Kid Glove Killer (1942)
Fresh off his (Supporting Actor Academy Award winning) performance in Johnny Eager (1942), Van Heflin was given the leading role in director Fred Zinneman's feature film debut; Zinnemann had been directing short films for MGM since 1938. It's a crime drama mystery written by John Higgins, who had help on the screenplay from Allen Rivkin. Heflin plays a police lab sleuth that solves cases by examining the forensic evidence left at the scene of the crime, which later became a popular theme of television shows that continues today. Marsha Hunt plays Heflin's pretty young assistant, who's really just looking for a husband (unlike today's shows), like her preoccupied boss. She also gets rather involved with a friend of Heflin's played by Lee Bowman, whose anti-crime radio programs helped Samuel Hinds become the city's Mayor. But when Hinds discovers something about his right hand man, who's ironically connected to a racketeer played by John Litel, Bowman has to bump off the mayor. Heflin’s investigation of that crime is hindered by his and Hunt's relationship with Bowman; she inadvertently tips off the killer about what clues her boss is working on, enabling him to clear himself and focus the inquiry on a small diner owner (Eddie Quillan) who's himself a victim of racketeering. Cliff Clark plays the police captain that puts pressure on Heflin to solve the case. An eight year old Robert Blake and Ava Gardner, as a car hop, reportedly appear uncredited.
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