We start in the Hall of a building where a very suspicious looking man (John Hamilton) is coming out of an office. He's walking down the hall when he notices a janitor (Mantan Moreland)
At first the janitor is curious, he's wondering. ''How did this man get in here?'' However this thought quickly leaves his head , when the man asks him for a cigarette and the time. Afterwards he goes to check in on his boss only to discover that he's dead. And he's a bit concerned about this, he's the only guy that's supposed to be in the building and he's a lonely janitor. Wants to stop anybody from accusing him of the murder. So we decided to telephone the police after he's had a small (half a bottle) shot gin to calm his nerves.
The police questioned the man as to the identity of the murderer . Take him downtown to look throw one of those over sized phone books field of all the mugshots of every delinquent in the city. This parts kind of amusing, as our janitor simply looks at half the shots and exclaims that he knows a few of these guys. He had always wondered what happened to some of his friends.
But unfortunately the murderer himself is not present in the book. The janitor is walking out about to leave the investigation all together. When he notices on the paper the picture of the very man he's looking for.
He thinks the murderer is this Rich philanthropist fellow. Not only do people think this unlikely but they consider it almost impossible. The man is both deaf and dumb. It would be quite impossible for him to ask for the time.
The head of the police department wants the case thrown away. Given that there's no solid leads on the murder and their witness a half drunk off of gin. It's a man so incapable of the murder that it's beyond question. For Not only was he deaf and dumb but this particular fellow had been present at a large charity auction taking place half a city over.
But one man ''Edward Clark'' thinks the janitor might be onto something. He believes it's a very strong coincidence that when this man happens to be at an auction or a charity event somebody in another city or possibly even the same city happens to be choked out and killed. He wants to push the issue in Court, claiming that the deaf-mute man is most likely a fake. The police commissioner is completely against this. Citing that there's absolutely no way he's going to push charges on such a ridiculous allegation. But somebody else informs him that he best be careful of this young detective. Not only has he never lost a case but he might be running for commissioner next year.
And a perfect record would make him a prime competitor against the current commissioner.
So the commissioner is convinced. Let him run this court case, let him lose and then he'll become the laughingstock of the entire city posing absolutely no political threat.
We've been cut to the courtroom scene where everything goes about as well as you would expect it to. Edward loses the case, the janitors testimony is thrown out the window because of his alcohol consumption. And the man who is deaf and dumb is proven by not only his own doctors, but court-appointed doctors to be exactly what he is. Alongside his airtight Alibi for being at a community function at the exact moment of the murder.
It's after this that the movie becomes a bit more streamlined. Edwards still looking for evidence on the case, his girlfriend (and soon-to-be wife) is going to do an interview with John Hamilton character. The whole thing turns into (can they prove this man is guilty.)
Especially considering We the audience find out about blanks character being a fake.
There's a bit of intrigue and a fun twist to the ending but the steam the movie had in the first 20 minutes is gone and it goes from significantly entertaining to subpar entertainment. Still you can do a heck of a lot worse than watching this.
It's a surprisingly decent production for a Monogram film. John Hamilton and Mantan Moreland are the only standout characters with everybody else just kind of filling in for time.
The comedy for the most part is fairly solid it's typical slap-dash fun mixed in with the occasional bit of good humor. Especially when Mantan Moreland is around, he really is The Shining Beacon of this film. But there is one joke involving a policeman's wife that's quite annoying. She's nagging him on the phone and her voice is getting faster and faster until it becomes the sound of a 1950s Alvin and the Chipmunk squeaky pitch.
That joke goes on for too long and isn't all that funny. Although it does kill the old adage that it was somebody working on the Alvin and Chipmunks show that invented that Hi-Tone. Discovering that if you put a tape on Fast Forward while playing it you'll get a squeaky voice.
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