Philo Vances Gamble (1947)
Another solid entry in the three B films that PRC produced in the Philo Vance series. Alan Curtis also appeared as Vance in the very last Philo Vance film, Secret Mission. Poor Curtis was to die at the early age of 43 in 1953 after a surgery. The only other film I have seen him in besides the two Vance films was the terrific noir Phantom Lady, where he plays the husband suspected of killing his wife.
This one has the requisite numbers of murders, mystery and suspects as it involves a jewel swindle that ropes Vance into the case. That and a beautiful brunette. All the initial Philo Vance films were based on specific books but by this time there were no more books so PRC came up with their own scripts which are surprisingly good though any resemblance to the Philo Vance of the books is purely accidental.
Starring :
Alan Curtis, Vivian Austin, Frank Jenks
Director :
Basil Wrangell
Running time : 60 Minutes
Language : English
