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Preston Foster, Frank Jenks, and Carol Hughes.
Noted defense attorney Charlie Frazee receives an anonymous note hinting that death row inmate Robert Westland might be innocent of the wife-murder he was convicted for. Frazee takes the note seriously and hires private detectives Bill Crane and Doc Williams to re-investigate the case. A sympathetic Warden gives the investigative trio unlimited visiting rights at the prison for the six days Westland has left.
Things get off to a bad start. The informer who wrote the note is publicly shot to death in a crowded restaurant. And when the condemned man's personal accountant announces that he will soon reveal evidence clearing Westland, he is promptly killed by a hit and run driver.
And the crime scene has been contaminated by the hasty re-rental of the apartment to blonde party girl Agatha Hogan, to whom all three investigators take an immediate shine. But not to the elderly aunt she shares the apartment with.
Crane has better luck trying to trace the murder weapon, a British-made Webley of unique caliber. Westland's personal Webley is missing and is presumed to be the murder weapon. A confused cab driver is hired by Crane to drive to the same address by multiple routes. Crane is looking for a spot where somebody might dispose of a gun, and a bridge overlooking the river seems likely.
Crane hires a diver, who recovers a different Webley pistol that is traced to a Joliet, Illinois firm. The uniqueness of the gun helps the owners of the firm remember the gun and who purchased it. And that he tried out the gun on the firm's target range
The unique slugs are recovered and identified by ballistics expert Major Lee as the murder weapon. With 15 minutes before execution, Crane identifies Westland's business partner Richard Bolston as the killer, and Westland's secretary Bentine as his secret wife/confederate. The motive was that Bolston had been counterfeiting bonds to shore up a failing business, and feared discovery. The accountant's surprise audit had uncovered this, leading to his death.
Westland is freed and leaves with the loyal girlfriend Emily Lou who had stuck by him through and through. And to everyone's surprise, Frazee leaves with the beautiful Agatha Hogan.
In 1937, Universal Pictures made a deal with the Crime Club who published whodunnit novels. [2] Universal were granted the right to select four of their yearly published novels to adapt into films. [2] The unit responsible for these films was producer Irving Starr. [2] Eleven films were made in the series between 1937 and 1939. [3] The Westland Case was the first in the series and was based on the Jonathan Latimer novel Headed for a Hearse . [4]
The first films in the series featured Preston Foster as Bill Crane and Frank Jenks as Doc Williams were cast as the wisecracking New York city detectives. [4] These characters would appear in two other films in the series: The Lady in the Morgue and The Last Warning . [4] [5]
The Westland Case was released on October 31, 1937. [4]
Preston Stratton Foster, was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist.
The Invisible Man Returns is a 1940 American horror science fiction film directed by Joe May. The film stars Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey and John Sutton. The film is a sequel to the 1933 film The Invisible Man, and the second film in the Invisible Man film series, loosely based on the novel by H. G. Wells. The film is about Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe (Price) who is condemned for a murder he did not commit, which leads to him begging Dr. Frank Griffin (Sutton) to inject him with the invisibility serum despite Griffin's warning that the serum will drive him mad.
The Black Cat is a 1941 American comedy horror and mystery film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Basil Rathbone. The film was a stylistic hybrid, inspired by comedy "Old Dark House" films of the era as well as the 1843 short story "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. It stars Basil Rathbone as Montague Hartley, the head of a greedy family who await the death of Henrietta Winslow so that they can inherit her fortune. When she is found murdered, an investigation begins into who might be the culprit. Alongside Rathbone and Loftus, the film's cast includes Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, and Bela Lugosi.
Jonathan Wyatt Latimer was an American crime writer known his novels and screenplays. Before becoming an author, Latimer was a journalist in Chicago.
Frank Jenks was an American actor and vaudevillian.
The Mad Ghoul is a 1943 American horror film directed by James Hogan and starring Turhan Bey, Evelyn Ankers, and David Bruce, and featuring George Zucco, Robert Armstrong, and Milburn Stone. The film is about the scientist Dr. Alfred Morris and his assistant Ted Allison. Morris, who is obsessed with an ancient Mayan life-preserving process to the point of madness, has fallen in love with Allison's girlfriend, the concert singer Isabel Lewis. Morris decides to use Allison for his eternal-life experiments, transforming him into a zombie who slowly recalls his past life, but is unaware of his undead status.
The Crime Club was an imprint of the Doubleday publishing company, which later spawned a 1946-47 anthology radio series, and a 1937-1939 film series.
Samuel Southey Hinds was an American actor and former lawyer. He was often cast as kindly authority figures and appeared in more than 200 films in a career lasting 22 years.
Law and Order is a 1953 American Western film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Ronald Reagan, Dorothy Malone and Preston Foster.
The Cat Creeps is a 1946 American film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Noah Beery Jr., Lois Collier, and Paul Kelly. It follows a journalist and his photographer who attempt to research an unsolved death and locate a missing fortune, with the help of a black cat that appears to be possessed by the spirit of a dead woman.
We Who Are About to Die is a 1937 American crime drama film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Preston Foster, Ann Dvorak, and John Beal. It was based on a book, published while on death row, by David Lamson, who was tried four times for murdering his wife before being set free.
The Mad Doctor of Market Street is a 1942 American horror film produced by Universal Pictures starring Lionel Atwill. The film was a low-budget project that utilized the studio's contract players and gave rising director Joseph H. Lewis an opportunity to demonstrate his versatility with little production money.
Jan Wiley was an American film actress.
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx is a 1942 black-and-white murder mystery/horror B film by Universal Studios directed by William Nigh and starring Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Anne Gwynne, Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Samuel S. Hinds. Although Clarence Upson Young is credited with the screenplay, the actors mostly ad-libbed their lines. The plot involves the search for a serial killer who is targeting men who have been acquitted of murder. The film received poor reviews upon release.
The House of Fear is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Joe May and starring William Gargan, Irene Hervey and Dorothy Arnold.
Headed for a Hearse is a murder mystery by Jonathan Latimer, the second in the series to feature Detective Bill Crane. It was first published by Doubleday Doran as part of the Crime Club in 1935. In 1937 it served as the basis for the film, The Westland Case.
The Black Doll is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Otis Garrett and starring Donald Woods and Edgar Kennedy. The film was the second in Universal's Crime Club series following The Westland Case.
The Lady in the Morgue is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Otis Garrett and written by Eric Taylor and Robertson White. It is based on the 1936 novel The Lady in the Morgue by Jonathan Latimer. The film stars Preston Foster, Patricia Ellis, Frank Jenks, Thomas E. Jackson, Wild Bill Elliott, Roland Drew and Barbara Pepper. The film was released on April 22, 1938, by Universal Pictures.
Gambling Ship is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Aubrey Scotto and written by Alex Gottlieb. The film stars Robert Wilcox, Helen Mack, Edward Brophy, Irving Pichel, Joe Sawyer and Selmer Jackson. The film was released on December 16, 1938, by Universal Pictures.
The Last Warning is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Albert S. Rogell and written by Edmund Hartmann. It is based on the 1938 novel The Dead Don't Care by Jonathan Latimer. The film stars Preston Foster, Frank Jenks, Kay Linaker, E. E. Clive, Joyce Compton and Frances Robinson. The film was released on January 6, 1939, by Universal Pictures.