The Hat Box Mystery

The Hat Box Mystery

The Hat Box Mystery

Share

The Hat Box Mystery

"Like-a-Jack-in-the-Box----Murder jumped out and claimed its Victim!"

1947

0h 44m

4.5(6 votes)

Crime

Comedy

Mystery

Overview

Susan Hart, assistant to private detective Russ Ashton, is given a camera concealed in a hat box and assigned to take a picture of a woman. A gun is accidentally hidden in the box and the woman is killed. Susan is charged with murder, but Russ and his less-than-useful associate, Harvard, get on the case.

Links & Resources

Social & External

Production Companies

The people behind it

Cast & crew

10 featured cast members

Starring

Tom Neal

Tom Neal

Russ Ashton

Pamela Blake

Pamela Blake

Susan Hart

Allen Jenkins

Allen Jenkins

'Harvard'

Virginia Sale

Virginia Sale

Veronica Hoopler

Leonard Penn

Leonard Penn

Stevens, aka John Moreland

Olga Andre

Marie Moreland

Tom Kennedy

Tom Kennedy

Policeman Murphy

Al Hill

Al Hill

Flint

Edward Keane

Edward Keane

District Attorney

Zon Murray

Zon Murray

Joe

Creative team

Directed by: Lambert Hillyer
Written by: Don Martin
Carl K. Hittleman

Similar Movies

The Girl with the Golden Chain

The Girl with the Golden Chain

A wistful PI reflects on the case of Alice Draper, a young starlet whose death he failed to solve.

Dark Corner

Dark Corner

John is chased by a killer, without knowing who will end up winning.

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly

One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he hears Christina being tortured until she dies. Hammer, both for vengeance and in hopes that "something big" is behind it all, decides to pursue the case.

Love in the Afternoon

Love in the Afternoon

A middle-aged playboy becomes fascinated by the daughter of a private detective who has been hired to entrap him with a client's wife.

Silver City

Silver City

The discovery of a corpse and the ensuing probe by an idealistic journalist threatens to unravel a bumbling local politician's campaign for governor of Colorado.

Samrat & Co.

Samrat & Co.

A young, beautiful and rich girl, Dimpy Singh, approaches Samrat Tilakdhari, a private investigator, with a strange case. Their garden got ruined for reasons that appear natural but are not known; leading horticulturists have examined the fading plants but they have not been able to identify the probable reason. Further, her father's favorite horse died; once again the reason for the pre-mature death remains a mystery. That's not the end; Dimpy's father Mahendra Pratap Singh, otherwise a very strong and balanced man, has been experiencing deteriorating health. All these aspects when combined makes the case sound weird and that grabs the attention of Samrat. Samrat along with his assistant friend, Chakradhar Pandey, visits the huge estate of Mahendra Pratap Singh. As he starts investigating, he discovers lots of mysterious facts.

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

To the Los Angeles elite, Ford Fairlane is known as "Mr. Rock 'n' Roll Detective." This loudmouthed ladies' man serves an exclusive rock star clientele, who depend on his keen eye and smug discretion. So when a heavy-metal musician dies mid-concert, Fairlane is on the case before the lights come up. But things turn shocking when radio personality Johnny Crunch hires Fairlane to find a missing groupie mere hours before he is electrocuted live on air.

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are 'The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta'.

Film Noir

Film Noir

Private detective Sam Ruben's clever plan falls apart with the onset of amnesia. Everyone is trying to kill him and he doesn't know why. The classic film noir milieu now comes to you in the form of an animated feature.

This Girl for Hire

This Girl for Hire

In this pilot for a proposed TV series, B.T. Brady is a flippant, but somewhat klutzy female private detective in Hollywood who sets out to solve the murder of a obnoxious mystery writer. Along the way, Brady gets help from her flamboyant mother Zandra, a washed-up actress, as well as Brady's live-in boyfriend Wolfe who runs a memorabilia shop.

Greedy

Greedy

Meet the McTeagues. They've come to stake a claim in their wealthy uncle's will… only he's not dead yet!

After the Thin Man

After the Thin Man

Nick and Nora Charles investigate when Nora's cousin reports her disreputable husband is missing, and find themselves in a mystery involving the shady owners of a popular nightclub, a singer and her dark brother, the cousin's forsaken true love, and Nora's bombastic and controlling aunt.

Herbie Goes Bananas

Herbie Goes Bananas

The adorable little VW helps its owners break up a counterfeiting ring in Mexico.

Nudity For Sale

Nudity For Sale

Shortly after the Velvet Revolution, everyone becomes an entrepreneur. The fields of business vary. Whether they are legal forms or, on the contrary, organized crime. Young student Nancy arrives in Prague for an internship. She has Czech roots, which is why she chose Prague. Together with journalist Egon and former police officer, now private detective Poldou, they search for a kidnapped 16-year-old girl. Her father is desperate, and even the police are unable to help him. Their search leads them to a Roma gang of prostitution and pornography traffickers who will stop at nothing.

