Best Mystery Movies of 1948

Paul Temple is called in to help Scotland Yard track down a serial killer who has murdered several wealthy women.

Milton Haskins, a math genius known for his infallibility with numbers, quits his job with an insurance company when he discovers he made a mistake, and hooks up with a traveling carnival. His knowledge of mathematics makes him a natural as an assistant at the wheel of fortune. His fiancée begs him to return to his job but he refuses, so she joins the carnival and becomes a striptease artist. When Milton attempts to drag her off the stage, a brawling mêlée breaks out and the entire troupe is arrested by the local police. The carnival is sold but Milton reveals that the new owner has conspired to defraud the insurance company. The insurance company has to accept the carnival in lieu of the money owed, and they allow Milton and his fiancée, Vivian, to stay with and help run the carnival.

Insurance detective Steve Hastings is sent by his company to investigate the disappearance of a fellow agent. His first lead is the agent's fetching sister, Victoria, whom he trails to Mexico City. After charming his way into her confidence, Steve helps Vicki unravel the mystery.

A photographer is choked to death just outside of where a college dance is being held. The body is discovered by Lee Watson (Warren Mills), but promptly disappears, as it is being whisked from one point to another on the campus by a night watchman, who is an ex-convict. However, he is not the killer and Freddie Trimball (Freddie Stewart), Betty Rogers (Noel Neill), Dodie Rogers (June Preisser) and Lee set out to find the culprit, who managed to put a big damper on the Big Dance.

Bulldog Drummond investigates the murder of a sea captain who died before revealing the location of his hidden gold.

In this mystery, a detective encounters a woman in a nightclub. He finds that she is being blackmailed by a dancer who is murdered that very night. Of course, the woman becomes the main suspect. She and the gumshoe team up and begin searching for the real killer.

A cheating husband is charged in the poisoning death of his invalid wife, in spite of other women and suicide also being suspected.

The Naked City portrays the police investigation that follows the murder of a young model. A veteran cop is placed in charge of the case and he sets about, with the help of other beat cops and detectives, finding the girl's killer.

Stroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor has to post-pone a vacation with his wife, again, when a glamorous blonde is murdered and he is assigned by his publishing boss Janoth to find the killer. As the investigation proceeds to its conclusion, Stroud must try to disrupt his ordinarily brilliant investigative team as they increasingly build evidence (albeit wrong) that he is the killer.