This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 Republic film The Last Crooked Mile, with Donald Barry, Ann Savage, Adele Mara, Tom Powers, Sheldon Leonard, Nestor Paiva, Harry Shannon, Ben Welden, John Miljan, Charles D. Brown, John Dehner and Anthony Caruso.
Screenplay by Jerry Sackheim.
Additional dialogue by Jerry Gruskin.
Based on a radio play by Robert L. Richards.
Photography by Alfred Keller.
Musical direction by Morton Scott.
Musical score by Joseph Dubin.
Edited by William P. Thompson.
Sound by Victor Appel.
Art direction by Frank Hotaling.
Costume supervision by Adele Palmer.
Set decorations by John McCarthy Jr. and George Milo.
Special effects by Howard and Theodore Lydecker.
Makeup by Bob Mark.
Associate producer Rudolph E. Abel.
Directed by Philip Ford.
Further information on The Last Crooked Mile is available from the AFI Catalog.
The Last Crooked Mile is available on streaming from Amazon.
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I found The Last Crooked Mile by going through the AFI Catalog and I decided it was time to let Sheldon Leonard out of Mystery Movie Jail, where he has been since 2021 after being featured in The Falcon in Hollywood, Somewhere in the Night and Lucky Jordan. As a plus, there are a few shots of Ocean Park amusement park, remodeled and expanded as Pacific Ocean Park in 1958. Although the film was shot on a sound stage, footage of the park’s High Boy roller coaster is featured in several process shots.
For Monday, we have a mysterious piano player and Back of the Head Guy. Another mysterious guest has been cropped out due to insufficient mysteriousness and will appear later in the week.
For Friday, we add our mysterious chanteuse.
Update: This is the pianist of the Seven Pods of Pepper, Donald Barry as Back of the Head Guy, and Ann Savage.
Several people identified him as Fred Washington, however, that’s clearly a different musician, based on comparison with a 1944 photo of Washington, center, Bud Scott, left, and Kid Ory, courtesy of SyncopatedTimes.com.
For “Tricky Tuesday,” we have another mystery movie set at an amusement park! (And Back of the Head Guy).
Update: This is Donald Barry as Back of the Head Guy, with the Crime Museum!
For “Hm Wednesday,” we have two disreputable mystery movie guests.
Update: This is Ben Welden, left, and Sheldon Leonard.
Brain Trust roll call: Sarah (mystery movie, mysterious piano player and Back of the Head Guy) and Sylvia (mysterious movie, mystery actress cut out due to lack of mysteriousness, and Back of the Head Guy).
For “Aha Thursday,” we have a mysterious amusement park. And although this is most likely a process shot, it appears to be based on an actual Southern California park. This mysterious park is also featured in process shots of the roller coaster.
Update: This is a process shot done on a sound stage with a fanciful interpretation of Ocean Park in the background.
We also have this sporty mystery gent in a pinstriped, double-breasted suit. Not bad for a guy with a broken neck.
Update: This is Tom Powers.
Here’s another mystery guest with a better shot of the mysterious sign.
Update: This is Nestor Paiva.
And finally, three mysterious ruffians.
Update: This is John Dehner, left, headed for Boot Hill; Anthony Caruso, center, getting a piece of the action, and an unidentified mysterious driver.
Brain Trust roll call: Thom and Megan (mystery movie and Wednesday’s mysterious ne’er-do-wells), Greg (mystery movie, Monday’s Back of the Head Guy and Wednesday’s mysterious hoodlums), Anne Papineau (Wednesday’s mysterious hoodlum No. 2), L.C. (mystery movie and mysterious cast), Sylvia E. (Wednesday’s mystery hooligans), Stacia (mystery movie, Monday’s mysterious pianist, Tuesday’s possible extras and Wednesday’s enigmatic mugs), Chrisbo (Wednesday’s mystery hoodlum No. 1), Funky PhD (Wednesday’s disreputable guest No. 2), Allie (mystery movie and Wednesday’s enigmatic thug No. 2), Mike Hawks (mystery movie, Back of the Head guy and Wednesday’s nefarious mystery guests) and B.J. Merholz (Wednesday’s Hooligan of Mystery No. 2).
For Friday, we have a mysterious couple. Bonus points for the mystery crime in the background of the movie’s “Crime Museum.”
Update: This is Donald Barry and Adele Mara. The Train Trunk Murder could refer to the case of trunk murderess Winnie Ruth Judd.
And another mysterious couple.
Update: This is Ann Savage and Donald Barry.
