Secrets of the Underground
Cast & Crew
William Morgan
John Hubbard
Virginia Grey
Lloyd Corrigan
Robin Raymond
Miles Mander
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
French artist Paul Panois is being held captive in America by a gang of Nazi sympathizers who are forcing him to create counterfeit U.S. war tax stamps. When Panois learns that his daughter Marianne, whom the group was holding hostage in Paris, has escaped on an ocean liner bound for America, he also escapes and notifies the district attorney's office that he will give them valuable information if they ensure his daughter's safety. District Attorney Winton sends his assistant, P. Cadwallader Jones, who is known as Jonesy, to meet Marianne when her boat lands. Panois has sent Marianne a claim check for a trunk containing the counterfeiting plates, but when Jonesy and Marianne try to claim it, they discover that the station attendant, Oscar Mayberry, has sent it to be auctioned by the Women's Defense Corps because it was not claimed within thirty days. Jonesy and Marianne attend the auction, but upon opening the trunk, discover Panois' body instead of the plates. Jonesy's problems are complicated by his reporter girl friend, Terry Parker, who is not only jealous of his attentions to Marianne but upset because he did not give her the scoop on the Panois murder. Jonesy, who is promoted to district attorney after Winton joins the FBI, tries to keep Oscar away from Terry so that she does not reveal his identity, as Oscar can identify Joe Martin, one of the gang. His efforts fail, however, and Terry's snooping inadvertantly leads Joe to Oscar, who is then killed. Terry suspects Mrs. Perkins, the leader of the Women's Defense Corps, of being involved in the gang, and while she questions her, she is shot at by Maxie Schmidt, another member of the gang. Maxie is killed by Dave Cleary, one of Jonesy's investigators, and is implicated in Panois' death. Suspicious now of couturier Maurice Vaughn, who is friends with Mrs. Perkins, Terry gets Marianne a job in his shop to spy on him. Marianne recognizes Joe from Oscar's description of him and realizes that Vaughn is the secret leader of the gang. Vaughn knocks her out, and after wrapping her in bandages, puts her in the display window until he can take her away after the shop closes. When Terry comes by to see Marianne, she takes a picture of the window, and after Marianne is declared missing, Terry recognizes her in the picture despite the bandages obscuring her face. With the aid of Mrs. Perkins and her corps, Terry traces Vaughn to the dairy where Panois was being held, and where Marianne is now held. Terry is captured by Vaughn, who explains that counterfeiting the war stamps is part of a campaign to disillusion Americans and make them mistrust their government. A series of clues leads Jonesy to the dairy, and while he and Joe fight, the women round up the rest of the gang. Jonesy frees Terry and Marianne before they are crushed by a load of grain in a silo, then reconciles with Terry on the ride back to town.
Director
William Morgan
Cast
John Hubbard
Virginia Grey
Lloyd Corrigan
Robin Raymond
Miles Mander
Olin Howlin
Ben Welden
Marla Shelton
Ken Christy
Dick Rich
Neil Hamilton
Pierre Watkin
Eula Morgan
George Sherwood
Herbert Vigran
Nora Lane
Charles Williams
Bobby Stone
Francis Sayles
Roy Gordon
Connie Evans
George Chandler
Eddie Kane
Joey Ray
Max Wagner
Pauline Drake
Eddy Chandler
Ben Taggart
Crew
Leonard Fields
Philip Ford
Geoffrey Homes
Geoffrey Homes
Russell Kimball
Ernest Miller
Adele Palmer
Arthur Roberts
Walter Scharf
Otto Siegel
Robert Tasker
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were Mr. District Attorney, Mr. District Attorney Does His Bit and The Corpse Came C.O.D. An July 8, 1942 Hollywood Reporter news item noted that Grant Garrett was working on the film's screenplay, but the extent of his contribution to the completed film has not been confirmed. The picture was originally intended to be part of Republic's "Mr. District Attorney" series, based on the Phillips H. Lord radio series of the same name, of which only two films were completed. The studio "official billing sheet," located in the file on the film in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, originally stated that the picture was based on the Phillips H. Lord radio program, "Mr. District Attorney." Attached to the sheet was a letter from the studio to the PCA notifying them that the credit was not going to be included in the released film. For additional information about films based on the radio series, please consult the Series Index and see the entry above for Mr. District Attorney (1941).
