The Missing Million ** (1942, Linden Travers, John Warwick, Patricia Hilliard, John Stuart, Charles Victor) – Classic Movie Review 13,643

The 1942 Edgar Wallace British crime thriller film The Missing Million stars Linden Travers, John Warwick, Patricia Hilliard and John Stuart. A millionaire vanishes after a blackmail attempt by ‘The Panda’, but his sister tries to help the police find him.

The 1942 British ‘Edgar Wallace’ crime thriller film The Missing Million features Linden Travers, John Warwick, Patricia Hilliard, John Stuart, Charles Victor, and Valentine Dyall. A millionaire disappears after a blackmail attempt by criminal called ‘The Panda’, but his sister tries to help the police find him.

The Missing Million is a 1942 British ‘Edgar Wallace’ crime drama film directed by Philip Brandon and starring Linden Travers, John Warwick, Patricia Hilliard, John Stuart, Charles Victor and Valentine Dyall. The screenplay is adapted by James Seymour from the 1923 novel The Missing Million by Edgar Wallace. 

Rex Walton, a millionaire-about-town who is about to get married mysteriously disappears on the eve of his wedding after a blackmail attempt by an unknown criminal. His intrepid sister Joan Walton (Linden Travers) tries to help Inspector Dicker (John Stuart) of the police find her brother and deal with an aftermath of multiple murder and mystery, as the bodies pile up, and she falls for the detective. The main suspect is the notorious criminal The Panda (aka The Prince of Blackmailers).

The Missing Million is a just about watchable but cheap and creaky, unbelievably silly 1942 British ‘Edgar Wallace’ crime drama film. It sounds good on paper, but overall it is a major disappointment. Refusal to take the crime murder mystery seriously sinks it. It is of course of its time, which is eons ago, but better writers and director could have made it work. Some the acting is terrible, and the comedy turns are painful. The production is shoddy.

The film has a couple of good things going for it. Edgar Wallace’s infallible plot kind of sustains some interest. Linden Travers is graceful and appealing as the heroine.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,643

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