Comedy/musical/infomercial/mystery/disaster movie is unique viewing experience

One era ending, another one soon to begin.

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Bela Lugosi, Ricardo Cortez, Patricia Ellis, and Michael Loring in Postal Inspector (1936)

Bela Lugosi, Ricardo Cortez, and Patricia Ellis in Postal Inspector (1936)

Patricia Ellis in Postal Inspector (1936)

Bela Lugosi and William Hall in Postal Inspector (1936)

Bela Lugosi, William Hall, and Guy Usher in Postal Inspector (1936)

Bela Lugosi, Patricia Ellis, and William Hall in Postal Inspector (1936)

Ricardo Cortez and Patricia Ellis in Postal Inspector (1936)

Ricardo Cortez

Patricia Ellis

Michael Loring

Horace McCoy

Robert Presnell Sr.

Postal inspectors track down money stolen from a railroad car.

Otto Brower

Postal Inspector

Bela Lugosi&apos;s most obscure Universal title survives as a pleasant diversion

1936&apos;s &quot;Postal Inspector&quot; appeared to serve several purposes for cash strapped Universal following the March 1936 ouster of the extravagant Laemmles: a Warners-style glorification of a rarely spotlighted branch of government, a vehicle cheaply built around newly shot stock footage of heavy flooding in Pittsburgh PA, and a way to fulfill their three picture contract with Bela Lugosi, having failed to use him on &quot;Dracula&apos;s Daughter&quot; or a fourth pairing with Boris Karloff (they would finish Karloff&apos;s deal in Feb. 1937 with &quot;Night Key&quot;). Not only that, but this innocuous programmer also had the audacity to feature Patricia Ellis as Connie Larrimore belting out a whopping four songs by the film&apos;s midpoint, making for an awkward musical enabling her songbird to trill at the nightclub owned by Lugosi&apos;s Gregory Benez, his kindly nature hiding a dark secret of being heavily in debt to an impatient loan shark who has already murdered a previous client. The plot finally settles in at the 40 minute mark, as Benez and his confederates choose to rob a shipment of $3 million worth of retired currency (the driver a fatal casualty), a crime that could be pinned on Charlie Davis (Michael Loring), brother of Postal Inspector Bill Davis (Ricardo Cortez), because his car was used by the thieves. Severe flooding in Milltown finds cops and robbers engaging in a speedboat chase until the villains are apprehended and Charlie is free to wed childhood sweetheart Connie. More romantic trifle than serious drama, the daily activities in the inspector&apos;s office offering some novelty as many people are defrauded through the mail, basically those who can least afford it. Offbeat enough to still provide light entertainment as an hour long programmer, but little material for Lugosiphiles, 4th billed Bela on screen for barely 7 minutes in a bland role that still shows he was capable of playing a character without any sinister shadings, the main reason for film buffs to seek out after missing in action for decades.

Bela Lugosi's most obscure Universal title survives as a pleasant diversion

1936's "Postal Inspector" appeared to serve several purposes for cash strapped Universal following the March 1936 ouster of the extravagant Laemmles: a Warners-style glorification of a rarely spotlighted branch of government, a vehicle cheaply built around newly shot stock footage of heavy flooding in Pittsburgh PA, and a way to fulfill their three picture contract with Bela Lugosi, having failed to use him on "Dracula's Daughter" or a fourth pairing with Boris Karloff (they would finish Karloff's deal in Feb. 1937 with "Night Key"). Not only that, but this innocuous programmer also had the audacity to feature Patricia Ellis as Connie Larrimore belting out a whopping four songs by the film's midpoint, making for an awkward musical enabling her songbird to trill at the nightclub owned by Lugosi's Gregory Benez, his kindly nature hiding a dark secret of being heavily in debt to an impatient loan shark who has already murdered a previous client. The plot finally settles in at the 40 minute mark, as Benez and his confederates choose to rob a shipment of $3 million worth of retired currency (the driver a fatal casualty), a crime that could be pinned on Charlie Davis (Michael Loring), brother of Postal Inspector Bill Davis (Ricardo Cortez), because his car was used by the thieves. Severe flooding in Milltown finds cops and robbers engaging in a speedboat chase until the villains are apprehended and Charlie is free to wed childhood sweetheart Connie. More romantic trifle than serious drama, the daily activities in the inspector's office offering some novelty as many people are defrauded through the mail, basically those who can least afford it. Offbeat enough to still provide light entertainment as an hour long programmer, but little material for Lugosiphiles, 4th billed Bela on screen for barely 7 minutes in a bland role that still shows he was capable of playing a character without any sinister shadings, the main reason for film buffs to seek out after missing in action for decades.

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Postal Inspector

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