Tonight's Movie: Step By Step (1946)

The third film streamed on my recent trip was STEP BY STEP (1946), watched thanks to the fantastic Watch TCM app.

Like another movie seen last weekend, the similarly titled 5 STEPS TO DANGER (1957), STEP BY STEP is the tale of a couple on the run, mixed up with top secret data and murder.

Evelyn Smith (Anne Jeffreys) has just landed a job as secretary to Senator Remmy (Harry Harvey) and accompanied him to his oceanfront mansion to assist with some confidential work. While swimming at the beach Evelyn meets Johnny (Lawrence Tierney), a recently discharged Marine who makes no secret of his attraction to her.

When he accidentally locks himself out of his car Johnny goes up to the mansion to phone for help, and he's baffled to be met at the door by a completely different woman (Myrna Dell) claiming to be the senator's secretary Evelyn.

Unbeknownst to Johnny, the man (Jason Robards Sr.) who introduces himself as Senator Remmy isn't the senator! Johnny is mystified by the new "Evelyn" but there's a portrait on the wall of the Senator so it must be him... It was interesting to me that in the pre-TV '40s, someone wouldn't necessarily know what a senator looked like unless he'd happened to see his photo in the paper, or perhaps in a newsreel!

Criminal matters at the mansion escalate quickly and Johnny manages to rescue the real Evelyn, who had been tied up in another room. They flee the mansion, only to learn on the radio that they've been charged with murder!

I found this short little 62-minute film most enjoyable. It's from the MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (1945) school of movie-making, with crooks "gaslighting" someone about a changed identity in a creepy old mansion on the coast, all wrapped up neatly in just about an hour.

There are some nice bits of business scattered throughout the film, including Johnny's clever way of signaling for help near the end of the movie. I also enjoyed the "eloping" couple's rapport with the Captain (George Cleveland) who runs a motor court. (I loved the moment when the Captain asked Johnny to return his "missing" radio part so he could hear DICK TRACY.) Johnny has a very cute little dog who in movie shorthand quickly illustrates that Johnny's a nice guy, and the dog is also integral to helping expose the bad guys.

STEP BY STEP reunited leads Lawrence Tierney and Anne Jeffreys of DILLINGER (1945), and while their performances don't have the electric sizzle of that film -- partly because this time they're good guys -- I find them an appealing team with a nice rapport. The characters being stuck wearing bathing suits while navigating their way through life-threatening crises was a unique and amusing touch, while also logically providing an excuse for Johnny to grab a jacket which -- unbeknownst to him -- has top-secret information sewn inside.

STEP BY STEP was directed by Phil Rosen from a screenplay by Stuart Palmer. It was shot in black and white by Frank Redman.

The supporting cast includes Lowell Gilmore and Lee Bonnell.

STEP BY STEP is an RKO film which has been released on a Region 2 DVD. How'd they get so lucky to have this released in Europe? It's not yet available in the U.S., but hopefully it will turn up from the Warner Archive one of these days.

In the meantime, it's been shown on Turner Classic Movies so watch for it to be shown there again in the future.

July 2021 Update: STEP BY STEP is available on Blu-ray this month from the Warner Archive. My review of the Blu-ray is here.