Mystery to Me

Stand clear of the closing doors, please! And pray that you're not too squeamish for this gritty, poignant episode of police procedural classic "Homicide: Life on the Street." 

Directed by series producer James Yoshimura, this seventh episode of the sixth season aired December 5, 1997 and stars Andre Braugher, Kyle Secor, Clark Johnson, and John Seda, with a memorable guest star spot from a surly Vincent D'Onofrio.

D'Onofrio plays a commuter who gets trapped between the train and the platform during a rush hour scuffle at a Baltimore Metropolitan Transit Authority station. Detective Pembleton, played by Braugher, must interview this frantic, rude, and soon-to-be-dead victim to figure out what exactly happened. 

Áine and Kevin discuss why the episode can be hard to watch, despite being a mold-breaking stunner of an example of television storytelling.

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All aboard the murder train! Terror By Night is a 1946 mystery film by director Roy William Neil, as well as the thirteenth installment of the Sherlock Holmes movie series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. 

In this penultimate episode of the Rathbone-Bruce flicks, Sherlock Holmes purchases a ticket at the train station. His destination? The land of mystery! Holmes is tasked with guarding a valuable jewel onboard, but it becomes clear that the game is afoot after bodies begin stacking up in the train aisles.

Listen to Áine and Kevin discuss Amtrak exploits, screenwriter Frank Gruber's rules for detective stories, and the awkwardness of having friends who hate each other. Listen to find out whether the mystery stays on track, or whether this story proves to be a train in vain 

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Five Star Final is a 1931 newspaper drama directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Edward G. Robinson, Boris Karloff, and Aline MacMahon and based on a play by Louis Weitzenkorn. 

Robinson plays a grizzled tabloid editor tasked with digging into an old murder case to punch up circulation. Sound like a hot scoop? Think again! All the melodrama and moralizing left us wanting to stop the presses — permanently. Listen to Áine and Kevin discuss journalistic ethics, misogyny, and why they'd like to order a rewrite on this dud of a feature.

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The Third Man is a 1949 film noir with a cast led by Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Director Carol Reed and writer Graham Greene craft an atmospheric, twisty tale set in Vienna after World War II.

Cotten plays a naive pulp writer who travels to the Austrian capital in search of a job. But while Vienna waits for him, his childhood friend Harry Lime is nowhere to be found when he arrives! Heartbreak, cynicism, beautifully-shot chase scenes, and jaunty Zither music ensue. 

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In the Line of Fire is a 1993 political thriller by director Wolfgang Petersen, starring Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, and Rene Russo.

Eastwood stars as a washed-up Secret Service agent best known for being the sole remaining member from the detail that failed to save President John F. Kennedy. Three decades after the greatest failure of his career, he's forced to match wits with Malkovich, who plays a chilling assassin.

Listen to Áine and Kevin take a shot at this engrossing thriller, which features a taut plot, an age gap relationship, a great villain with a surprisingly relatable point, and some depressing implications about the American workplace. 

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Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter is a 1939 comedy mystery film directed by William Clemens, starring Bonita Granville as the titular sleuth, as well as Frankie Thomas and John Litel. The movie is the third in a series of four Nancy Drew films that kicked off just eight years after the Stratemeyer Syndicate first introduced the character into the mystery canon. 

Agent of chaos Nancy Drew is back, and this time she's got trouble in her sights. The bubbly teen sleuth is locked and loaded and looking to stalk her reluctant boyfriend Ted, break up her father's budding romance, and clear a rude, hatless man of murder charges at all costs. 

Listen to Áine and Kevin chat all about how this silly mystery picture shoots itself in the foot.

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Nancy Drew... Reporter is a 1939 film from director William Clemens, starring Bonita Granville as the titular teen sleuth, as well as Frankie Thomas and John Litel. The movie is the second in a series of four Nancy Drew films that kicked off just eight years after the Stratemeyer Syndicate first introduced the character into the mystery canon. 

This screwball feature sees the eponymous girl detective taking on the role of cub reporter for a local River Heights paper. But Nancy Drew's not out to write some puff piece for her internship. She's looking to break a big scoop — with some help from her reluctant boyfriend-slash-news-photographer Ted Nickerson. Zaniness ensues when these reporters-in-training begin investigating the murder of a local woman.

Áine and Kevin tackle this assignment with the gusto of hard-boiled journalists, although it's fitting to say that plenty of elements in this film ought to have been spiked.

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Double Indemnity is a 1944 film noir from director Billy Wilder. The writing process for this flick proved to be quite the double-teaming, with Wilder partnering with hardboiled author Raymond Chandler to pen the thriller. The story is based on the 1943 novella by James M. Cain. 

The central story is a noir classic: a sultry femme fatale teams up with a dupe working as an insurance salesman to kill her husband. Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanywck as the main murderous duo. But can they get away with murder with a dogged claims adjuster portrayed by Edward G. Robinson on the case?

Áine and Kevin are here to dole out a lump sum of compliments to this excellent noir, and discuss what makes this film a double dose of cynicism and heartbreak. 

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The Big Combo is a 1955 film noir by director Joseph H. Lewis starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, and Jean Wallace. And boy, is it a mixed bag! 

The film follows a dull detective seeking to bust Mr. Brown, the leader of an insidious crime syndicate, or "combo." Along the way, our hero obsesses over Brown's piano-loving moll, undergoes torture-by-jazz, and infringes upon the civil rights of countless besuited crooks. 

Listen to Áine and Kevin talk about the film's unique blend of tedious storytelling and gorgeous filmmaking choices.

Beware! This review contains spoilers!

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Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon is a 1942 film by director Roy William Neill, as well as a very, very loose adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1903 novel The Adventure of the Dancing Men. It's the fourth movie in a series of Sherlock Holmes films starring iconic duo Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, and the second picture to be set during the Second World War.

The story is that Holmes must keep a key scientist — whose device could alter the course of the fight against fascism — out of the clutches of the Nazis and other sinister forces. Holmes is "aided" in his quest by Bruce's bumbling Dr. Watson, the slightly-less bumbling denizens of Scotland Yard, and a wardrobe full of embarrassing-and-occasionally-racist disguises. 

Does this flawed Holmes picture prove to be a "secret weapon" of sorts, or is it a complete misfire? Listen to this episode to decode the mystery! 

And beware! This review contains spoilers!

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