Blonde for a Day

Blonde for a Day

Newspaper reporter Tim Rourke keeps writing articles that attack the police department for its failure to solve a chain of murders, which nearly leads to the reporter's death. He calls in private detective Michael Shayne, who turns up a blonde and a blackmailer.

Armed and Dangerous

Armed and Dangerous

After policeman Frank Dooley is framed for theft and loses his job on the force, he joins a security guard agency and teams up with inept former defense lawyer Norman Kane. When the two botch a job guarding a local warehouse, they begin to uncover corruption within the company and their union.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

He's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The Ace is on the case to find the Miami Dolphins' missing mascot and quarterback Dan Marino. He goes eyeball to eyeball with a man-eating shark, stakes out the Miami Dolphins and woos and wows the ladies. Whether he's undercover, under fire or underwater, he always gets his man… or beast!

Could This Be Love?

Could This Be Love?

Lucas, a wealthy, 43 year-old divorced businessman, is irresistibly attracted to Elsa, a 38 year old renowned sculptor from whom he has commissioned a piece to decorate the reception at his office.

Shattered

Shattered

Dan Merrick comes out from a shattering car accident with amnesia. He finds that he is married to Judith who is trying to help him start his life again. He keeps getting flashbacks about events and places that he can't remember. He meets pet shop owner and part time private detective Gus Klein who has supposedly done some work for him prior to the accident. Klein helps Merrick to find out more...

The Thin Man

The Thin Man

A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.

Recommended Movies

A Shot in the Dark

A Shot in the Dark

Inspector Jacques Clouseau, smitten with the accused maid Maria Gambrelli, unwittingly turns a straightforward murder investigation into a comedic series of mishaps, testing the patience of his irritable boss Charles Dreyfus as casualties mount.

The Cheap Detective

The Cheap Detective

A spoof of the entire 1940s detective genre. San Francisco private detective, Lou Pekinpaugh is accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress—his partner's wife.

Absolution

Absolution

An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.

Who's Harry Crumb?

Who's Harry Crumb?

Harry Crumb is a bumbling and inept private investigator who is hired to solve the kidnapping of a young heiress which he's not expected to solve because his employer is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.

The Mirror Crack'd

The Mirror Crack'd

Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.

Zero Effect

Zero Effect

Daryl Zero is a private investigator and—along with his assistant, Steve Arlo—he solves impossible crimes and puzzles. Although Daryl's a master investigator, he doesn't know what to do with himself when he's not working; he has no social skills, writes bad music and drives Steve crazy.

Ca$h

Ca$h

A stroke of good luck turns lethal for Sam Phelan and his wife Leslie when they are faced with a life-changing decision that brings strange and sinister Pyke Kubic to their doorstep. As Pyke leads Sam and Leslie on a tumultuous adventure through the streets of Chicago, each are pulled deeper and deeper into a desperate spiral of deception and violence – all in the name of money.

Cleaner

Cleaner

Single father and former cop Tom Cutler has an unusual occupation: he cleans up death scenes. But when he's called in to sterilize a wealthy suburban residence after a brutal shooting, Cutler is shocked to learn he may have unknowingly erased crucial evidence, entangling himself in a dirty criminal cover-up.

The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club

A group of senior sleuths passionate about solving cold cases get plunged into a real-life murder mystery in this comic crime caper.

Legal Eagles

Legal Eagles

District Attorney Tom Logan is set for higher office, at least until he becomes involved with defence lawyer Laura Kelly and her unpredictable client Chelsea Deardon. It seems the least of Chelsea's crimes is the theft of a very valuable painting, but as the women persuade Logan to investigate further and to cut some official corners, a much more sinister scenario starts to emerge.

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

To the Los Angeles elite, Ford Fairlane is known as "Mr. Rock 'n' Roll Detective." This loudmouthed ladies' man serves an exclusive rock star clientele, who depend on his keen eye and smug discretion. So when a heavy-metal musician dies mid-concert, Fairlane is on the case before the lights come up. But things turn shocking when radio personality Johnny Crunch hires Fairlane to find a missing groupie mere hours before he is electrocuted live on air.

The Thin Man

The Thin Man

A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.

Knives Out

Knives Out

When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.

Righteous Kill

Righteous Kill

Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?

The Pink Panther Strikes Again

The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Charles Dreyfus, who has finally cracked over inspector Clouseau's antics, escapes from a mental institution and launches an elaborate plan to get rid of Clouseau once and for all.

Desert Dawn

Desert Dawn

A newly appointed small-town sheriff and his begrudging deputy get tangled up in a web of lies and corruption involving shady businessmen and the cartel while investigating the murder of a mysterious woman.

Greedy People

Greedy People

The eclectic residents of a small, picturesque island town must navigate a sensational murder and the discovery of a million dollars, leading to a series of increasingly bad decisions which upend the once-peaceful community.

Wrong Cops

Wrong Cops

A group of bad cops look to dispose of a body that one of them accidentally shot.

L.A. Confidential

L.A. Confidential

Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

Miss Marple: 4.50 from Paddington

Miss Marple: 4.50 from Paddington

Travelling on the 4.50 from Paddington, Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a murder on a passing train - but where is the body?