''Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime'' is a 1941 American
mystery film
A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...
directed by
James P. Hogan and written by
Eric Taylor. The film was loosely based on the 1938 novel ''
The Devil to Pay'' by
Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...
. It stars
Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...
,
Margaret Lindsay
Margaret Lindsay (born Margaret Kies; September 19, 1910 – May 9, 1981) was an American film actress. Her time as a Warner Bros. contract player during the 1930s was particularly productive. She was noted for her supporting work in successf ...
,
Charley Grapewin
Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville and circus performer, a writer, and a stage and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the silent and sound eras, most notably portr ...
,
Spring Byington
Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of ''December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...
,
H. B. Warner
Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...
and
James Burke. The film was released on August 14, 1941, by
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
.
Plot
Cast
*
Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...
as
Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...
*
Margaret Lindsay
Margaret Lindsay (born Margaret Kies; September 19, 1910 – May 9, 1981) was an American film actress. Her time as a Warner Bros. contract player during the 1930s was particularly productive. She was noted for her supporting work in successf ...
as Nikki Porter
*
Charley Grapewin
Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville and circus performer, a writer, and a stage and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the silent and sound eras, most notably portr ...
as Inspector Queen
*
Spring Byington
Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of ''December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...
as Carlotta Emerson
*
H. B. Warner
Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...
as Ray Jardin
*
James Burke as Sgt. Velie
*
Douglass Dumbrille
Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s.
Life and career
Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...
as John Matthews
*
John Beal as Walter Matthews
*
Linda Hayes as Marian Jardin
*
Sidney Blackmer
Sidney Alderman Blackmer (July 13, 1895 – October 6, 1973) was an American Broadway and film actor active between 1914 and 1971, usually in major supporting roles.
Biography
Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina, t ...
as Anthony Rhodes
*
Walter Kingsford
Walter Kingsford (born Walter Pearce; 20 September 1882 – 7 February 1958) was an English stage, film and television actor.
Early years
Kingsford was born in Redhill, Surrey, England.
Career
Kingsford began his acting career on the Lo ...
as Henry
*
Honorable Wu
Honorable Wu (born Ho Chee Chung, and also known as Harry Haw) was an American vaudevillian and film actor who worked in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. Born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, he died in 1945 in Los Angeles. His sister Flo ...
as Lee
*
Charles Lane as Dr. Prouty
*
Charles Halton
Charles Halton (March 16, 1876 – April 16, 1959) was an American character actor who appeared in over 180 films.
Life and career
Halton trained at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his Broadway debut in 1901, after which he ...
as Rufus Smith
*
Arthur Q. Bryan as Book Salesman
References
External links
*
{{James P. Hogan
1941 films
1940s English-language films
American mystery films
1941 mystery films
Columbia Pictures films
Films directed by James Patrick Hogan
American black-and-white films
1940s American films
Ellery Queen films