OPEN SECRET (director: John Reinhardt; screenwriters: from a story by Ted Murkland & Max Wilk/Henry Blankfort/Max Wilk; cinematographer: George Robinson; editor: Jason Bernie; cast: John Ireland (Paul Lester), Jane Randolph (Nancy Lester), Roman Bohnen (Locke), Sheldon Leonard (Detective Sergeant Mike Frontelli), George Tyne (Harry Strauss), Morgan Farley (Mitchell/Phillips), Ellen Lowe (Mrs. Locke), Anne O'Neal (Mrs. Tistram), Arthur O'Connell (Carter), John Alvin (Ralph), Rory Mallinson (Chuck Hill), Leo Kaye (Fatso, Bartender), Bert Conway (Mace), Charles Waldron (Ed Stevens); Runtime: 70; Eagle Lion / Marathon Pictures; 1948)
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Open Secret is a quality story, but is a cheaply produced B-film with similar themes about anti-Semitism as "Crossfire" and "Gentleman's Agreement." A young couple, Paul Lester (Ireland), and his attractive bride Nancy (Randolph), on their honeymoon, call up Paul's army buddy Ed Stevens (Waldron). He tells them he has to go out an emergency, but he will leave them the key with his landlord and they are welcome to stay with him. When he doesn't show up the next day, they get concerned. The landlady (O'Neal) is told her tenant is missing and she keeps Nancy company while hubby investigates; she also tells them Ed had lost his job recently.
They find anti-Semitic literature in the apartment, and Paul says that's not like the Ed he knew. A man from Snap magazine (Farley) comes by and says Ed promised him a story, but didn't say what it was. With Ed still missing, Paul calls his friend from the police department Detective Sergeant Mike Frontelli (Sheldon Leonard) to investigate. This is one of the rare occasions that Leonard played a cop instead of a gangster.
Paul soon uncovers that Paul belonged to a secret anti-Semitic organization with a bunch of white supremacists from the neighborhood. When it is discovered that Ed is murdered, Paul decides to stay in town and clear his pal's name. The couple innocently bring in photos they took on their honeymoon to have Harry Strauss (Tyne) develop them. They find out from him that there is prejudice against the Jews in the neighborhood recently, as Strauss tells them there's a group trying to put him out of business because he's a Jew.
The couple discovers when looking at the photos returned to them, that Ed was secretly taking pictures of the extremist group members and was ready to turn it over to the magazine. The hate group now goes after the couple to try and get the pictures back. When Paul figures out that the group framed Ed for the murder of another Jewish man, he decides to confront one of the weaker members by showing him a picture they have of him in the act of the crime. But Paul's overtaken by the group and his life is threatened, as he is taken back to the bar the group hangs out in.
Warning: spoiler to follow.
The climax is action-packed as Strauss is also taken by the group when he comes looking for Paul, but he leads them into a trap by taking one of them back to his photo store for the negatives. He is able to overtake his captor and call the police. The twist in the story, is that the magazine reporter is an ambitious politician who used an alias and is really the secret leader of this group.
The story should hold your interest.
REVIEWED ON 5/19/2001 GRADE: C-
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
http://www.sover.net/~ozus
ozus@sover.net
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