An American in West Berlin finds himself caught up in murder and intrigue after his associate is killed and a diplomat’s daughter is found dead in his room.
Category: Mystery
In the not-too-distant future, two New York businessmen plot to play two multinational rival corporations against each other, with a little help from a shady Italian street woman, to obtain an important Japanese businessman for the company they work at, only that things are not always as they appear.
The editor of a sleazy tabloid newspaper has been borrowing money from his lover, the wife of a rich theatrical producer, and promises to marry her when she gets a divorce. However, the husband refuses to grant her a divorce, and takes back all the money and jewelry he has given her. The editor sees her husband leaving her apartment and, seeing his opportunity, kills her, takes all his IOUs (and the jewelry) and frames the husband for the murder.
Private detective Johnny Fletcher and his sidekick Sam Cragg skip out on their rented room, but when they sneak back to retrieve their luggage, they discover a dead body on the bed, holding a gold coin in its hand. Fletcher is told by a coin collector that the piece is an old and valuable Spanish coin, but Fletcher soon begins to suspect that the man is himself involved in the murder. Fletcher’s investigation leads to he and Sam getting caught up in a murder and gold smuggling scheme.
League of Frightened Men was the second and last entry in Columbia’s short-lived mystery series based on the “Nero Wolfe” novels by Rex Stout. Taking over from Edward Arnold as crabby, corpulent consulting detective Nero Wolfe is Walter Connolly, who despite his physical resemblance to the Stout original is not all that well suited for the role. Sitting in his greenhouse surrounded by his beloved orchids, Wolfe agrees to investigate a series of murders seemingly tied in with a long-ago Harvard hazing prank that went tragically awry.
Ben Hopkins’ impressive directorial debut is a mythical mystery set in a Jewish shtetl in 19th-century Central Europe. Simon Magus is a simple-minded man revered for his reputed magical powers. Into his life comes the devilish Sirius whose aim is to corrupt both the Jewish and Roman Catholic communities using Magus as the unwitting deus ex machina.
Peter Gunn investigates the murder of Scarlotti, a mobster who once saved the detective’s life. The primary suspect appears to be Fusco, who has taken over. In the middle of the case, an unclothed woman calling her self Samantha shows up at Gunn’s apartment. The investigation gets grizzlier as it goes on, including the bombing of Mother’s, one of Gunn’s hangouts. Finally, Fusco gives Gunn a deadline to prove the mobster didn’t kill Scarlotti – or else Gunn will be killed.