Footsteps in the Dark

1941
Approved
1h 36m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

1.5K

YOUR RATING

Errol Flynn and Brenda Marshall in Footsteps in the Dark (1941)

A respected investment advisor has a double life as a mystery writer and becomes involved in the real murder of a shady client.

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Screwball Comedy Comedy Crime Mystery

A respected investment advisor has a double life as a mystery writer and becomes involved in the real murder of a shady client.A respected investment advisor has a double life as a mystery writer and becomes involved in the real murder of a shady client.A respected investment advisor has a double life as a mystery writer and becomes involved in the real murder of a shady client.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

1.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Warner Bros. had plans for a sequel to this film and a possible series (along the likes of MGM's very successful The Thin Man (1934) pictures) in mind. However, with the lukewarm reception this film received, those plans were abandoned.

Goofs
On the label for the Novocain at the dentist's office, epinephrine is misspelled 'epinephin'.

Quotes
Leopold Fissue: [after Warren has turned down Fissue's proposal of laundering money on stolen diamonds] Nothing is impossible, Mr. Warren, if the necessity of doing it is great enough.
Francis Monroe Warren II: Aren't you being a little presumptious?
Leopold Fissue: Not at all. I'm merely suggesting that you're going to take my account and help me.
Francis Monroe Warren II: Why am I?
Leopold Fissue: Because, Mr. Warren, men like ourselves whose lives are... well... how should I say... uh, rather... complicated don't dare offend anyone, do they?

Connections
References The Maltese Falcon (1931)

Soundtracks
Love Me
(uncredited)
Music by M.K. Jerome
Lyrics by Jack Scholl
Sung by Lee Patrick and chorus at the burlesque theater

User reviews34

Review

Featured review

8/10

When You're Cover Is Blown

Footsteps in the Dark is the title of a mystery novel that investment banker Errol Flynn wrote under a pseudonym that has become a best seller. Unfortunately he used as characters some of his wife Brenda Marshall and mother-in-law Lucille Watson's society friends and they'd like to sue the author if they can find him.

Errol while trying to see they don't find out what his double life is gets himself involved in another murder of Noel Madison who wanted Flynn to essentially launder the money from some stolen jewels in his banker self.

Flynn spends over 90 minutes struggling to keep his identities secret from those who know him in one guise or the other and solve the mystery at the same time. The only two who know about his masquerade are his chauffeur Allen Jenkins and his lawyer Grant Mitchell.

Flynn had a very good gift for comedy, he had already done The Perfect Specimen and Four's A Crowd and had gotten good reviews. Footsteps in the Dark was an effort by Warner Brothers to cash in on the popularity and success MGM was enjoying with The Thin Man series. Flynn and Marshall were good together though there was no further sequels.

Best in the film by far is William Frawley as one truly dumb detective that even his superior Alan Hale is frustrated with. Flynn bounces some great lines off Frawley.

It's a different Errol Flynn than normal and not a bad one.