even angel can get their wing clip . say new york assistant district attorney howard malloy ( franchot tone ) to good time girl barbara whitfield ( jean wallace ) a he try to convince her to tell the truth and and of the consequence if she doesn not . say barbara and look him in the eye and you get the scissors . it doesn not take long for howard to trick her into spill the bean and or at least start to . but barbara be now scared and really scared . oh and howard and she cry and hold me and help me . and these be the good line . if the price be right and and i would say no more than $ 3 . 99 use be the right price and jigsaw will give you an earnest and disorganized ethic lecture disguise a a crime story . it have two good point . first and you will have franchot tone to watch and an actor i have always consider one of the best in hollywood . tone could make even a mundane and slightly ridiculous character seem interest . he have class and charm and screen presence and top drawer act ability . unfortunately and he have a private life that shred his dignity . ( he get in a fight with actor tom neal over barbara payton and wind up beaten into a coma with a smashed cheek bone . payton marry him when he recover and then leave him seven week later for neal . ) he also be one of those actor and like gary cooper and who simply do not age well . but he be such a classy actor he could even bring some interest to weak tea like jigsaw and as well a to a number of less but intrigue movie like phantom lady . second and you can play the amuse hollywood game of spot the star cameo . in unbilled bit that last a second or two be such luminary a burgess meredith and john garfield and marsha hunt and everett sloane and and i be tell and henry fonda and marlene dietrich . i must have blink when the last two be on and i be not about to watch jigsaw again just to verify them . why would these star do walk ons in such a clunky and disjointed movie a this . probably because they have no idea it would turn out so poorly . primarily and i suppose and because jigsaw be a hollywood lecture on the need to fight extremism . remember and this movie be make in 1949. the anti communist fear monger be crawl out from under america bed to frighten any who do not believe they way they be tell to believe . the hollywood studio boss be easily and quickly intimidate while the blacklist which ruin the career of many actor and screenwriter and director be gather steam while and people be be call on to defend before congress who their friend be and how they vote and what organization they may have support or join . jigsaw deliver a lot of verbal shot and however heavy hand and at the reactionary force . the shot be mind numbingly preachy . organization and people like the crusader and say one character to malloy and exploit the anti this and anti that . and any race or religion they can exploit to use a a scapegoat . ignorance pay off and and the profit can climb into the million . he refer to all the cash that true believer spend on membership fee and annual contribution and badge and t shirt . all this be true and but the righteousness of the lecture be so earnest it send u yawn . the plot be about a shadowy group call the crusader and which have be organize itself into a power center . it poster show a handsome aryan lad against the waving american flag . their slogan and join the crusader fight for america . the implication be clear . the crusader will be against anyone who doesn not look and sound or believe the way that aryan poster boy do . when a columnist be kill while look into the crusader and howard malloy find himself appoint a special prosecutor . he also find himself in a noxious mess that combine crime and nativism and the reactionary belief of some of the privileged few . in the crime category be marc lawrence a angelo agostini . lawrence never quite make it out of the journeyman actor category and but he be always good a a crook and a gestapo agent or a killer . he have a satisfying role in jigsaw . in the privileged category be winifred lenihan a mrs. grace hartley and a smart and saucy and aristocratic society matron and a mover and shaker and wealthy and gracious and . well and do not turn your back on her . lawrence and lenihan almost make up for the others .