Paul Raden (Albert Dekker), hopelessly insane son of Maxim Raden, hated owner of the Radentown mills, is in a strait jacket in a secret room in the family mansion, while the body of his father is lowered into a grave. Twenty-five years earlier, the brutal father had hurled Paul against a wall when the young boy had tried to defend his mother and, with his brain injured forever, Paul's last memory, before descending into the shadows on insanity, was his mother's agonized scream. At the grave side are Dr. Ben Saunders (Harry Carey), Paul's twin brother John (Albert Dekker) and John's wife Elaine (Frances Farmer.) Pompey (Ernest Whitman), the family servant who has cared for and guarded Paul and kept the family secret for a quarter of a century,watches from afar. That night Dr. Saunders tells John that his twin, who he thought dead, is alive as the father, refusing to commit him to an institution, had bribed the doctor to sign a false death certificate and then bury another child's body as Paul. John and the doctor visit Radenhouse and find Pompey strangled and Paul vanished. While they search frantically for Paul, the latter revels in his freedom and falls in love with the first girl he meets, Milly Pickens (Susan Hayward), an unemployed mill worker. He wanders into a honky-tonk filled with dancing jitterbugs (Patti Lacey, Roy Lester, Ray Hirsch and Jane Allen), where a pretty blonde, Peggy Nolan (Jean Phillips), flirts with him. Her body is found the next morning near the closed-down Raden Mills. Terrorized by the second murder and the thought that a homicidal maniac is on the loose, the town goes mad with fear and greed when Dr. Saunders tricks John into offering a $5,000 reward for the killer. Milly purchases a revolver and persuades Paul, whose demented mind has forgotten the murders, to accompany her to Radenhouse on her hunch that the murderer is hiding there.-L.Adams
Director:Stuart Heisler
Writers:Lester Cole (screenplay)
Lester Cole (story)
Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification
Albert Dekker ... John Raden / Paul Raden
Susan Hayward ... Millie Pickens
Harry Carey ... Doctor Ben Saunders
Frances Farmer ... Elaine Raden
Gordon Jones ... Bill Oakley
Jean Phillips ... Peggy Nolan
Ernest Whitman ... Pompey
Maude Eburne ... Mrs. Pickens
Len Hendry ... Clerk
Frank M. Thomas ... Sheriff
Harlan Briggs ... Judge
Archie Twitchell ... Tom Reilly
Dorothy Sebastian ... Woman in Cafe
William Stack ... Minister
Ella Neal ... 1st Mill Girl
Catherine Craig ... 2nd Mill Girl
George Turner ... Mill Worker
Harry Tenbrook ... Mill Worker
Patti Lacey ... Jitterbug Dancer
Roy Lester ... Jitterbug Dancer
Ray Hirsch ... Jitterbug Dancer
Jane Allen ... Jitterbug Dancer
Delmar Watson ... Newsboy
Eddy Chandler ... Motorcycle Cop
Richard Webb ... Hotel clerk
Mimi Doyle ... Telephone Operator
John Kellogg ... Reporter
Blanche Payson ... Woman at Trial
Ethan Laidlaw ... Guard
Chuck Hamilton ... Guard (as Charles Hamilton)
Frank Hagney ... Neighbor (as Frank S. Hagney)
Lane Chandler ... Neighbor
Lee Shumway ... Scissors Grinder
Clarence Muse ... Waiter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rod Cameron ... Eddie, Man in Cafe (uncredited)
Jack Curtis ... Bit Part (uncredited)
Abe Dinovitch ... Bit Part (uncredited)
Jim Farley ... Bit Part (uncredited)
Christian J. Frank ... Bit Part (uncredited)
Kit Guard ... Mill worker (uncredited)
James Millican ... Townsman (uncredited)
Keith Richards ... Man #2 (uncredited)
Bess Wade ... Bit Part (uncredited)
Jack Watson ... Bit Part (uncredited)
Runtime:67 min
Country:USA
Language:English
Color:Black and White
Aspect Ratio:1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording) | Mono
Certification:Finland:(Banned) (1943) | Sweden:(Banned) (1942)
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