The body of policeman Dan Grady has been pulled out of San Francisco Bay and his friend Captain Street (Grant Withers) is overwhelmed by the loss. He asks his girlfriend, journalist Bobbie Logan (Marjorie Reynolds), and James Lee Wong (Boris Karloff) to solve the mystery.
It turns out that Dan was investigating some smugglers of precious gems, which puts jeweler Frank Belden (Hooper Atchley), smuggler Harry Lockett (Frank Puglia) and Tanya Serova (Lita Chevret) into the role of suspects, but before long, everyone gets rubbed out and only Serova's boyfriend - and Frank's son - Frank Jr. (Craig Reynolds) is the last one standing and perhaps the real killer. Or maybe not, if Wong's suspicions are correct.
The radio in this movie was a Philco Mystery Control and yes, there was a remote control radio in 1940. The rotary dial could pick one of eight preset stations, turn the volume up or down and turn the radio off. It couldn't turn it on, though. It cost $159.50, which today would be $3,465.
It turns out that Dan was investigating some smugglers of precious gems, which puts jeweler Frank Belden (Hooper Atchley), smuggler Harry Lockett (Frank Puglia) and Tanya Serova (Lita Chevret) into the role of suspects, but before long, everyone gets rubbed out and only Serova's boyfriend - and Frank's son - Frank Jr. (Craig Reynolds) is the last one standing and perhaps the real killer. Or maybe not, if Wong's suspicions are correct.
The radio in this movie was a Philco Mystery Control and yes, there was a remote control radio in 1940. The rotary dial could pick one of eight preset stations, turn the volume up or down and turn the radio off. It couldn't turn it on, though. It cost $159.50, which today would be $3,465.