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No relation to the 1935 Lon Chaney Jr. vehicle of the same name, Republic's A Scream in the Dark is based on The Morgue is Always Open, a novel by Jerome Odlum. Robert Lowery plays Mike Brooker, a police reporter and amateur sleuth. Mike finds himself up to his neck in danger and intrigue when tracking down an elusive killer. The murders are committed by a stiletto-tipped umbrella, and there is no shortage of suspects. With only 53 minutes' running time, Mike is forced to assemble the clues in record time, with nary a pause for breath or logic. Marie "The Body" McDonald is better than usual as the hero's sweetheart, while Elizabeth Russell, a fixture of Val Lewton's RKO horror films, is suitably sinister as an oft-widowed suspect.