The Great Merlini Gets the Picture

"Merlini and the Photographic Clues."

By Clayton Rawson (1906-71; Wikipedia HERE; Ellery Queen Website HERE; FictionMags HERE; IMDb HERE).

First appearance: "Originally published as text accompanying a jigsaw puzzle (Pearl Publishing, 1949)."

Reprinted in EQMM, August 1969.

Short story (9 pages).

Online at The Luminist Archives (HERE; go to text page 30).

   "I'm talking about a trick that might have been done with mirrors."

IT seems that someone had a grudge against a blackmailing Broadway gossip-columnist, one big enough to kill him over. While it's generally agreed that said tattler was no bouquet of roses ("that rat-faced, long-nosed Peeping Tom," according to a producer), can his abrupt demise only be attributed to one of his blackmail victims? The police jump to that obvious conclusion, but there's "one glaring flaw" in their thinking, which The Great Merlini, with the help of a telltale photograph, will expose for all the world to see . . .

Main characters (in order of appearance):

~ Lester Lee:

  ". . . had been shot and killed, and a delegation of cops had just raided the theater . . ."

~ George J. Boyle:

  "'You won't be a magician tonight if you stand there muttering,' the producer bellowed."

~ The Great Merlini:

  "But the miracle is less than perfect. It has one glaring flaw."

~ Lieutenant Malloy:

  ". . . who had answered the phone while Reilly was speaking, dropped an even heavier blockbuster."

~ Inspector Gavigan:

  "Your fingerprints are on that desk top."

~ Inez Latour:

  "She deserves a medal."

~ Frankie Barnett:

  ". . . a smooth character whose actions said clearly that he wasn't afraid of anything in a cop's uniform."

~ "Doc" Reilly:

  "How would you like to see a photo of the scene of the crime only a minute or two after Lee was shot—in technicolor?"

~ Ram Singh:

  "He had been threatening to print a—a libelous story about me. I talked him out of it."

References and resources:

- "dialing Spring 7-3100":

  A well-known phone number to New Yorkers: "The name comes from the six-digit telephone number for Police Headquarters at the time the magazine was founded: SPring 3100. At the time, Police Headquarters was located at 240 Centre Street between Grand and Broome, which was in the geographical area covered by the 'Spring' telephone exchange. When telephone numbers in New York changed to seven digits, in the late 1930s, the telephone number of Police Headquarters became SPring 7-3100 . . ." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- "in technicolor":

  It's been around for over a century: "Technicolor is a series of color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- "the prowl-car boys":

  The term doesn't seem to be used as often as it once was: "A patrol car is a police car used for standard patrol. Used to replace traditional foot patrols, the patrol car's primary function is to provide transportation for regular police duties, such as responding to calls, enforcing laws, or simply establishing a more visible police presence while on patrol." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- "the plane to the Coast":

  For years "the Coast" was always understood by people in New York and the East Coast to be California, especially the entertainment areas therein.

- "a sideshow exhibit":

  In other words, not the most important thing: "In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attrac-tion." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- "blockbuster":

  Here's a word that has picked up other meanings over time; it originally had a rather gruesome (and literal) military meaning:

  "The term blockbuster was originally a name coined by the press and referred to a bomb which had enough explosive power to destroy an entire street or large building through the effects of blast in conjunction with incendiary bombs." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- When dealing with The Great Merlini, Clayton Rawson used his actual name. We've managed to find nine of Merlini's adventures at The Luminist Archives site:

  "The Case of the Deadly Clown," (serial) Detective Fiction Weekly, October 5, 1940, etc.

  "The Mental Broadcast," (ss = short story) in My Best (1945)

  "The Clue of the Tattooed Man," (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine #37, December 1946 (online HERE)

  "The Clue of the Broken Legs," (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine #38, January 1947

  "The Clue of the Missing Motive," (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine #39, February 1947 (online HERE)

  "From Another World," (nv = novelette) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine #55, June 1948 (online HERE)

  "Pictures Don’t Lie," (ss) Mystery Puzzle of the Month #3, 1949

  "Off the Face of the Earth," (nv) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine #70, September 1949 (online HERE)

  "Merlini and the Lie Detector," (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, July 1955 (online HERE)

  "Merlini and the Vanished Diamonds," (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, October 1955 (online HERE)

  "Merlini and the Sound Effects Murder," (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, December 1955 (online HERE)

  "Nothing Is Impossible," (nv) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, July 1958 (online HERE)

  "Miracles—All in the Day’s Work," (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, October 1958

  "Merlini and the Photographic Clues," (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, August 1969 (above)

  "The World’s Smallest Locked Room," (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, August 1971.

Twelve of them have been collected and are for sale (HERE).

- As "Stuart Towne" Rawson wrote 4 Mr. Mystery stories:

  "Stand-in for a Kill," (ss) Detective Fiction Weekly, June 8, 1940 (collected in The Magical Mysteries of Don Diavolo)

  "Mr. Mystery," (nv) Detective Fiction Weekly, August 3, 1940 (collected in The Magical Mysteries of Don Diavolo)

  "The Man with the Radio Mind," (ss) Detective Fiction Weekly, August 2, 1941 (collected 

in The Magical Mysteries of Don Diavolo)

  "The Ace of Death," (ss) Detective Fiction, January 24, 1942 (collected in The Magical Mysteries of Don Diavolo).

  . . . and 5 Don Diavolo, The Scarlet Wizard adventures, one unpublished:

  "Ghost of the Undead," (na = novella) Red Star Mystery, June 1940 (collected in Death 

Out of Thin Air)

  "Death Out of Thin Air," (na) Red Star Mystery, August 1940 (collected in Death Out 

of Thin Air)

  "The Claws of Satan," (na) Red Star Mystery, October 1940 (collected in Death from Nowhere)

  "The Enchanted Dagger," (na) Red Star Mystery, December 1940 (collected in Death 

from Nowhere)

  "The Murder from the Grave," (na) Red Star Mystery, February 1941 (unpublished).

- The website In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel has short but spoiler-free reviews 

of Clayton Rawson's books (HERE).

- On other occasions we've bumped into magicians: (HERE), (HERE), (HERE), (HERE), (HERE), (HERE), and (HERE).

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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