Psychiatrist Ernest Tindal strangles his wife Ruth to death and leaves clues incriminating her lover, Frank Marsh. His plan works, and when her body is discovered, the watch-chain charm in Ruth’s hand leads police Captain “Mack” McKinley and his journalist friend, Russell Kirk, to suspect the lover. When Frank is arrested, Kirk meets Frank’s sister Vera, whom he had seen at a club on the night of the murder. Frank is found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. In his desire to impress Vera, Kirk unsuccessfully attempts to get a reprieve. In a friendly altercation with Mack, Kirk realizes that Ruth could not have gotten the charm during strangulation because her hands would be on the forearms, not the waist, of her murderer. Kirk and Mack then suspect Jack Reed, a gangster with whom Frank had dinner on the night of the murder. They believe he stole the watch-charm and gave it to the murderer. Reed escapes from them before they can question him, but is shot by Mack. Reed’s wife Julia calls Tindal to their hideout to save her husband, but behind closed doors, Tindal kills Reed. Julia goes to to police headquarters seeking vengeance against Mack, but when evidence shows that Reed died at the hands of his doctor, she reveals Tindal’s involvement. Tindal is arrested but kills himself with poisoned chewing gum. Frank gets a stay of execution, and Vera informs Kirk that she is engaged, foiling his plans of dating her. More on Wikipedia
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