Brain Trust roll call: Sylvia (Thursday’s mysterious guests Nos. 1 and 2, mysterious gang members Nos. 1 and 2, peering into the future for Friday’s guests), Mike Hawks (Thursday’s mystery guests Nos. 1 and 2, mysterious thugs Nos. 1 and 2) and B.J. Merholz (mystery movie and Thursday’s mysterious thug No. 2).
ladailymirror.com 
The movie is “The Last Crooked Mile” (1946). BOTHG is Don ‘Red’ Berry. Singer is Adele Mara. Piano player is one of the Seven Pods of Pepper (the one who plays the plays the piano 😉).
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Actually the piano player is the pepper pod called Fred Washington.
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The Last Crooked Mile 1946
Monday – not sure on the pianist’s name. I know he accompanying the “cropped for lack of mysteriousness” women, Ann Savage. She’s singing “The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)” at the request of the BOTHG, Don “Red” Barry. One of the blogs I read described Mr Barry as “a curious mixture of Chester Morris and Don Rickles”, which made me laugh because it’s so true.
Tuesday’s image was my way in. I searched for crime museum marquee and took a guess at the completion of the gang name being advertised.
Watched the movie and the BOTHG looking up is Mr Morris again.
The opening robbery reminded me of a past mystery where the robbers were in disguise then changed outfits during the getaway. In the previous mystery the robbers dressed as women.
Nice to see Sheldon Leonard is out of Mystery jail.
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Man, I hate autocorrect sometimes. Lots of errors in my submission but I think it’s clear enough 🫤
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Our movie is The Last Crooked Mile with Ben Welden and Sheldon Leonard.
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Back of the Head guy on Monday is Don ‘Red’ Barry. The two sleazebags on Wednesday are Ben Welden and Sheldon Leonard. The movie is The Last Crooked Mile.
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Nat Pendleton and Sheldon Leonard in “Another Thin Man.”
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The Last Crooked Mile (1946) w/Don ‘Red’ Barry, Ann Savage, Sheldon Leonard, Nestor Paiva, Tom Powers, John Dehner, Adele Mara, Ben Welden, The Seven Pods of Pepper…
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Wednesday – Ben Welden and Sheldon Leonard
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Hey is that Sheldon Leonard on the right on Wednesday? I think this is THE LAST CROOKED MILE based on (a) a vague memory of having seen some of it on TCM one million years ago, and (b) a character named “Jarvis” in the movie and I can partially see the word “Jarvis” on the sign. Sheldon Leonard kind of looked the same in all of his movies and — fun fact! — was a gangster in movies with carnivals more than once.
I would guess Monday’s pianist is Freddie Washington but I can’t find many photos of him to be sure, but I do know he was pianist in The Seven Pods of Pepper who are in THE LAST CROOKED MILE. I think that’s Ben Welden with Sheldon Leonard on Wednesday. Tuesday’s extras are I think Mary Bayless, based on the fact that I’ve seen her in plenty of movies and she’s got a very Bess Flowers-like IMDb listing. The guy might be Oliver Cross who also has a similar resume!
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Ben Welden on the left?
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The disreputable man on the right is Sheldon Leonard.
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Sheldon Leonard
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Don Barry, Ben Welden and Sheldon Leonard in THE LAST CROOKED MILE.
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The Last Crooked Mile
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Sheldon Leonard
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Thursday – Tom Powers. Nestor Paiva. In the car are John Dehner, Anthony Caruso, don’t know who the driver is.
Not sure on the park. Everything I’ve checked indicates the Republic Films backlot with matte paintings, but the coaster imagery looks like an actual place to me.
Still hunting for the name of the pianist. In the movie Mr Barry and Ms Savage call him “Sam”. But I’m guessing that’s a salute to Dooley Wilson’s character in Casablanca. This young man is not Wilson – way too young.
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Guessing that Friday will bring full reveals of Mr Barry and Ms Savage. Along with Adele Mara.
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Tom Powers, John Dehner, Anthony Caruso and Nestor Paiva.
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Anthony Caruso driving down another crooked.mile
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Don Barry, Adele Mara and Ann Savage.
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Friday – There are a number of Train Trunk murder cases. But, the mannequin in the image resembles a train porter looking down at a trunk. So, I’m going to guess the display is one of two, both involving women murderers: Winnie Ruth Judd’s case or 19th century Emma LeDoux’s case. In both cases the bodies of the victims were discovered by train porters. The other cases I found the discoveries were in rooms, or basements etc.
Friday’s image 1 is Mr Barry and Adele Mara. Image 2 is Mr Barry with Ann Savage
Not a bad little picture. Fun to watch.
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Sorry – a bit late to the party. The initial piano player looks like Fats Waller…and I see Sheldon Leonard in a later photograph.
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