Beverly (Lois Moran) persuades her uncle John (Earle Foxe) to accompany
her to a magician's show, because the magician Chartrand's (Edmund Lowe)
psychic Alexander (Howard Phillips), an amnesiac, might be her brother who
went missing 2 years ago. Uncle John, a rich bank manager & her only
known relative, strongly objects - a bit too strongly for everyone's taste
-, but in the end she manages to get her will anyways ... too bad for the
uncle, because during Alexander's psychic act, the lights go out, a shot
iis fired & uncle John is dead ... & it could have been anyone of
the audience, or even Chartrand, Alexander (who has conveniently fainted)
or a stagehand.
Soon, Alexander's identity as the brother of Beverly is established
beyond doubt, which doesn't make things easier, as uncle John made an
attempt on his life 2 years ago (that left him with a heavy case of
amnesia) to get Alexander's inheritance.
For inspector Riley, who inestigates the case, Alexander is the
tailormade suspect, & Chartrand, who tries to dissuade him from
arresting Alexander, is a tailormade accomlice & soon wears handcuffs
... but with a combination of persuasion, simple magic tricks & hidden
panels in the theatre, he can keep the police from letting the audience
- in which the murder sits - go, & he first stages a phony
seance to strain the nerves of the killer, then lets Alexander find him
via telepathy ... & he seems to be doing rather well, when suddenly
another shot is fired, slightly injuring Chartrand - but this time the
police was watching, & they identify the killer as a small man, who
was cheated out of all his wealth by Uncle John.
Chartrand in the end ... might get the girl.
Not to clever a murder mystery, but greatly helped by a lively pace,
its theatre settings, & the somewhat exotic world of stage magicians,
which makes one forget several implausibilities of the plot.
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