A Close Call for Ellery Queen

• Rating:
• Genre: Mystery
• Movie Type: Detective Film
• Themes: Blackmail, Star Detectives
• Director: James Hogan
• Main Cast: William Gargan, Margaret Lindsay, Charles Grapewin, Ralph Morgan, Kay Linaker
• Release Year: 1942
• Country: US
• Run Time: 65 minutes

Plot

William Gargan takes over from Ralph Bellamy as the title character in Columbia's A Close Call for Ellery Queen. Unlike Bellamy, who played the role of Ellery Queen for laughs, Gargan adopts a more sober approach, much to the overall benefit of the film. The story takes place at the lavish country estate owned by wealthy Alan Rogers (Ralph Morgan). Two young ladies show up at Rogers' doorstep, both claiming to be his long-lost daughter. Concurrently, a pair of unsavory gentlemen (Andrew Tombes, Charles Judels) from Rogers' checkered past arrive with blackmail on their minds. Ellery tries to make heads or tails of all this intrigue before Rogers ends up losing his fortune, aided by his "girl Friday" Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsay)-but our hero is unable to prevent a pair of nasty murders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

• William Gargan - Ellery Queen
• Margaret Lindsay - Nikki Porter
• Charles Grapewin - Inspector Queen
• Ralph Morgan - Alan Rogers
• Kay Linaker - Margo Rogers

Edward Norris - Stewart Cole; James Burke - Sgt. Velie; Addison Richards - Lester Younger; Charles Judels - Corday; Andrew Tombes - Bates; Claire Du Brey - Housekeeper; Milton Parsons - Butler; Ben Welden - Fisherman

Credit

James S. Brown, Jr. - Cinematographer; Larry Darmour - Producer; James Hogan - Director; Eric Taylor - Screenwriter; Dwight Caldwell - Editor; Ellery Queen - Short Story Author