Noel M. Smith directed The Nurse’s Secret, a B-level murder mystery starring Lee Patrick as a crime-solving nurse.
Patrick, in a rare leading role, also played the supporting part of Sam Spade’s secretary in The Maltese Falcon that same year, opposite Bogart.
A nurse moves into a house after an apparent suicide to care for the old mother.
The mother and all the other characters, including the butler and the doctor, are behaving strangely. The plot gets more complicated after the insurance policy is found, and inspector Patton (Regis Toomey) begins to investigate.
Cast
Lee Patrick as Ruth Adams
Regis Toomey as Inspector Patton
Julie Bishop as Florence Lentz
Clara Blandick as Miss Walker
Credits:
Directed by Noel M. Smith
Produced by Bryan Foy and William Jacobs
Written by Anthony Coldeway, based on Miss Pinkerton by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Cinematography James Van Trees
Edited by Doug Gould
Produced and distributed by Warner Bros
Release date: May 24, 1941
Running time: 64 minutes
Note:
I am grateful to TCM for showing the film on November 25, 2019.