Mysterious Intruder - 1946 - 6/10

One of the last of the Whistler series is also one of the best.
A mild-mannered, kind-hearted shopkeeper hires a private detective to search for a missing child.
The girl had disappeared sever years earlier, but she has now come into a huge inheritance.
That triggers the PI’s larcenous eye, as he is a rather shadowy spirit.
Soon, there are brooding thugs and impersonators.
The story moves hard, packing in details. Best, it mirrors the Whistler OTR, loaded with dubious characters.
Jeremy Arnold provides an incisive commentary touching on pre-schlock director William Castle, ex-football alum Dix and MacLane, Charles Lane (character actor with 300+ roles!), not to mention the ill-starred actresses, as well as the mechanics of the B-studio output.