Pine-Thomas Productions

Illustrated Press managing editor Steve Wilson and reporter Lorelei Kilbourne go after a gambling ring preying on college students after the publisher's niece is caught up in a crooked dice game and framed for murder. Phillip Reed and Hillary Brooke reprise their Big Town newspaper roles, with Richard Travis and Ann Gillis. The third of four Pine-Thomas features spun off from the popular radio series, directed by co-producer William C. Thomas. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Crime · Noir · Drama

Forest ranger Don Bradley watches the woman he loves marry his friend Steve Downey — not knowing Downey is secretly running a hijacking ring. When a murder forces the gang into the mountains, Bradley has to choose between duty and the lives of the people he cares about. Robert Lowery, Ellen Drew, and Regis Toomey star in this compact Pine-Thomas programmer for Paramount, with Elisha Cook Jr. among the gang. Directed by William Berke. It is in the public domain after its copyright was not renewed.

Crime · Drama · Noir

A New York magazine editor offers a job to hotshot Iowa photographer "Pat Marvin" — then discovers Pat is Patricia, and promptly falls for her. She's still carrying a torch for her boyfriend Ben, who follows her to the city, and the romantic tangle gets complicated by a staged murder photo that turns out to be real. Chester Morris and Nancy Kelly star in this snappy Pine-Thomas comedy-mystery for Paramount, directed by William Berke. It is in the public domain after its copyright was not renewed.

Comedy · Crime

A bank teller wakes from a vivid nightmare in which he murders a man in a strange mirrored room, and finds physical evidence in his apartment that suggests it may not have been a dream at all. His brother-in-law, a police detective, does not believe him, until a family picnic strands them near an abandoned mansion that turns out to contain the very room from the dream. The film is based on a Cornell Woolrich story, and it works the Woolrich territory of ordinary people trapped in impossible situations. DeForest Kelley, years before he was Dr. McCoy on Star Trek, makes his film debut as the tormented teller, and Paul Kelly is the skeptical cop. Director Maxwell Shane later remade the film as Nightmare (1956) with Edward G. Robinson. The film entered the public domain due to non-renewal of its copyright.

Crime · Noir · Mystery

Richard Arlen stars as Jim Clark, a pilot running a small airline service out of Los Angeles, with Jean Parker as the stewardess torn between him and a smooth-talking passenger. That passenger is a spy who has stolen a secret military navigation device, and when his escape is bungled he hijacks the airliner mid-flight. The plane goes down in the wilderness, leaving the survivors stranded as a forest fire closes in. One of the early "Dollar Bills" from Pine-Thomas Productions, Paramount's B-picture unit, Flying Blind is a compact wartime aviation thriller released just months before Pearl Harbor. Its copyright was never renewed, placing it in the public domain.

Action · Adventure · Drama

Professional gambler Ross Hadley runs a plush gaming house in New York while his childhood friend Mike McGlennon, now a police lieutenant, is sworn to shut it down. Their rivalry turns personal when both men fall for nightclub singer Mary Hayes, and a murder forces each to choose between duty, friendship, and the law. Chester Morris, Nancy Kelly, and Russell Hayden star in this Pine-Thomas crime drama for Paramount, directed by Frank McDonald. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Crime · Drama

Reporter Sue Gallagher (Detour's Ann Savage) discovers the corpse of a notorious gangster propped up in a wax museum and fights to keep the scoop — while a rival reporter (William Gargan), the museum's bumbling maintenance man (Leo Gorcey), and the killer himself (George Zucco) all converge on the evidence. A fast, funny 64-minute programmer from Pine-Thomas Productions, Paramount's prolific "Dollar Bills" B-movie unit. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Crime · Mystery

Private detective Humphrey Campbell tracks down a missing girl for a bank vault company, only to find her murdered — and his search pulls in a psychic act, a collection of eccentric suspects, and his own sharp-tongued wife Louise. Chester Morris plays the brash Campbell, a lighter riff on his Boston Blackie persona, with Jean Parker as Louise. A fast, cheap, and lively Pine-Thomas production for Paramount, directed by Frank McDonald and adapted from a novel by Daniel Mainwaring writing as Geoffrey Homes. The film entered the public domain because its copyright was not renewed.

Crime · Mystery · Comedy

Insurance salesman Albert Tuttle arrives at the Rutherford mansion to sell a policy — only to find his prospect already dead, the heirs locked in by a will that won't be read until the body is entombed, and the corpse itself refusing to stay put. Jack Haley plays the jittery Tuttle, with Bela Lugosi in a red-herring role as the sinister butler, plus secret passages and a disappearing body. A Pine-Thomas production for Paramount, directed by Frank McDonald. It is in the public domain after its copyright was not renewed.

Comedy · Horror · Mystery

Larry Elliot, a timid chess columnist who covers murders for a newspaper, flees to Grape City to escape a gangster's threats — only to land in a haunted-house mystery involving a stolen jade chess set, a missing corpse, and a fortune hidden in a creepy mansion. Jack Haley, the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, plays the jittery reporter alongside Ann Savage and Barton MacLane. A Pine-Thomas production for Paramount, also released as Treasure of Fear. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Comedy · Mystery · Horror

Tom Durling is framed for a bank robbery and a killing he didn't commit, then escapes custody to hunt down the real gang before the police close in. Robert Lowery and Barbara Britton star in this tight hour-long programmer from Pine-Thomas Productions — Paramount's "dollar bills," the B-unit famous for fast, cheap, profitable pictures — directed by William C. Thomas himself. It is in the public domain after its copyright was not renewed.

Crime · Noir · Thriller