Despite the dismal Broadway season, Gunplay is constantly on the pull crowds. A gangland spectacle, it’s packed towards the gills with actions, explosions, and gunfire. In fact, Gunplay is indeed loud that nobody notices the killing of Monte Field. In a sold-out theater, Field is found inactive partway through the next act, encircled by empty chairs. The police hold the masses and demand the one man who can untangle this daring murder: Inspector Richard Queen. With the help of his kid Ellery, a bibliophile and novelist whose creativity can solve any criminal offense, the Inspector episodes this seemingly impenetrable mystery. Anyone in the movie theater could have killed the unscrupulous lawyer, and several experienced the motive. Only Ellery Queen, in his debut book, can decipher the hint of the lifeless man’s missing best hat.