Haading for a birthday dinner with their friend Lt Weigand (Francis De
Sales), Jerry (Richard Denning) and Pamela (Barbara Britton) North's car
has a flat tire, and they ask for help at a nearby mansion. At first
though they are rudely sent away despite the rain and everything, but when
Pamela spots a message about murder writen on a third floor window, she
fakes a breakdown, and this way, she and Jerry sort-of force their way in.
The residents of the house are a peculiar bunch: There's Richard (Fay
Roope) and his sister Ada (Barbara Brown), who claim they keep Richard's
wife Sheryll (Lisa K.Howard) locked up in the third floor because she's
mad and suffering from paranoia, thinking everyone will kill her - and
thus shouting a lot. Pamela however doesn't believe any of this story and
thus, in an unwatched moment, sneaks up to Sheryll's room and manages to
talk with her through the closed door, learning that Richard and Ada have
killed her father to get their hands on her inheritance. Problem is,
Richard overhears the conversation between Pamela and Sheryll and now
wants to kill his new guests as well - so there's a bit of running up and
down some stairs and corridors, and in the end, Jerry and Pamela manage to
apprehend the murderous siblings, just before Lt Weigand arrives, looking
for his friends after being stood up at his birthday dinner ...
As a light-hearted murder mystery, House Behind the Wall isn't
entirely uncharming - but it's not overly exciting either, just a slightly
entertaining piece of early television.
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