Girl on the Spot
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
William Beaudine
Lois Collier
Jess Barker
George Dolenz
Fuzzy Knight
Ludwig Stossel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Tony Bracken, owner of the Domino Club, is shot to death in his office by mobster Weepy McGurk and his henchmen, Lightfoot Lewis and Fingers Foley. Just as the thugs begin searching the office, singer Kathy Lorenz shows up for an audition. Weepy poses as Bracken, and when he sees that Kathy has some Gilbert and Sullivan sheet music in her portfolio, eagerly accompanies her on the piano. Weepy is moved to tears by her performance, but when he tells Kathy the club will not reopen, she leaves in anger. Later, at Popsy Lorenz's restaurant, which is staffed entirely by his former troupe of operetta singers, Popsy's son Leon bursts in with the news that he has found a rich music lover to finance the troupe's Broadway comeback. Several days later, Inspector Gleason goes to Bracken's office, where Rick Crane, a photographer for the tabloid Crime Pictures , is already at work. Rick finds Kathy's sheet music on the piano, and he and his assistant Bim track her to Popsy's restaurant, where the troupe is rehearsing. Claiming to be from Real Life magazine, Rick photographs Kathy. Still hoping to link Kathy to a crime, Rick takes her dancing, but after she describes her encounter with "Tony Bracken," he tells her that he no longer believes she had anything to do with Bracken's disappearance. Bracken's body is then fished out of the river, and Rick and Bim question the morgue attendant, who says that Bracken was shot on Tuesday night, just when Kathy claims to have auditioned for him. That evening, Popsy's new backer, who is none other than Weepy, comes with his henchmen to watch a dress rehearsal, and Weepy tells Leon that his involvement with the troupe must remain a secret. When Rick and Bim arrive, Kathy points out Weepy, whom she recognizes as "Bracken," and they conclude that Weepy is the murderer. Rick tries to take a picture of Weepy, but Leon knocks him out with his shoe. Bim then finds Rick unconscious and he promptly calls Gleason to report the "murder." The mobsters recognize Kathy from Bracken's office, but suddenly flee when police sirens are heard. Gleason upbraids Rick for not calling the police earlier, and Kathy storms out when she learns that Rick works for a tabloid. To draw Weepy out of hiding, Gleason instructs the troupe to open its production of The Pirates of Penzance as planned, then rounds up a group of well-heeled criminals and persuades them to become investors. Later, Lightfoot and Fingers suggest that they attend a performance and kill Kathy, and despite his long-held belief that killing women is bad luck, Weepy reluctantly agrees. On opening night, Gleason and his men lie in wait for the mobsters, but Weepy and Fingers elude the police when they arrive dressed as society matrons. As Kathy finishes her solo, the sobbing Weepy prepares to shoot her, but Rick grabs his arm and the shot fires into the ceiling, alerting the police. With Weepy in custody, Gleason tells the audience to go home, but the editor of Real Life , who was invited by Rick, insists that the show go on. Kathy apologizes to Rick from the stage, and as the performance resumes, they blow each other kisses.
Director
William Beaudine
Cast
Lois Collier
Jess Barker
George Dolenz
Fuzzy Knight
Ludwig Stossel
Richard Lane
Donald Macbride
Edward S. Brophy
Billy Newell
Ralph Sanford
Delos Jewkes
Russell Horton
Carol Hughes
Joseph Crehan
Sarah Edwards
John Hamilton
Marie Harmon
John Shay
Boyd Irwin
Selmer Jackson
James Carlisle
Cy Ring
Ernie Adams
Jack Cheatham
John Merton
Howard Mitchell
Roger Cole
Jimmy Lucas
Dick Dickinson
Frank Hagney
Gene Stutenroth
Alec Craig
Forrest Taylor
Dick French
George Lynn
Bob Homans
Ray Walker
Dulce Daye
Bert Roach
Nolan Leary
Carey Harrison
Crew
George Blake
George Blake
Bernard B. Brown
Dorcas Cochran
Louis Da Pron
Stanley Davis
Edgar Fairchild
Russell A. Gausman
Maury Gertsman
William S. Gilbert
Saul A. Goodkind
John B. Goodman
Abraham Grossman
Jack Hartfield
Ted Von Hemert
Emory Horger
Harry Jones
Robert Pritchard
Milton Schwarzwald
Arthur Sullivan
Jerry Warner
Seward Webb
Vera West
Harry Zimmerman
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Serenade for Murder. Hollywood Reporter production charts include Walter Sande in the cast, but his appearance in the final film has not been confirmed.
