Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942)
Director:
James P. HoganWriters:
Manfred Lee (story), Frederic Dannay (story)Stars:
William Gargan, Margaret Lindsay, Charley GrapewinColumbia's Ellery Queen series called it quits with the timely 1942 entry Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen. The eponymous enemy agents are on the lookout for a cache of precious diamonds, which are being smuggled from Holland to the United States by way of Egypt. The gems are hidden in a mummy case, the better to throw the Nazis and the American authorities off the track. When smuggler Paul Gilette (Gilbert Roland) is murdered upon arriving in the US with the diamonds, Ellery Queen (William Gargan) and his police-inspector father (Charley Grapewin) try to solve the killing. The villains lead Ellery on a merry chase through a jewelry shop, art gallery, athletic club and cemetary, with Ellery's secretary Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsay) ending up in the Nazi's clutches at one juncture. Boasting a formidable lineup of "heavies" (Gale Sondergaard, Sig Ruman et. al.), Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen is easily the best of the series.
