Main Cast: Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Hale, Lee Patrick
Release Year: 1941
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
Plot
Footsteps in the Dark is a comedy/mystery, starring Errol Flynn as a wealthy investment counselor who secretly doubles as a dilettante detective, the better to write mystery novels. Brenda Marshall plays his wife, who can't understand why he is never home and begins to suspect hanky-panky. In fact, Flynn is investigating the murders of a jewelry smuggler and an exotic dancer. The trail of evidence leads to the Least Likely Suspect -- portrayed, as is often the case, by an actor who's always the one who "did it" in murder mysteries. Not nearly as funny a film as the producers seem to think it is, Footsteps in the Dark is an obvious attempt by Warner Bros. to create a "Nick and Nora Charles" team, in emulation of MGM's popular Thin Man series. Footsteps ends with wife Marshall vowing to join hubby Flynn in his next murder mystery, leaving the door wide open for a sequel...which was never filmed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
As a mystery, Footsteps in the Dark is only middling, but the presence of Errol Flynn in a rare comedic role raises it a notch. Certainly the ingredients are there for a promising film -- a wealthy, society-connected banker who spends his nights sleuthing and writing mysteries, all unbeknownst to his wife, who studiously disapproves of the books he publishes under a pseudonym. But Lloyd Bacon directs without a firm grasp of style, and the writers neither take full advantage of the comedic possibilities nor do their work well enough setting up a surprising mystery. Instead of coming together, all the ingredients float around separately, waiting for someone to find a way to make them fit into one film. None of this, fortunately, affects Flynn, who rises above the material and gives a deft, light performance that will surprise those who feel he can only do derring-do. Even better is Ralph Bellamy, whose villainy is nicely orchestrated. Brenda Marshall is fine as Flynn's wife, but can't overcome the poor writing that follows her character around. (The same goes for Lucile Watson.) Footsteps doesn't come together, but Flynn and Bellamy make it worth watching. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Max Parker - Art Director, Robert Lord - Associate Producer, Robert Vreeland - Choreography, Howard Shoup - Costume Designer, Lloyd Bacon - Director, Hugh MacMullen - Director, Owen Marks - Editor, Frederick Hollander - Composer (Music Score), Leo F. Forbstein - Musical Direction/Supervision, Perc Westmore - Makeup, Ernest Haller - Cinematographer, Hal B. Wallis - Producer, Rex Wimpy - Special Effects, Francis J. Scheid - Sound/Sound Designer, Lester Cole - Screenwriter, Jeffrey Dell - Screenwriter, John Wexley - Screenwriter, Ladislas Fodor - Screenwriter, Jeffrey Dell - Play Author, Ladislas Fodor - Play Author, Bernard Merivale - Play Author
Footsteps in the Dark is a light-hearted 1941mystery film starring Errol Flynn as an amateur detective investigating a murder. It was based on the play Blondie White.
