dougdoepke 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.

kidboots I could never understand why MGM didn't try to have a serious go of making a series about Capt. Duncan MacLain, an urbane private eye, who just happens to be blind. That does not hamper his skills as he has sharpened his remaining senses as well as being an expert wrestler. He also has an extremely smart seeing eye dog in Friday, who is almost MacLain's match in intelligence. Obviously MGM didn't feel that comfortable with private eyes on dark rainy streets, they didn't exactly fit in with the other series - heroic Dr. Kildare and the all American Hardy family. Of course they also had the Thin Man series but Nick Charles was different, he was a witty bon vivant married to a millionairess!!!The first MacLain film "Eyes in the Night" got off to a terrific start, directed by young up and coming director Fred Zinneman and with a top cast of dependable stars including Edward Arnold who fitted the role like a pair of comfy slippers. But the next one, "The Hidden Eye" appeared almost 5 years later and somehow something was missing.Jean (Frances Rafferty) is eager to marry Barry but is meeting stiff opposition from her uncle who is concerned that with a couple of recent deaths in the family it wouldn't look right. When Uncle Rodney, the man who is going to decide their fate is found murdered and Barry is already in the darkened room, suspicion naturally falls on him. Unfortunately for Barry, he seems to be being set up as that happens for the other murders too.As another reviewer says the murderer is revealed half way through but, for me, that only makes it more interesting as now, with MacLain on the case, they know they are looking for a mad man but one who presents a normal respectable front. There is drama aplenty when Friday is kidnapped - the anguish in Arnold's voice as he promises to do exactly as the kidnapper's want proves there was real affection for the dog, a beautiful Alsation, there.Frances Rafferty was just one of the numerous pretty ingenues who seemed to flood the screen in the 1940s, did a few colourless roles then disappeared. Far more interesting was the perfume counter girl - Audrey Totter gave her part as much oomph as her 60 second bit would allow. I believe she was also at the wrong studio and would have progressed quicker at Warner Bros. where her type of hard boiled dame was more appreciated.Recommended for Audrey!!

dbborroughs 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.

Alonzo Church I had hopes for this one, as it was written by a real mystery writer -- George Harmon Coxe, and featured Edward Arnold, who is incapable of a bad performance.Problem is -- the story really isn't a mystery, as the killer is revealed about halfway through the film. And, while Arnold does the best he can with so-so material, the romantic leads and the comic "relief" is dreadful. One ultimately does not care whether the male lead did or did not execute the strange series of killings featured in the movie, as he is such a cold fish. As a matter of fact, when the police takes him down to the station "to clear up one or two things", one kind of hopes that they broke out the rubber hoses.Arnold plays a blind detective, and the film is full of the uncanny sensitivity blind detectives always have in fiction. While most of this is hooey, Arnold does convey a sort of odd remoteness that absolutely appropriate for his character. More improbably, Arnold -- who creditably played Nero Wolfe ten years earlier -- is shown as an expert wrestler.Seriously, this one is for Edward Arnold freaks only. And if one is hungry for Arnold performances, one can get them in many, many better movies.