Wonderful character development!

The greatest movie ever made..!

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

First of all, forget all about The Donna Reed Show - this movie shows us Donna Reed the actress not the TV mom we've come to know her by. She plays a good role as Barbra here! Secondly, this is a good suspenseful mystery-thriller. It sounds strange by the description of the film: A blind detective & his dog who help a woman, Norma Lawry, with a murder case. Norma has a step-daughter, Barbra, that has her mind poisoned against her by her former lover, Paul Gerente. But Paul ends up dead, Barbra blames Norma for murdering him and Norma seeks the help of a friend the blind detective Duncan 'Mac' Maclain. Sure the description sounds odd but you'll just have to watch it to see how it plays out - then it'll all fall into place.Third, I like the film and I recommend it to those that like the older mystery-thrillers speckled with comedy.8/10

This was a fairly inventive little drama with a play on words title that effectively describes it's lead character Duncan Maclain (Edward Arnold), a blind detective. It starts out with a murder, but evolves into something of an espionage thriller when Nazi agents reveal their intent to steal a scientist's new invention that will prove useful in the war effort. Charlie Chan would get involved in both types of stories so the hook seemed to be a pretty good one.Being blind was obviously no handicap for Big Mac, as Arnold's character got a lot of mileage out of being a blustery blow-hard upon arriving at the Lawry homestead. But you really have to pay attention to his seeing-eye dog Friday, who makes the save for his master near the end of the story. That was pretty clever the way he knocked over the furniture to gain a way out of the basement where he was trapped. Good old Friday, with him around, having Allen Jenkins on hand seemed to be entirely unnecessary.What's really cool about coming across these all but unknown films from the Forties is seeing who shows up. Folks like Donna Reed in an early screen appearance is a real treat here, along with Barry Nelson in a minor part. I always get a kick out of seeing Mantan Moreland show up anywhere, and we might have seen more of him here if he had been a butler over at The Lawry's instead of Maclain's.

There's some gimmicky silliness in the film, especially the dog - but fortunately the detective's blindness is not used as a gimmick (except perhaps in a fight scene, which thus allows stalwart character actor Edward Arnold to exercise considerable acting muscle here - he does a splendid job - as does a young, energetic Donna Reed.The film has a professional polish to it. The pacing could have been a little swifter, but not by much; generally the tension is maintained throughout.Very much of its time, but worth preserving for strong performances and solid direction.

If you're a dog lover like me, you'll find this one hard not to like! Good old "Friday" steals this show-with some able assistance from a very keen and rugged blind man. I found this one easy to follow and it kept my interest all the way. A really neat mix of intrigue, mystery, and humor to boot. Oh...and some espionage thrown in as is per this era's thematics. The gal who plays the enemy is quite wicked! This is a murder mystery that will get you smiling! A fun and easy frolic minus a tangled plot that uses all the "senses". Oh, and a young Donna Reed.......not bad at all. This one makes Rin Tin Tin and Lassie look like amateurs!