Footsteps in the Night (1957)

Final film in the Bill Elliott Detective Mystery series begins with a pre credit sequence of loud music coming from a motel. This leads into a wordless discovery of the body before the title comes up. Its an evolution of craft in the filmmaking at least as far as this series goes.

The dead man is one of the residents of the motel. The room belongs to the man who found the body, Henry Johnson. Johnson bolts afraid he'd be blamed for the killing. It transpired that when Henry was in another room someone killed his friend. The film follows as the police try to to locate Henry who is trying to get himself out of the trouble he's found himself in.

Don't try to guess who did it based on the clues, you won't be able to do it until very late in the game for any reason other than they make a point of introducing the killer early on for seemingly no reason. The reasons for what happened aren't revealed until late either.

Of course it won't affect your enjoyment of the film which is a good little crime drama. What I like about it is that it plays differently than the previous films. Yes it has the innocent man idea retread but it does something differently with it. Its not the same story.  I like that the film builds characters outside of the suspects and Elliott's Doyle. Its clear that had they wanted to they could have gone on, or gone to TV with the mysteries.

A wonderful end to the series, I just wish there was more especially at this level.

available from the Warner Archive

Chain of Evidence (1956)

Complicated Bill Elliott mystery story doesn't become a murder mystery until about a third of the way into the film. For much of the running time the film is the story of Steve, an ex-con trying to go straight. When he's ambushed on the first day of freedom he develops amnesia. Detective Doyle (Bill Elliot) is a friend of Steve's and he tries to run down what happened to him, especially after it appears he may have been killed. Actually he's gone off and managed to get himself a couple of jobs under a new name, one of which is at the home of a rich man. The man's wife and her lover provoke Steve into fighting with his boss, they use it as an opportunity for murder with Steve as the patsy.

Very good solid crime story, it's not really a mystery since we know who done it, is the sort of thing that would end up on TV once the crime dramas went to an hour. This is the sort of thing that would fit nicely into almost any of the police procedurals that dot the various TV stations. While the quality of the story makes for an entertaining evening, it's simple one hour running time and similarity to what you could get on TV doomed the series long run...

...on the other hand as part of the five film Bill Elliot release from Warner Archive it makes for compulsive watching. Worth your time and money.

As for me I can't believe there's only one more to go...

Calling Homicide(1956)

You have hundreds of suspects. Anyone who knew Francine Norman well wanted to kill her- "friend" of the dead woman

Third of the Bill Elliot mystery film has Elliot's Lt Doyle looking into the murder of a police officer blown up in his car out side the police station. His final words were that he was on to a really ugly illegal racket. Unfortunately all his notes went up in the ball of flame that killed him and the only thing out of place that could be a clue is a random phone number found in his garbage can. That turns up nothing, until the woman who had the phone number turns up dead and her face obliterated.

Very good murder mystery widens the cast of characters around the police station and adds a big dose of humor as the cops, the press and the suspects crack wise. It also moves along at a good pace with lots of nasty twists from exploding files to people getting shot in a crowded bar. And then there is the late in the game revelation of whats really going on and while its out of left field it is kind of in keeping with the wild nature of the film-this film keeps twisting until the bitter end.

This film is a great deal of fun. Between this and the other films in the Warner Archive  Bill Elliot set it's money well spent
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An addendum there is a nice scene that echoes to Elliot's decades long career as cowboy star by having him visit an old friend on the set of a western picture.

Sudden Danger (1955)

Second of the Bill Elliott crime films that closed out his movie career has his name changing from Andy Flynn in the previous film to Andy Doyle for the remainder of the series. Its a solid program mystery that's definitely worth your time.

The mystery this time around concerns an apparent suicide. A man blinded in an accident five years home returns home to discover that his mother has committed suicide by turning on the gas in the apartment. When Elliot's Doyle begins what he thinks is a routine investigation into the matter he uncovers the possibility that the son may have killed his mother in order to get the money to pay for an operation. As the investigation goes on he begins to uncover information that some one doesn't want revealed.

Good little mystery that presents the Doyle character as a find upstanding sort who will follow the trail of clues and bodies to the bitter end. He's a man who will apologize when wrong and won't stop until he gets his man. While he echoes the Joe Friday just the facts style of Dragnet he is much more human and real since from the get go you get a sense of him being larger than the job and having a sense of humor.

Currently out with the other films in the series from the Warner Archive and worth your time.
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Apropos of nothing- the Leonard Maltin guide review of this film and the three that follow it are basically exactly the same listing the murder location and then saying that Elliot  plays the same role in 4 other films. The rating for the remaining films are all 1 and a half stars which is completely out of line and makes me wonder if anyone actually saw the films.

Dial Red 0 (1955)

First of five films starring western star Bill Elliot as a Los Angeles Sheriff's detective lieutenant dealing with homicides across Los Angeles.

Things are set in motion when a vet escapes from a psychiatric hospital and heads to see his wife. When he gets there she's not home.He leaves to try and find her. It transpires that the wife has gone out to meet her boyfriend, a one time friend of her husband's. She wants to celebrate because she's served her husband with divorce papers. The boyfriend is not happy since he's happy  with the relationship as it is since it allows him a girlfriend and his wife and son. When she pushes the boyfriend snaps and kills his paramour. Thinking fast he makes it look like her husband did it.

Low key police procedural cum film noir has Elliot's Andy Flynn (His name would become Andy Doyle in the remaining films) largely outside of much of the action. Yes he wanders in and makes arrests and does some detective work, but the film seems more focused on the romantic triangle at it's heart, the killer and the cuckolded husband. I was expecting a film more focused on the detective and while the film is quite good it's rather surprising that the film was thought good enough to make a series.

Currently out on DVD from the Warner Archive and worth a look as part of their Bill Elliott Detective Mysteries set.

Of interest to some is the fact that Sam Peckinpah was the dialog coach for the film and has a bit part playing the cook in the diner.