Footsteps in the Dark (1941)

Directed by Lloyd Bacon; produced by Robert Lord (associate producer)

Francis Monroe Warren (Errol Flynn) has everything: a successful and undemanding career as an investment broker, wealth, a large house, servants, a pretty, loving wife (Brenda Marshall) to whom he’s devoted, even a admiring mother-in-law. He also has a secret life. Most days, Warren leaves his office and goes to a small suburban house where he writes mysteries under the pseudonym of F X Pettijohn. His lives are about to become complicated, however, with the death of a prospective client, and a criminal investigation in which he tries to keep one step ahead of the police – and his newly suspicious spouse.

After five consecutive period roles (seven, if one counts The Dawn Patrol), all dramas, Flynn chose to star in this light-hearted comedy, set in contemporary times. Despite the moderate response from audiences, he made a good choice: Footsteps in the Dark is, if not a hilarious side-splitter, a fun, entertaining movie that shows Flynn could be amusing.

The story is a fairly typical movie mystery, with the murderer rather easily spotted. There are plot-holes and incongruities – such as what the victim (Noel Madison) knew when he insinuated blackmail against Warren – and the clues and their results are no more than what might be found in the average 1970s tv detective series. Nor are we told much about the characters. It is not explained why Warren wrote his book – which makes liberal and possibly libelous use of his mother-in-law’s ladies’ club – or where his money came from (inheritance? His work?). Why a police inspector should take an interest, however casual, in a death by heart-attack is unknown, as well.

The fun, however, isn’t really in solving the riddle or dissecting characters, but in the actions and reactions of Flynn and other cast members. Warren is portrayed as an easy-going gentleman who takes an even easier-going approach to his job. His interaction with Inspector Mason (Alan Hale) of the Homicide Bureau is a good one. How it started is a mystery in itself, though it’s clear that despite the verbal barbs, they like each other. The chemistry is probably reflective of Flynn and Hale’s relationship: the two collaborated in at least half a dozen films.

Other characters are more stock. William Frawley is tiresome as a truly dense copper though Allen Jenkins helps as Warren’s secretary and chauffeur, and only confidante in his writing. Brenda Marshall has a bit of depth as the wife; she worked with Flynn in 1935’s The Sea Hawk. Ralph Bellamy has little reason to show his skills in his part as a dentist.

The writing is mediocre, with few memorable lines, though Mason’s explanation of why a crime-writer might seem a successful detective, with his already-solved mystery spread over three hundred pages of red herrings and false suspects, is dead-on. Other than the previously mentioned plot-holes, there are other head-scratchers. Turhan Bey has a small but interesting part as the murder-victim’s servant, an Indian who respects gentlemen no matter their race. He may have been included for a touch of exoticism, but disappears half-way through the movie.

Then there is Lee Patrick as the loud and obvious burlesque queen Blondie White. The movie is from an era which recognised the attractiveness of Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable and Ava Gardner, so I had to wonder if the professions of devotion from her male fans – and the pretence of love from Warren (trying to prise information from Blondie) – were intended as a gag.

It is perhaps invidious to compare Footsteps in the Dark to something such as The Thin Man, despite a proposed series based on the former, in the vein of the latter. The Thin Man, and some of its sequels, were written by Tony- and Pulitzer-prize winners. Footsteps in the Dark’s script is not witty or intelligent; this, combined with the unusual casting of Flynn, may have hurt the film’s box office. Even so, the movie is an enjoyable hour and a half, thanks to the lead and the happy-go-lucky atmosphere of the story.