Brown Holmes

A wrongly convicted man serves time on a Southern chain gang.

In this early, comedic version of "The Maltese Falcon," jaded gumshoe Ted Shane (Warren William) is hired by enigmatic Valerie Purvis (Bette Davis) to find a man who spurned her. When Shane's partner and his mark both wind up murdered, the detective suspects that Valerie may be harboring some secrets. Soon, Shane has another client: Mrs. Barabbas (Alison Skipworth), a woman who's searching for a legendary jeweled ram's horn that quickly becomes sought...

After the dawn of sound and before the Production Code, Hollywood ran wild and free. Fearlessly and frankly tackling subjects and scenes that would quickly become forbidden to a generation of filmmakers, these seldom-seen pre-Code wonders are both revelatory and sin-sational. This fifth volume takes a walk on the wild side. Hard to handle: Con leads to con when the prize money for a rigged dance marathon is stolen. Ladies they talk about: "Nan Taylor,...

The first adaptation of The Maltese facon, in which detective Sam Spade searches for a rare statuette while trying to solve the murder of his partner. Satan met a lady is a lighthearted comic adaptation of the story, with William Warren as "Ted Shane" in search of a rare ram's horn, and Bette Davis as a blonde schemer.