WASHINGTON MELODRAMA (1941)

 

Directed by: S. Sylvan Simon
Starring: Frank Morgan, Ann Rutherford, Fay Holden, Kent Taylor, Anne Gwynne, Dan Dailey, Lee Bowman, Virginia Grey

80 minutes
(NR - adult themes)

PLOT:
Washington, D.C. industrialist Calvin Claymore and newspaper publisher Hal Thorne are at odds over a proposed European aid bill. Calvin's daughter Laurie is romantically involved with Hal as well. At a nightclub owned by Whitney King, during a water ballet, Calvin meets performer Mary Morgan and, at King's suggestion, they begin to keep company. When his wife returns to town, Calvin offers his gratitude and an envelope filled with money. King turns up and demands the money, then kills Mary during a struggle over it. As reporter Ronnie Clayton investigates the woman's death, Laurie goes undercover and becomes acquainted with King, which in turn makes his girlfriend Teddy Carlyle jealous and angry. King then shoots and wounds Teddy, who identifies him for the authorities before she dies.