The Phantom of 42nd Street(1945)

This had many of the makings of an intriguing little murder mystery with a good tight theatre set; an unpopular star of the stage and a menacing spectre who seemingly haunts the place... Sadly, we are delivered of a blandly written drama with a lacklustre cast treading well trodden boards to guide us gingerly through an equally drably developed story. Neither Dave O'Brien (theatre critic "Woolrich") nor Kay Aldridge (initially the prime suspect "Claudia") bring much to the screen in this. It's so very flat and unmemorable - and there is little doubt that their shenanigans will unearth the murderer. It's got a sort of end-of-the-war fatigue about it that I can't deny I ended up sharing in.