Nick Carter, Master Detective
Nick Carter, Master Detective
NR | 13 December 1939 (USA)
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Detective Nick Carter is brought in to foil spies at the Radex Airplane Factory, where a new fighter plane is under manufacture.

Reviews
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!
Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation
HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.
Scott LeBrun Nick Carter was an extremely popular character in literature, that also spawned a successful radio series that ran about a dozen years. However, the so-called master detective never had much of a film career in the U.S., as only three Nick Carter movies ever got made (and they were based on original stories). Produced by MGM, they were definitely B movies, but were enjoyable enough.This is the first in the series, with Canadian born Walter Pidgeon cast as the dapper and intelligent sleuth. Here he is called into service when industrial espionage becomes a major problem at the Radex Aircraft Company; he poses as an executive with the organization. He finds no shortage of dubious individuals, and takes the time to fall in love with lovely and appealing nurse / stewardess Lou Farnsby (Rita Johnson).An early American credit for the celebrated Jacques Tourneur ("Cat People", "Out of the Past"), this has some well executed action sequences, and impressive aerial photography. It also goes a little too heavy on the comedy relief, with Donald Meek stealing the show as Bartholomew, a bee keeper who aggressively tries to sell Carter on the value of his services. While not exceptional in any way, it *is* fun, with Pidgeon making for a likable Carter. He's ably supported by a roster of top character actors such as Henry Hull, Stanley Ridges, Addison Richards, Henry Victor, Milburn Stone, Martin Kosleck, Frank Faylen, Sterling Holloway, and Wally Maher.Followed by "Phantom Raiders" and "Sky Murder".Six out of 10.
Paularoc Based on the popular Nick Carter pulp stories, this detective B movie should have been a real winner with Walter Pidgeon as Carter and a host of excellent character actors. But instead it's only average. The movie takes place a couple of years before America entered WWII and involves a plot to steal blueprints for a new aircraft design by foreign spies from an unnamed country (duh, maybe Germany?). There is an attempt to bring humor to the film with the role of Mr. Bartholomew, the master beekeeper played by Donald Meek. While the character is occasionally amusing, he is just as often irritating. What was nice was the Rita Johnson role of the stewardess/nurse who actually helps Carter in his investigation. While this is good enough that it makes one want to see the other two entries in the Nick Carter series, it is not in the top tier of B detective movie series entries.
sol1218 ***SPOILERS*** First and best of the trio of Nick Carter Detective movies directed by film noir pioneer Jacques Tourneur of "Cat People" & "Leopard Man" fame. With the handsome NY detective Walter Pidgeon as the witty and hard hitting Nick Carter in the leading role. Sent undercover to the Radex Airplane Plant Nick as aeronautical engineer Robert Chambers is hired to find out who's sneaking out blueprints of the company's most secretive aircraft that will revolutionize the airplane industry: It can actually fly!As Nick soon finds out there's a major spy ring in operation, from the usual unnamed country, at the plant that's paying off a number of the workers there to do it's bidding by sneaking out important blue prints of this new aircraft that the nutty inventor John A. Keller,Henry Hull, has come up with. A plane that can fly circles around anything,in airplanes, that's now flying up there in the wild blue yonder. There's also pretty flight attendant and part pilot Lou Farnsby, Rita Johnson, who soon takes a shine to the handsome Nick that in the end leads to something far more serious: Being held hostage by the spies to keep Nick and the local police from apprehending them. Nick soon gets help from the Bee-Man Bartholomew, Donald Meek, who's unorthodox detective tactics, that at first Nick is totally opposed to, that in the end breaks the mysterious spy case wide open. ***SPOILERS***This all leads to a spectacular car plane and boat chase by Nick and the local police and FBI agents to prevent the spies who are holding Lou hostage from escaping justice by reaching neutral Mexican waters. The highlight of the movie is the plane used in the movie that Nick, who recently got his flying incense, is in control off. By Nick not only behind the controls but at the same time using a tommy-gun to shoot it out with the fleeing spies on the high seas! Something that I think that hasn't been done before or after in films since!
yarborough Nick Carter- Master Detective tries way to hard to make a B film into an A film. The director uses countless tricky film techniques and camera angles to make the film a classic. The result: Failure!!! Nick Carter good of been one hell of a film without that stuff and the stupid humor that was featured in the film, especially that stupid, annoying Bee-man. He was a total joke and very irritating to watch anytime the old guy's face appeared on screen. It would probably of been better if a child tagged along instead of the annoying old geezer. If the film did without the humor and the Bee-man, the result: Entertaining!!! Nick Carter is noooo Charlie Chan and doesn't have the skill or mind like he does. He's also kind of a bore and sometimes very cardboard like. To sum it all up, at times entertaining but with the humor and old dude the film just isn't that masterful. Charlie Chan kicks Nick Carter's ass anytime, anyplace, anywhere. *1/2 out of ****.