This film was based on the radio program of the same name that aired from 1939 to 1942 on NBC, then on CBS from 1943 to 1944. It was revived in 1948 on ABC with the same characters but re-titled "I Love Adventure" for 13 episodes. It was revived again on the Mutual Broadcasting System, originating in New York City from 1949 to 1952. Of the three films in the Columbia series, this is the only one that used an episode from the radio show - in this case "The Head of Jonathan Monk".
First of three films based on the popular radio series, 'I Love a Mystery'. The next two were The Devil's Mask (1946) and The Unknown (1946). Columbia had purchased the film rights to the radio show with plans on making two films a year for five years, but these were the only films the studio produced.
Mr. Kerrigan's brief outline should refer to "Jack - not Joe - and Doc" for Jack Packard & Doc Long played by Jim Bannon and Barton Yarborough. These characters were first introduced on an earlier Carleton E. Morse radio series as San Francisco private eyes in "Adventures by Morse". When he returned to the air after WWII, writer-producer Morse added their posh British thrill-seeking buddy, Reggie York (Tony Randall). Most of the female roles, whether good girl or bad, were performed by Mercedes McCambridge who often superbly juggled 2 or 3 different character voices on the 15-min weekday serial and later half-hr weekly program.
The headdress worn by the mystical Mister Gee when he explains the prophecy of the pre-destined decapitation of Mr. Monk is amusingly similar to one of the outrageous hats worn by Rosalind Russell in The Women (1939).
In 1967, a television movie and series pilot was made: I Love a Mystery (1973), but NBC shelved it for six years before airing it, and the series was never made.