The Squeaker (1937)

Just so...so bad

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

'The Squeaker' is based on a novel by the prolific Edgar Wallace and concerns a man who squeaks. That is he informs Scotland Yard about jewel thieves who don't do business with him leading to their arrest. Eventually the Squeaker is tracked down and made to confess a murder. The plot is unsurprising and the identity of the Squeaker becomes apparent early on. It moves along steadily interspersed with some unmemorable musical numbers that hold up proceedings now and then.Edmund Lowe is bland as the hero and Ann Todd is only the token romance but Robert Newton who has a good share of screen time as a jewel thief is good and Alastair Sim with an extreme Scottish accent is fun. Bill Shine with his lugubrious face has a few choice moments. It would have benefited from a faster pace and more interesting characters. Even the main villain is rather dull.

Scotland Yard is baffled and frustrated by a jewel fence and informer known as "The Squeaker." In an effort to catch the elusive criminal they re-hire former Inspector Barrabal (Lowe), a brilliant police officer who left the force because of excessive drinking. Suspicious of a businessman who has a penchant for hiring petty ex-convicts, Barrabal goes undercover pretending to be an ex-con. The ending is a bit hokey but it did nicely wrap things up. Lowe does an adequate job as the polished and pleasant Barrabal. I best remember Lowe from the films he and Victor McLaglen did together (What Price Glory? and its sequels and Guilty as Hell). He was better in those movies. And poor Ann Todd - she has a totally thankless (and unmemorable) role in this movie. But, more than making up for this waste, are Robert Newton as a jewel thief (Larry Graeme) who knows who The Squeaker is, and Alistair Sim as the reporter (Joshua Collie) covering The Squeaker's exploits. Newton's character is one thief I kinda hoped would get away with it. As most would agree, Sim is an actor than can make every role, even a small one, memorable. To my recollection, I've only seen one other movie based on Edgar Wallace's work - The Terror. Sim is in that movie as well and is a riot. This movie may not be quite as good as that one but it never drags and holds one's interest to the end. Especially Sim and Wallace fans should see.

After some pearls are stolen, Scotland Yard make it a prority to catch the titular underworld figure, a silent, mysterious fence who rats on other thieves. Edmund Lowe (apparently reprising a stage role) is an alcaholic former detective given a chance to crack the case undercover. He gets a confession in the jarring final reel by intimidating the main suspect in a slightly macabre way, the only part that comes close to conveying the dark streaks of Edgar Wallace's fiction (it's based on one of his books, and son Bryan Edgar worked on the "scenario"). Otherwise it's a passable but routine b/w crime caper (with a loud, excitable score from Miklos Rozsa, an early credit). Notable are German Tamara Desni as a beautiful (and rather good) nightclub singer and dancer, and Alastair Sim as a comic-relief lazy newspaper reporter. With Sebastian Shaw, Ann Todd, Robert Newton, Allan Jeayes, Stewart Rome, Gordon McLeod, Syd Crossley, Alf Goddard, Danny Green, Fred Groves, Bill Shine, Ben Williams and an uncredited Michael Rennie as a medical examiner. Also available is a very different German adaptation from 1963. Other German versions were in 1931 and 1959 (for TV). An earlier British version (1930) was directed by Wallace himself (who passed away in '32). Howard also directed a 1932 adaptation of SHERLOCK HOLMES.Movie reviews at: spinegrinderweb.com

I just watched this tonight on channel 2 here in Australia. I can't improve on the previous chap's review (spanishflea50), as I think he summed it up very well. The only thing I can say is that I enjoyed it as well, and as I watched it, I thought this has to be have been written by Edgar Wallace (I'm a bit of a fan of his books) from the pace & style of the story to even the title, so I came to the IMDb site to find out who wrote it. Unfortunately, Edgar Wallace had been dead for ~ 4years by the time this film was released, but it is based on a novel & a screenplay he wrote for the 1930 version of the film. It would be great to be able to see the 1930 version which was actually directed by Wallace.(IMDb for 1930 -'The Squeaker')