Behind Green Lights

Other than guessing the murderer the minute I saw him, I thought "Behind Green Lights" from 1946 was pretty good.

The first thing we see is a young woman (Carole Landis) entering an apartment and telling the man inside that she hasn't raised enough money. Then she pulls a gun on him.

Later, a body is dumped in front of a police precinct. It turns out to be that of a detective turned blackmailer, and we learn that none other than a mayoral candidate's daughter had visited him before he died. She is brought in for questioning.

The editor of a newspaper doesn't want that candidate to win and pressures Lt. Carson (Gargan) to formally arrest the mayor's daughter, at least until after the election. Not happening.

At first it appears that the blackmailer was shot to death; he was shot, but the cause of death was poisoning. The coroner is actually taking orders from the editor, and he's told to get the body out of the police station before anyone realizes that the man was poisoned.

Some nice bits concerning the body, an escaped prisoner, and a closet.

Okay film, with nice performances by Gargan, Richard Crane, John Ireland, Mary Anderson, and Charles Russell. This is down a few notches for the beautiful Landis, whose career sadly declined after Darryl Zanuck dumped her. She committed suicide two years later at the age of 29. A very sad life.

I think it's worth seeing even if it is an uneven mix of noir and comedy - I liked some of the characters.