The President's Mystery

Wealthy lawyer James Blake finds no happiness in his life of excess. Persuaded by greedy industrialist George Sartos, Blake uses his influence in the U.S. Senate to block the passage of a bill that would provide aid to struggling small businesses. Soon after, Blake meets Charlotte Brown, a beautiful woman who owns a cannery, and realizes the harsh consequences his actions will have on her and the hard-working men of her town. Seizing the chance to redeem himself, Blake leaves his unfaithful wife, liquidates his stocks and fakes his own death. He assumes a new identity so he can help Charlotte and the town's poverty-stricken citizens, but his plans go horribly awry when he is arrested, wrongly accused for murdering his wife. With the future of the town at stake, Blake must clear his name or all hope is lost.

The story of The President's Mystery, originally published in "Liberty Magazine," was conceived by Franklin D. Roosevelt and written in collaboration with six highly regarded authors of the day (including S.S. Van Dine, the creator of Philo Vance). Versatile Henry Wilcoxon enjoyed a long career in film, starring in Cecil B. DeMille's Cleopatra (1934), The Last of the Mohicans (1936), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949) and working into the early 1980s with a memorable comedic role in Caddyshack (1980) as a bishop who gets struck by lightning. Tony Award winner Sidney Blackmer played Teddy Roosevelt in seven movies, with notable roles in Little Caesar (1931) and Rosemary's Baby (1968).

• drama