The Perfect Clue
Cast & Crew
Robert G. Vignola
David Manners
"skeets" Gallagher
Dorothy Libaire
Betty Blythe
William P. Carleton
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When wealthy Jerome Stewart announces his engagement to Ursula Chesebrough, his spoiled daughter Mona demands that he end the relationship. Stewart refuses to give in to her whims, and so Mona decides to depart on a madcap elopement with her long-time suitor, Ronnie Van Zandt. On the train ride, however, Mona realizes that it would not be fair to marry Ronnie when she does not love him, and she abandons him by leaving the train at a small whistle-stop. It is late at night, and she tries to find someone to drive her to Albany, the nearest town. Mona abruptly enlists David Mannering, who robs her and leaves her at the side of the road. Having a change of heart, David returns, only to find her with a sprained ankle and a fiery temper. The car gets stuck in a ditch, and the next morning, while it is being towed, David reveals to Mona that he was unjustly sent to prison when he took the rap for an embezzling friend with a family to support. Touched by David's self-sacrifice and reluctant to return to her father, Mona hires him to drive her around until her ankle heals. As the days pass, a romance develops between the mismatched pair, while Stewart and Ronnie begin searching for Mona. David eventually realizes that Mona is exaggerating her disability in order to remain with him, and after berating her for using him as a new thrill, he takes her to Albany. There he makes an appointment to see crime boss Delaney, for he believes that as an ex-convict his only option is to become a real criminal. Before David sees Delaney, however, Delaney is visited by Sid Barkley and Butch Carter, who took the fall for him on a previous caper. Barkley and Carter kill Delaney when he refuses to compensate them for their jail time, and after they leave, David finds Delaney, who murmurs something about a pin before dying. David panics and flees, but is caught with Mona, and both are arrested. Stewart and Ronnie find Mona and bail her out, but Stewart refuses to help David. Believing that David is innocent, Mona secures Ronnie's assistance, and the pair go to Delaney's bowling alley to search his office for the clue about the pin. They discover Barkley and Carter already searching the office, then call Detective Simms for help. The criminals hold Mona and Ronnie hostage, but the police rescue them. Mona then looks in a trick bowling pin on Delaney's desk and finds an extortion letter from Barkley and Carter, which is the perfect evidence to convict them and free David. After David is released, he bashfully thanks Mona and runs off. Stewart is finally convinced of David's upstanding character and sends his daughter, now a much nicer person herself, after him. Mona beats David to the car, and after his initial exasperation, David tells an inquiring police officer that they are going on their honeymoon.
Director
Robert G. Vignola
Cast
David Manners
"skeets" Gallagher
Dorothy Libaire
Betty Blythe
William P. Carleton
Ralf Harolde
Ernie Adams
Robert Gleckler
Frank Darien
Charles C. Wilson
Jack Richardson
Pat O'malley
Crew
Donald H. Brown
James S. Brown Jr.
Dwight Caldwell
Ralph Ceder
Larry Darmour
Albert De Mond
Frank Dexter
J. A. Duffy
Herbert Kirkpatrick
Thomas Lambert
Lolita Ann Westman
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The title of Lolita Ann Westman's original story was "Lawless Honeymoon." According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, Ray Walker was originally cast as "Ronnie Van Zandt," but because he was still involved with Paramount's One Hour Late he was replaced by "Skeets" Gallagher two days before shooting began.
