not as good as all the hype

A Brilliant Conflict

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Jean Parker and Peter Cookson return for a second and final Kitty O'Day film—and it's basically a ripoff of the first one.This time around, Kitty has a job as switchboard operator in a large hotel. Snoopy as ever, she listens in on conversations, suspects guests of being criminals—and keeps an eye on boyfriend Johnny Jones, who works across the lobby at the hotel travel bureau.Parker does her best as the scatterbrained but persistent and occasionally lucky would-be girl detective; Cookson is again the somewhat saner half of the couple who reluctantly joins her investigations. When Kitty reports hearing a gunshot while phone eavesdropping, Johnny urges her to call the police—an idea she quickly nixes. "We'll investigate first," Kitty says, "then call the police."Tim Ryan is exasperated police detective Clancy, eventually summoned to the hotel only to find (repeatedly) that the supposed corpse has disappeared. Much of the middle section of the picture is devoted to Kitty and Johnny running around after the missing corpse and Inspector Clancy running around after them.Inspector Clancy is "assisted" by the usual dumb police sergeant, played this time around by Ralph Sanford. (Clancy: "Why is it every time we get here the corpse runs away?" Mac: "Maybe he don't like cops, Chief….") There are some funny moments and a few good bits of dialog. The cast is certainly pleasant if unexceptional. However, it all seems kind of forced – possibly because the plot is so similar to this film's immediate predecessor, the previous year's Kitty O'Day, Detective.Overall, it's a harmless enough picture that seems to mean well….but it lacks surprises.

While this is a decidedly minor comedy whodunit, it makes for a mildly diverting entertainment. I found it refreshing to see Jean Parker playing comedy for a change instead of being sweet-Sweet-SWEET in yet another weeper. Peter Cookson, as boyfriend Johnny, seemed to be doing a fair imitation of Cary Grant; I had to look and see where he was from with that curious accent (Oregon) just to be sure that the resemblance wasn't simply a coincidence. Someone, either the director or Cookson himself, clearly had Grant's flair for the screwballs in mind while shooting Johnny. And it's actually quite fun! It's a silly little B-movie, but as long as you don't require your mysteries to make much sense it's perfectly watchable. And if you're a Parker fan her presence makes it quite enjoyable.

The mystery here is secondary (though there is a memorable death by electrocution in an elevator!); the cute and energetic Jean Parker is the driving force of the film. Behind her sometimes flighty exterior, Kitty O'Day is a feminist pioneer - a brave woman who refuses to act like a robot or "stay in her place", like the men around her order her to do. However, the funniest performance in the film is given by Ralph Sanford as the inspector's assistant; just about any scene with him hits the comedic mark. The production is cheap, but the film moves right along and provides a highly enjoyable hour. I wish the adventures of Kitty O'Day had continued. **1/2 out of 4.

Nonsensical movie with Jean Parker very funny as a daffy dame intent on solving murders, in this case the one of her employer at a hotel.Nothing in this movie is especially surprising. The cops are gruff and annoyed, the suspects are blandly generic and the boyfriend, who is continually forced to help out in the investigation, is genially frustrated. Bodies appear and disappear, everyone acts suspicious, hotel employees have jealousy issues, Parker keeps doing dumb things that somehow pan out and there's a lot of running around the hotel. In other words, this is a better than usual example of the comedy mystery movie, mainly due to some solid performances.I have no idea whether the mystery makes sense. I watched this on streaming netflix but then got distracted and forgot I was watching it. I wound up seeing the first and second half of the movie several months apart, and the review is more aimed at the second half since I don't even remember the first half in any detail. So let's say it's fun but very unmemorable.