Walk A Crooked Mile - They Get Their Man!
O’Hara and Grayson accuse Dr. Neva, whose laundry had contained the handkerchief carrying a secret formula, of treason. She vehemently denies any knowledge of passing on secrets, admitting only of being in love with fellow top scientist Dr. von Stolb.
When von Stolb is discovered dead in his quarters of an apparent suicide by poison it didn’t take them long to work out that he had in fact been murdered. Now they wondered if perhaps somebody else might have been responsible for both the leaks and the murder.
They recheck their video of the scientist’s meeting looking for clues that might implicate one of the other attendees: director Townsend, Dr. Forrest and Dr. Allen. Once again they see nothing suspicious but later O’Hara has an ‘Aha!’ moment, recalling that Dr. Allen, on the right, had pressed the palm of his hand on the paper containing the formula that had been smuggled out.
They and the local police follow Allen to a remote house where he rendezvous with the members of the spy ring. A furious gun battle ends up with Braun, Krebs and the other spies dead and Allen in custody.
Denying everything, Allen insisted he had been kidnapped by the spies …
… but was caught in a lie when O’Hara grabs his hand and wets it with a solution that reveals the formula, still there. They finally got their man!
Then … the movie fades to black as our intrepid G-men exit an elevator and stride purposefully away as the narrator intones the stern reminder that “… those who walk the crooked miles are followed by such men as Grayson and O’Hara”. The ‘Tower Express’ signs on the elevators suggest this was filmed in Los Angeles’ classic City Hall, whose landmark art deco tower has a public viewing gallery on the 27th floor.
… and Now, indeed it was; our two heroes above are striding across the building’s 3rd floor byzantine rotunda. The 10 marble columns bordering the rotunda each have their own distinctive and colorful patterns, all of them different. In the recent matching photo, below, visitors walk past the elevators towards the rotunda, approaching the same set of columns.
… and Now, and here’s a reverse view of those columns looking back from the rotunda.
Los Angeles City Hall opened in 1928. Its architecture is a blend of styles, with an Art Deco tower and an entrance announced by elegant columned arches. It has been a popular location site for moviemakers over the years, a fitting place for the final scene of this San Francisco/Southern California based movie.