Murder at Republic — Woodrow W. Walker

In 1940-41, Hollywood is under the studio system. They are small cities with but one mission, and that is to keep the film flowing like a mighty river.Republic Pictures hires former stuntman turned private detective, Buck Ames, to look into some accidents at the studio. When a dead body turns up on the studio's back lot, Buck finds himself caught between a loudmouthed, cigar-smoking cop and a murderer who will not let anything stop his murder spree.To make matters worse, police detective Bill Hanlan takes an instant dislike to Buck Ames, but finds that he must use him to find the murderer because he knows his way around a movie studio better than any cop. When Buck himself becomes the target for the murderer, things heat up fast under the keg lights until Buck Ames stands face to face with the killer.