Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: When Jerry Duncan is murdered after a dinner party, the police arrest Diana Amberson, who was seen entering his room right around the time he was killed and refuses to say why she was there. Mystery writer Harry Forrest, who is in love with Diana, believes her innocence, which is later proven when another guest is killed, and helps the police find the person who is responsible and why. Who's in it? The movie stars Jameson Thomas , Florence Britton, Lillian Rich, Lew Kelly , George 'Gabby' Hayes and Edmund Burns . Review: Some late morning/early afternoon storms are brought some much-needed rain today but also meant I couldn't go for a walk at lunch. Since I was stranded indoors, I finally decided to watch The Devil Plays , which had been in my library for a few weeks.  It was an OK movie but also seemed to lack something. The mystery itself was reasonably decent. The victim (Jack Trent) doesn't get a lot of screen time, but the movie gives just enough ...

Synopsis: While dining at a restaurant with his secretary, private investigator Oliver Keith is approached by his friend, Julia Sayre, who asks him for his help because she believes her new, wealthy husband, Albert, is in some sort of trouble and she'd like to know what he is hiding. However, when they return to Albert's office, they discover the art dealer has been murdered and later learn $100,000 in government bonds have been stolen from a safe only Albert and Julia knew the combination to. Who's in it? The movie stars Reginald Denny, Patricia Farr, Dorothy Revier, Jameson Thomas and Lew Kelly. Review: After a short walk to the Kwik Trip a couple blocks from my office, I realized it was getting too hot/humid for a longer walk and decided to watch a movie at lunch instead. This ended up being  The Lady in Scarlet,  which I came across last week and thought sounded interesting. After watching it, I can say it more than met my expectations. The murder mystery turned out...

Synopsis: During the daytime, Professor Brenner is a noted expert teaching a college class in criminal psychology. At night, he runs a soup kitchen in the Bowery neighborhood of Manhattan, where he recruits men to help in his criminal endeavors, often killing them after the job is done (or as a distraction during a daytime robbery). What Brenner doesn't know is one of his accomplices, the drug-addicted Doc Brooks, has been conducting experiments on the bodies of the men he has killed. Who's in it? The movie stars Bela Lugosi , John Archer, Wanda McKay , Tom Neal and Lew Kelly . Review : I've had Bowery at Midnight in my movie library for several months and, while I did start watching it at one point, I just now finally got around to seeing the entire movie this morning. While I wouldn't describe this as one of Bela Lugosi's better movies, it still turned out to be a reasonable choice.  Professor Brenner (Lugosi) was an intriguing character, running a criminal en...