Held for Ransom

Cheap-looking even by the standards of Grand National Pictures, Held for Ransom appears to have been completed several years before its official 1938 release date. The charmingly untalented Blanche Mehaffey heads the cast as FBI agent Betty Mason. At the risk of her own neck, Betty pursues the kidnappers of a wealthy businessman. She also juggles the affection of her partner Morrison (Jack Mulhall) and the victim's son Scott (Grant Withers). After five yarn-provoking reels, the film finally roars into life with a truly exciting climactic shootout. Though Blanche Mehaffey had been in films since the silent days, she never quite attained stardom, and was still being referred to as an "unknown" by the 1938 trade papers.