The Hidden Eye (1945)

What makes it different from others?

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Slick programmer from MGM. It's not exactly a whodunit, though the narrative starts out that way. Rather, the plot becomes a battle of wits between Capt. Maclain (Arnold) and the killer. Seems someone's knocking off members of the Hampton family, leaving daughter Jean (Rafferty) in danger. Now blind ex-cop Maclain, along with police dog Friday and comedic helper Marty, have to figure things out before more bloodletting.Arnold's Maclain has to be the most genial cop in movie annals: he even manages a chuckle in the direst circumstance. I guess that shows acceptance of his impaired condition. Good to see one of my old-time heartthrobs Frances Rafferty looking gorgeous as usual. And that's Leigh Whipper briefly as the colored butler. Too bad he doesn't get to show the soul he shows in the classics Of Mice and Men (1939) and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943). Once you see him there, you don't forget. And, of course, there's Friday who should get a canine Oscar for his winning performance.Anyway, the programmer's mainly a personality detective show, slickly done by MGM's accomplished production crew. I guess my only reservation is with some of the look-alike supporting players and keeping them straight. Still, it's an entertaining way to spend an hour that's also lost little over the years. Meanwhile, this old geezer could sure use a buddy like the genius-level Friday.

Courtsey of MGM's prolific/proficient second feature output unit, comes this sequel to Fred Zinnemann's debut feature 'Eyes In The Night', about a visually-impaired sleuth. This time around, the technical team is unfortunately less resourceful than their protagonist who is busy, with the aid of his faithful guide dog, trying to clear an innocent man of murder.The replacement of B-frisson chills with chuckles is a miscalculation on this outing, and stereotype B-movie characterisations abound from vulnerable love interest to seedy villains. The story's gritty, 'urban' settings, replete with dark alleyways and disused warehouses, are never exploited to the full effect of their classic noir trappings.The proceedings are all lighthearted enough if a little too genial. However, although there is some inevitable sentiment, the film is surprisingly unpatronising in its treatment of our blind hero. All in all it's a disappointing sequel, but not an hour-and-a-bit wasted.

Edward Arnold returns to the role of Captain Duncan Maclain, a former police detective forced to retire when he became blind, however he moved from being a public cop into being a private detective. Maclain previously appeared in the film Eyes in the Night, a wartime mystery where he battled Axis spies. Its a super thriller that should have launched a series, instead of a single sequel (this film) three years later. Here Maclain is hired by a young woman to find out who is killing off her family. The murders appear to be timed with the appearance of a beau in the woman's life. The murders also seem to be linked to what happened years before in Sumatra. The mystery is less then mysterious since the choice of real suspects number two, and odds are you'll choose the right one.(lets face it even the movie gives up with any notion of mystery half way in).A good little film that works purely on the basis of the performances, and in the case of this film its enough. Actually its more than enough with Arnold's Maclain being absolutely a joy to behold. He may be blind but its clear he's light years ahead of everyone around him. I still can't believe that MGM never went further with the series. You really should see this if you like mystery thrillers. Not quite as good as the earlier film, but its still a damn fine mystery.

Capt. Maclain, the blind detective, is called in on a murder case by a young lady of his acquaintance, Frances Rafferty. She is about to be married to Barry Gifford; they've tried twice before, but her father wants them to wait. They hope that three times will be lucky. Father seems to be agreeable over the telephone, and he sets up a seven pm appointment for the two to come and talk it over. But when Barry gets there just a few seconds early, he finds his prospective father in law dead at his desk. He's been murdered and the suspicion of the police has fallen on young Barry. For the sake of young love, we hope that Maclain can prove the police wrong before the picture ends, but it looks very bad for Barry.This is not an exceptional film, but it's better than average for a forties B and the acting holds up very well. The plot is a good one, although the number of good suspects is quite small and the film doesn't cheat. But I think that even if you do figure out who the murderer is early on, the situations and the well acted characters will keep you entertained.