The best J. Farrell MacDonald’s mystery movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best J. Farrell MacDonald’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about J. Farrell MacDonald.
Fallen Angel
7/10
An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills. Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.
Star of Midnight
6.7/10
When a dancer disappears from a theater, Clay Dalzell is asked to investigate, leading him on a trail of murder and deception.
The Maltese Falcon
6.8/10
A lovely dame with dangerous lies employs the services of a private detective, who is quickly caught up in the mystery and intrigue of a statuette known as the Maltese Falcon.
The Thirteenth Guest
5.7/10
Thirteen years after a dinner party in which the thirteenth guest failed to arrive, the remaining guests are being murdered one by one, and their bodies being placed at the same dinner table in the appropriate seats they occupied thirteen years prior.
The Phantom Express
5.3/10
Railroad foes cause terror on the tracks with the illusion of a ghost train.
Pillow of Death
6/10
Attorney Wayne Fletcher and his secretary are having an affair, so when Wayne's wife is found smothered to death, he becomes the prime suspect. As the police investigate the murder, a psychic with questionable motives tries to contact the deceased woman. Soon, Wayne begins seeing visions of his dead wife, and other people involved with the case begin to be killed, one by one.
The Crosby Case
5.9/10
Former lovers get together to clear themselves when the police suspect them of murder.
Discarded Lovers
4.7/10
In this murder mystery, sexy blonde film star Irma Gladden is found dead in her car after shooting the last scene in her film, "Falling Star" at Eminent Studios. The suspects are numerous due to her free and easy lifestyle and messy romantic affairs. Among them are Grace Sibley the jealous wife of her director, Warren Sibley, her drunken actor husband, Andre Leighton, her screenwriter boyfriend, Rex Forsythe, and her first husband, Robert Worth. Also on hand to help solve the mystery are visiting reporter Bob Adair, Irma's secretary, Valerie Christine, and policemen Captain Sommers and Sergeant Delaney.
70,000 Witnesses
5.8/10
College football player is asked to dope a star teammate by his crooked gambler brother. He refuses, but they player is doped anyway and collapses and dies. A detective has the whole game re-enacted to find important clues.
The Game That Kills
5.8/10
Charles Quigley stars as Ferguson, a rough-and-tumble hockey player who discovers that his chosen profession is nothing more than a racket, a plaything for game-fixing racketeers. When his brother is killed in a highly suspicious accident, Ferguson and team trainer Holland (J. Farrell McDonald) join forces to bring the killers to justice. Second-billed Rita Hayworth is decorative as Holland's daughter
Extortion
6.5/10
In this B potboiler, a college professor finds himself suspected of a murder on his school's campus.
The Living Ghost
5.3/10
A detective investigating kidnapping case discovers the victim, who may be a zombie.
Mysterious Crossing
5.9/10
While crossing on the train ferry to New Orleans, roving reporter Addison Francis Murphy borrows money from singing hillbilly "Carolina," then loses it all in a crap game. Outside on deck, Murphy sees two men shaking hands, and after he looks away, hears a splash of water and discovers both men have disappeared...
A Sporting Chance
6.5/10
John Stonehouse (William Russell) checks into a hotel, intending to commit suicide. But instead he winds up helping a girl, Gilberte Bonheur (Fritzi Brunette), out of a jam. He finds her bending over a man who she has apparently killed, and since he's about to kill himself anyway, he offers to assume the blame. Throw a valuable emerald into the works, and the fact that the dead man suddenly comes back to life, and Stonehouse -- not to mention the audience -- becomes thoroughly befuddled by it all. Everything clears up, however, when Gilberte gives him a theater ticket -- it turns out that everything he went through was the plot to a stage play, enacted in real life by the actors. The critics roasted the play, saying it wasn't true to life, and this was their proof that the situations really could happen. Gilberte retires from acting when Stonehouse proposes.
The Hurricane Express
5.3/10
The Wrecker wrecks trains on the L & R Railroad. One of his victims is Larry Baker's father. Baker wants to find the evildoer, among a host of suspects, but it will be difficult since the Wrecker can disguise himself to look like almost anyone
One Thrilling Night
5.6/10
A honeymoon couple in New York for one night of wedded bliss before he's to join the army, become involved with gangsters after they find a cadaver under their bed.
