mark.waltz Yes, some B movies can be complex and work on every level, and for this supposedly light hearted comic mystery/thriller, enough is more than plenty. Amusing character actor Jerome Cowan gets his chance for a lead, playing a detective handling more cases than Sam Spade could hope to handle. With rising star Jane Wyman as his amusing girl Friday, he's got a lot to handle, even though Miss Wyman gets top billing. What he's lacking is structure, and the problem there lies in the convoluted script and plot that would darken a film noir to a blackout.If Wyman isn't lovely enough in the female lead, there are also Faye Emerson and Eleanor Parker in supporting roles, both leads in B's for several years up to this point, and wasted in femme fatale roles. The plot moves all over the place in a 72 minute span, and if you nap for one second, you could find yourself missing an important detail. Just a year away from her star making role in "The Lost Weekend", Wyman was very busy at Warners in 1944, comically becoming Gracie Allen in "The Doughgirls", singing and dancing with Jack Carson in "Hollywood Canteen" and sparring comically with him in "Make Your Own Bed" (as well as "The Doughgirls"). Between that and being married to Ronald Reagan and volunteering for war services, she had quite a busy year, which I pray wasn't as convoluted as this plot that has plenty of funny lines and even a few suspenseful moments, but often goes off on secret missions of its own that don't have an easy way back to the general story.

MartinHafer A divorced man is nearly killed after he discovers the body of his ex- father-in-law. So, he seeks help from a know-it-all detective, Sam Campbell (Jerome Cowan) and he naturally discovers that there is a heck of a lot more to the story than meets the eye."Crime By Night" is an enjoyable B-movie, but it's also one that most film buffs could predict. After all, when the detective has a girl sidekick (Jane Wyman), you KNOW she'll be snappy-talking and a bit daffy. When it's set during the WWII era, the solution to the crime will involve Nazis. And, the private detective will be a heck of a lot smarter than the cops. It's all formula...and offers no surprises but is pleasant viewing if you don't mind this.

Robert J. Maxwell Jerome Cowan is a private eye hired to solve a murder. There are several other murders along the way, although the only sentiment they generate among their acquaintances is disappointment, not grief. How dare he die after being attacked with an ax -- before he told us who did it? Jerome Cowan, familiar from "The Maltese Falcon" a few years earlier, has the lead this time, probably partly because of his appearance in that film. But Cowan is no Humphrey Bogart. On the other hand, the writers were no Dashiel Hammets, and the director was no John Huston. The result is a complicated, fast-paced mystery yarn with no grace notes, an extended B feature.Some of the supporting cast is good. Cy Kendall as Sheriff Amblers, determined to win re-election, is a portrait of good-natured deceit. The women have key parts but little screen time. Jane Wyman is cute. The young Eleanor Powell radiates innocence and sex appeal.But it's all pretty formulaic and if you miss it, you're not missing much.

bkoganbing Private Eye Sam Campbell is hired by the estranged husband of a woman whose father he's accused of killing. With a few good plot twists, he uncovers the real murderer and the reason behind that and two other subsequent killings.Don't pass up an opportunity to see character actor Jerome Cowan for once in the lead. His most noted role in film was also a detective as Sam Spade's luckless partner Miles Archer in the Maltese Falcon. In that film he was a lady's man whose hormones got him killed. Here he's quite the ladies man as well, but his mind as it turns out is on business first.Cowan's main squeeze in this film is Jane Wyman. She played a lot of molls before she got real roles of substance later in the decade, culminating with that Oscar for Johnny Belinda. It's interesting to see her in these roles sometimes though.Of the supporting cast the biggest kudos go to Cy Kendall who was the hapless sheriff. It's a running truism in Hollywood that in these detective stories, the police always get shown up by the private eye. Sometimes the cops are smart, but the private eye is smarter and sometimes they're downright dumb. It's the latter here.This film is an enjoyable product from Warner's B film unit.