SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

bensonmum2 Plot summary from IMDb: "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 and prove that the fatal shot was fired by the killer from across the street." While I agree with most of this, the gun wasn't "accidentally hidden". It was placed there on purpose so Susan would be charged with murder.The Hat Box Mystery is a fun, little, noir-ish mystery. When I say little, it runs only 44 minutes and the first three or four minutes are taken up introducing, not just the characters, but the actual actors. This is strictly a low-budget B-quickie, but The Hat Box Mystery overcomes some of its budget limitations (static camera, stage-bound sets, uninspired lighting), and delivers a reasonably entertaining story. Tom Neal and Pamela Blake give very nice performances. Allen Jenkins and Virginia Sale provide the comic relief that, unfortunately, misses more than it hits. The supporting cast is adequate. The movie flows fairly nicely, only interrupted by one of Jenkins' gags. Overall, not a bad way to spend 3/4 of an hour.

dbborroughs With her boss away on much needed business Susan Blake agrees to take a photo of a cheating wife for an new client using a camera in a hat box. Unfortunately for Susan the camera is really a gun and she is being used to kill woman "in the photo".Short and breezy this movie would be completely forgettable were it not for the means of the murder. Its not that its bad as such, its more that the plotting is so tight that it really has nowhere to go. I'd really like to explain a couple of the non twists but that would reveal pretty much everything there is about the meager story. While it makes for an enjoyable 43 minutes, you do wish that there was more meat on this hamburger of a movie. The cast which includes Tom Neal and Allen Jenkins is game and sells it for more than its worth. The script, though unremarkable plotted, does have some funny lines such as when the first "client" in a long spell finally walks through the door.Recommended as part of a night of multiple features and not a stand alone movie.

vandino1 Obviously this was a programmer made to fill out a double bill in theatres. Robert Lippert, the producer, made a career of it. The film itself features the capable Tom Neal and Allen Jenkins in an otherwise no-name cast. It's a flat-footed mystery with Neal in charge of his low-rent yet financially strapped detective agency (is there EVER a movie featuring a detective agency that actually makes money?) He gets a job investigating a caper that involves killing someone with, yes you guessed it, a hat box (tricked-out with a gun inside). It's such a short film at 44 minutes that it barely qualifies as a feature and, if made a few years later, would have been an episode of a TV mystery show most likely. Aside from an opening gag involving an out-of-work phone that is funny, the only thing of note is the prologue wherein the actors introduce themselves and the characters they are about to play. An odd thing and possibly the only time it's been done on film (there has been end-of-film bits where the actors bow or are presented by a voice over, but I don't know of another where actors come out at the start to announce themselves).

sbibb1 Pamela Blake and her boyfriend Tom Neal run a detective agency that has been in some financial trouble. When Tom Neal gets an assignment out of town a well dressed fellow approaches Pamela Blake to ask her to get photos of his cheating wife for a divorce. The camera is to be hidden in a hat box. When Pamela goes to snap the photo of the cheating wife it is not a camera she is pulling the trigger on, but a gun that has been rigged inside the box. Pamela is arrested and it is up to her boyfriend Tom Neal and others to clear her name.This is a strict and tight programmer film, running just under 45 minutes. The movie in the public domain and can be found on many VHS and DVD versions put out by various companies.The opening of the movie is also interesting. The 4 main stars all introduce themselves and the characters they play before the opening credits begin.