Lucybespro
It is a performances centric movie
Aiden Melton
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
Frances Chung
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
dougdoepke
As expected from Monogram, the sets are cheap, the comedy broad, and the acting erratic. Still, the premise is engaging. That is, how can deaf-mute Harrison (Hamilton) manage to be in two places at once. If we're to believe our eyes, he's emceeing big public events in one part of town, while in another part, he's wringing people's necks. Pretty good trick. So the movie's more a howsitdun than a whodunit.Hamilton's excellent in the pivotal role. Looks like he's been doing sign language for years. Plus there's that unblinking stare, while we wonder what's behind it. Happily, Woodbury (Barbara) injects needed spark as a girl Friday, while Moreland enlivens with his bug-eyed comedic bit. Too bad he soon disappears (as another reviewer points out). Now, if casting had kept Moreland and dumped the unfunny cop Hymer, things would have improved—but then Moreland probably had to get over to the Charlie Chan set. And who is Dick Purcell, the supposed leading man. I kept looking for him, but he's so recessive, he's hard to spot. I guess all the good B-leading men were away at war, but then neither the script nor director Beaudine throws much Purcell's way.Anyway, despite the drawbacks, there's enough suspense-- especially around the piano-- to keep up interest and maybe even reaffirm the laws of physics.
bkoganbing
This independent B film which had a few familiar faces in the cast had some interesting elements, but in the end doesn't quite make it. John Hamilton known better to early television fans as Perry White in the Superman series is a well known philanthropist who is seen at the scene of several murders of other people in the financial field. But he's got a nice alibi. Every time one of those murders takes place Hamilton is also seen at some public event.Nevertheless and I think rather stupidly ace prosecutor Dick Purcell proceeds with an indictment against him with only janitor Mantan Moreland as a witness to Hamilton at the scene of a murder. No way in real life or on Law And Order would Purcell take such a flimsy case to trial.But even when he loses Purcell continues on with the investigation even with his girlfriend, reporter Joan Woodbury giving him the horse laugh.This film had some potential to be better than it was. But there were too many loose ends in the plot and bizarre behavior by some of the characters in the story line of Phantom Killer.However Mantan Moreland on the witness stand is hilarious. Would that the rest of Phantom Killer was as good.
David (Handlinghandel)
This is not great film art. However, I found it fun. It does its job: It is breezy at times. It has romantic elements between Joan Woodbury and Dick Purcell. And it is frightening: The central concept, that a man who can neither hear nor speak and is never at the scene of the crime is a ruthless killer, has a nightmarish quality.Ms. Woodbury gets several costume changes. They aren't always logical. She plays an ambitious newspaper reporter. In one sequence, we find her interviewing a central character while wearing an evening gown! (Yes, it's in the daytime.) Discovering films from Monogram is generally fun. Sometimes they don't pan out. This one, whether or not it is a remake of "The Sphinx," does. It held my attention without fail.
bobbloom
A fun movie, but not as good as the original, The Sphinx, from 1933. John Hamilton cannot hold a candle to Lionel Atwill. The Phantom Killer's major asset is the supporting boost from the wonderful Mantan Moreland. For an interesting evening, run The Sphinx and The Phantom Killer back-to-back.
