A Scream in the Dark is an American comedy crime mystery directed by George Sherman and written by Anthony Coldeway and Gerald Schnitzer in 1943. The film stars Robert Lowery, Marie McDonald, Edward Brophy, Elizabeth Russell, Hobart Cavanaugh and Wally Vernon. The film was released on October 15, 1943, by Republic Pictures.[1][2][3] It is based on the book "The Morgue is Always Open".[4]
Eddie and Mike, a pair of Brooklyn crooks, are running a detective agency as a scam and asking for payment in advance. They mainly offer to search for missing people and find evidence on people having extramarital affairs.
Mr Norton hires them to find his missing wife and pays $1000 upfront. He is murdered soon after leaving and finding their receipt, the police interview the pair.
Mr Lackey from Texas also uses their services. He is searching for his wife Muriel, whom he thinks is living as the wife of a Leo Stark. It turns out that she has been married multiple times. Lackey ends up dead, but Eddie and Mike decide it is not Muriel.
When they visit Stark's house, he tries to kill them with a poisoned umbrella, but ends up impaled on his own umbrella. Nevertheless, Muriel is not wholly innocent as she draws a gun on Eddie. After four murders, they are asked to find the chief's wife.