Movie Review: I Killed That Man (1941)

Synopsis: As he prepares to be executed for murder, Nick Ross confesses to a group of witnesses and claims to have been working for a benefactor. However, before he can give that man's name, he is killed by a poisoned dart. District Attorney Roger Phillips immediately locks down the room and, after searching the witnesses, arrests the elderly Lanning, who knew Ross from when he was a boy. The arrest is merely a ruse to give Phillips an opportunity to figure out who the real murderer is with help from his news reporter girlfriend, Geri Reynolds.

Who's in it? The movie stars Ricardo Cortez, Joan Woodbury, George Pembroke, Pat Gleason and Iris Adrian.

Review: It was very cold out this morning and while trying to get the motivation to face the frigid temps and go to the office, I found a movie to watch on Amazon Prime. I Killed That Man sounded like an interesting locked room mystery, so I gave it a try and wasn't disappointed.

There were a couple things I really liked about this film. One of the main ones was it wasn't as predictable as it first seemed. In fact, there were multiple people who seemed like they could be the killer and while I was able to correctly guess which of them shot the poisoned dart, I wasn't completely sure he was the bad guy until the very end thanks to a well-timed red herring.

The other thing I liked about this movie was the great group of characters. Phillips (Cortez) might have been the lead, but Geri (Woodbury) was equally instrumental (maybe even more instrumental) in figuring out who the bad guy was, ultimately putting her life on the line in the process. The fact she and Phillips were a couple added to the movie without it becoming too much of a focal point, which I also appreciated.

I did feel like the movie underutilized the switchboard operator, Tommy (George P. Breakstron). He seemed to have a way of noticing small details, which made me think he'd turn out to be the one who would solve the crime. Instead, he ultimately doesn't do as much as I thought he would, which was a bit disappointing, though he did still add a little something to the film.

The end of the film was better than I would have expected, given the shorter runtime (I figured it would end up with too little time). It did a good job building some suspense while tying up some loose ends, though I'm not completely sure Phillips' method for catching the crook was completely legal or would hold up in court.

Final Opinion: It was a good movie that, despite only being 71 minutes in length, managed to develop characters and have a couple twists and turns. I enjoyed watching it and would recommend it.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1941:

Movie Review: Shadows on the Stairs (1941)

Movie Review: The Smiling Ghost (1941)

Movie Review: Footsteps in the Dark (1941)