Mysterious Crossing
Cast & Crew
Arthur Lubin
James Dunn
Jean Rogers
Andy Devine
Hobart Cavanaugh
John Eldredge
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
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. When the train arrives in New Orleans, Murphy picks up the unclaimed luggage of Raoul Fontaine, assuming he is one of the men who disappeared, and as Carolina follows him because he wants to be repaid, checks into a hotel. After the porter opens Fontaine's luggage, they discover a report on the "Arcadian and Southern Louisiana Swamp Reclamation Project," in which Fontaine is advised against loaning any money to the project, as it is a fraud. Upon discovering Fontaine is the wealthiest bank owner in town, Murphy calls Fontaine's home and finds out that Fontaine never arrived, which confirms his suspicions about his disappearance. He anonymously delivers the luggage to the Fontaine mansion, where Fontaine's daughter Yvonne worriedly wonders why her father has not returned. Murphy then ingratiates himself with his former partner, city editor N. J. Stebbins, who hires him to report on the Fontaine case. After Murphy and Carolina are interrogated by the district attorney and released, Fontaine's body is found in the river. Murphy makes an appointment with Yvonne to discuss her father's demise, and publishes an article in which he claims there is an eyewitness to Fontaine's murder. In the meantime, Paul Briand, a friend of both Yvonne and her father, has received approval from Fontaine's bank for the loan of three million dollars for his reclamation project. Murphy misses his appointment with Yvonne when he and Carolina are knocked out and imprisoned in the cellar of a saloon. They finally find a passage through an old airless sewer duct and barely escape alive, arriving at the Fontaine mansion in time to collapse. Murphy does talk to Yvonne, and after realizing that Briand was the only person who knew he was coming to see her, connects Briand to Fontaine's murder. Murphy takes Briand's photograph to the train station and ferry, but no one recognizes him. Murphy then sees a photograph of Briand as a champion swimmer, and realizes that Briand could have swam to and from the ferry. Murphy and Carolina go to a nearby boathouse where they find their attackers. After a struggle, they capture the caretaker, who confesses his involvement with Briand, and Briand is arrested. Murphy explains to Yvonne that Briand must have gone overboard with her father, then swam to safety. After inviting Yvonne to Bermuda with him, Murphy leaves jauntily, with Carolina trailing after him, still hoping to be repaid for his loan.
Director
Arthur Lubin
Cast
James Dunn
Jean Rogers
Andy Devine
Hobart Cavanaugh
John Eldredge
Herbert Rawlinson
Lorin Raker
J. Farrell Macdonald
Clarence Muse
Libby Taylor
Jonathan Hale
Harry Hayden
James Flavin
Pat O'malley
Edward Earle
William H. Royle
Etta Mcdaniel
J. H. Allen
Eddie Anderson
Ray Martin
Martin Turner
Kid Herman
Eddie Clayton
Rhea Mitchell
George Davis
Alphonse Martell
James Farley
Jean Perry
Gus Leonard
Matty Roubert
Crew
Irving Actman
Bernard Burton
Charles Carroll
Lou Forbes
John Grey
Milton Krasner
Frank Loesser
Fred Macisaacs
Joseph A. Mcdonough
Jack Otterson
Jefferson Parker
Loren Patrick
Val Paul
Maurice Pivar
Charles Previn
Charles R. Rogers
Homer G. Tasker
Vera West
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The pre-release title was Murder on the Mississippi. According to a news item in Hollywood Reporter, a crew headed by Arthur Lubin, that included actor James Dunn, among others, spent two weeks filming on location in New Orleans, LA.
