It was the last of eight films starring the Brown-Carney comedy team, as well as the final feature film appearance of Atwill, who died in 1946 while filming a serial.
Jerry Miles and Mike Strager co-host a radio mystery series, "Crime of the Week," with young Ellen Brent writing their scripts. What she writes about the kidnapping of millionaire John Saunders by someone called "The Cobra" is suspiciously close to the facts of the case.
It turns out that the radio station's owner, Latimer Marsh (Lionel Atwill), is the Cobra, assisted in his diabolical crimes by Stone (Bela Lugosi), his sadistic butler. Chloroform is used on Ellen when she gets too close to the truth and an attempt is made to frame her for the kidnapping and a murder. The bumbling and cowardly Jerry and Mike try to be of help to her in their own way, but Lt. Rick Campbell is the one who ends up saving them all.
The Thin Man Series - A collection of detective comedies featuring a husband-and-wife sleuthing team.
His Girl Friday (1940) - A fast-paced comedy centered around journalism and an impending execution.
Charade (1963) - Starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, this film is often called "the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made."
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - A comedy about a man who discovers his aunts are murderers.
Clue (1985) - A comedy-mystery based on the board game, featuring multiple endings and an ensemble cast.
A Shot in the Dark (1964) - Part of the Pink Panther series, it blends slapstick humor with a murder mystery.
The Ladykillers (1955) - A British black comedy about a group of criminals and an innocent old lady.
Murder by Death (1976) - A comedy that parodies traditional mystery films, featuring characters based on famous detectives like Hercule Poirot and Sam Spade.
The Big Lebowski (1998) - More of a crime-comedy, it's about a man who gets entangled in a kidnapping plot.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) - A dark comedy involving a petty thief, a struggling actress, and a murder mystery.
Fargo (1996) - A crime-comedy that revolves around a kidnapping scheme gone terribly wrong.
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