''Scotland Yard Investigator'' is a 1945 American

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by George Blair and starring

C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...

and

Stephanie Bachelor Stephanie Bachelor (May 23, 1912 – November 22, 1996) was an American film actress. During the 1940s, Bachelor briefly achieved leading status in supporting features such as Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held unde ...

. Following the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

is moved to a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

gallery for safekeeping, where a German

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

attempts to steal it. The film was a loose sequel to Republic's 1944 thriller ''

Secrets of Scotland Yard ''Secrets of Scotland Yard'' is a 1944 American thriller film directed by George Blair and starring Edgar Barrier, Stephanie Bachelor and C. Aubrey Smith. The screenplay was by Denison Clift, adapting one of his own stories "Room 40, O.B." from ...

'' with a number of the same cast and crew.

Plot

When Paris is liberated during World War II, the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

administration plans to fetch the Mona Lisa from the safety of the mountain vault in London operated by Britain's

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

. Sir James Collison, director of the National Gallery, works closely with his granddaughter Toni. While the National Gallery plans to safely return the painting, infamous art collector Carl Hoffmeyer plans to steal it. He has stolen many fine pieces before, but this would be the crown jewel of his collection. Hoffmeyer's plan includes his two henchmen, Henri and Jules, who pose as the people from the Louvre arriving to collect the painting. But when Hoffmeyer gets his hands on it he concludes it is a forgery. He is unsure whether the gallery director is in on the scam, so he pays him a visit, reveals his part in the theft and tells the director of his suspicion. By Collison's reaction, Hoffmeyer concludes he was unaware of the scam. Hoffmeyer suspects an art dealer named Sam Todworthy of the theft of the real Mona Lisa, and pays him a visit. Sam had told Hoffmeyer before the attempt to steal the painting, that it might not be the real one. Prior to Hoffmeyer's visit, Sam and his wife Emma get a visit from a Frenchman, Anton Miran. He is the brother of one of the two men sent from the Louvre to leave the real painting with the London gallery, and he is the one who gave it to Sam. He wants the real painting back, but Sam refuses to give it to him. Sam kills Miran and hides the body, just before Hoffmeyer comes to visit. Sam offers to sell the painting to Hoffmeyer for £100,000, but Hoffmeyer turns down the offer. As soon as Hoffmeyer leaves the dealer's gallery, he orders his men to kill Sam and get the painting. When Jules refuses to take part in the killing, Hoffmeyer kills him. When Jules's body is found a few days later, Scotland Yard investigates the murder. Sam tries to sell the real Mona Lisa back to the National Gallery, showing it to Collison. Collison is tempted to buy it, to avoid the scandal that would ensue when the French and the media got word of the painting vanishing. His granddaughter advises him to contact the police. Collison tries to raise money to buy the painting back. Toni gets a call from the director of the Louvre, Professor Renault, telling her that the two men he sent out to collect the painting have been kidnapped. He will come to collect the painting in person. Toni talks to her fiancé, Inspector Bob Cartwright of Scotland Yard, who is also in charge of the investigation of Jules's murder. Bob talks to Collison, but since Collison is convinced that the painting would be in danger if the police tightened the noose around Sam, he doesn't tell Bob the name of the person who has the painting. Sam is murdered before either the police or Collison get to him. Collison suspects Hoffmeyer of the murder, so Bob brings him in for questioning. There is no proof that he is the killer, and he denies having anything to do with either of the two murders. Hoffmeyer is let loose, but Collison sneaks into his house trying to retrieve the painting. Hoffmeyer intercepts him and pulls out the sword from his cane, forcing him to follow him to his study, where he keeps the painting. Sam's wife Emma turns up and shoots Hoffmeyer to avenge her husband. Hoffmeyer runs his sword through her chest, and they are both mortally wounded. Hoffmeyer tries to slash the Mona Lisa with his sword, but is stopped by Collison. After the showdown, Toni and Bob arrive at the scene and take the painting. They bring it to the airport, where Renault is meeting them. The fake is hung on Collison's wall, and years later he sits underneath it and tells his great grandson about the adventure that brought it there.

Main cast

(credited as Sir Aubrey Smith) as Sir James Collison *

as Carl Hoffmeyer *

as Toni Collison *

Forrester Harvey Forrester Harvey (27 June 1884 – 14 December 1945) was an Irish film actor. From 1922 until his death year Harvey appeared in more than 115 films. He was credited for about two-thirds of his film appearances, but some of his roles were un ...

as Sam Todworthy *

Doris Lloyd Hessy Doris Lloyd (3 July 1891 – 21 May 1968) was an English–American film and stage actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in ''The Time Machine'' (1960) and ''The Sound of Music'' (1965). Lloyd appeared in two Academy Award w ...

as Emma Todworthy *

Eva Moore Eva Moore (9 February 1868 – 27 April 1955) was an English actress. Her career on stage and in film spanned six decades, and she was active in the women's suffrage movement. In her 1923 book of reminiscences, ''Exits and Entrances'', she des ...

as Mary Collison * Richard Fraser as Inspector Bob Cartwright *

Victor Varconi Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi; March 31, 1891 – June 6, 1976) was a Hungarian actor who initially found success in his native country, as well as in Germany and Austria, in silent films, before relocating to the United States, where ...

as Jules *

Georges Metaxa George-Radu Metaxa (11 September 1899 – 8 December 1950) was a Romanian-born American singer, film & stage actor. He was known for his crooning high baritone voice and often portrayed genteel antagonists. Life and career Metaxa was bor ...

as Henri *

Emil Rameau Emil Rameau (born Emil Pulvermacher; 13 August 1878 – 9 September 1957) was a German film and theatre actor, and for many years the deputy artistic director at the Schiller Theater. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1915 and 1949. Lif ...

as Prof. Renault * Colin Campbell as Waters *

Frederick Worlock Frederick Worlock (December 14, 1886 – August 1, 1973) was a British-American actor. He is known for his work in various films during the 1940s and 1950s, and as the voice of Horace in '' One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961). Career On st ...

as Colonel Brent * Billy Bevan as Porter

Bibliography

* Glancy, H. Mark. ''When Hollywood Loved Britain: The Hollywood 'British' Film 1939-1945''. Manchester University Press, 1999. * Richards, Jeffrey. ''Visions of Yesterday''. Routledge, 1973.

External links

*
Review of film
at ''Variety''

References

{{George Blair 1945 films 1945 crime films American crime films Films directed by George Blair Films set in London Films set in Paris Films set in England Republic Pictures films Films set in the 1940s American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films