In his book American Cinema 1929-1968 (E.P. Dutton) Andrew Sarris put William K. Howard in the category of "subjects for further research" and, as far as I am able to find out, there has not yet been any significant further research, perhaps because, as Sarris says, "Unfortunately, Howard's films do not display the degree of talent necessary to overcome the problem of a difficult temperament." At this point the one movie Howard is known for is The Power and the Glory (1933), with a flashback structure and narrative that is considered to be a significant influence on Citizen Kane. The Squeaker is based on a novel and play by Edgar Wallace, a prolific writer of so-called "thrillers" who died in 1932; Edgar's son Bryant wrote the screenplay. The music is by Miklos Rozsa, then at the beginning of his career (he wrote the score for Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity in 1944) and the cinematography by George Perinal, who later worked regularly with Otto Preminger.
The Squeaker is a too genteel melodrama presented by the tasteful Alexander Korda in England and starring Edmund Lowe (who was in the stage version) and Ann Todd, although the film only truly comes alive when Tamara Desni dances and sings Ted Berkman's torch songs "He's Gone" and "I Can't Get Along Without You." Otherwise it's routine intrique, as Lowe plays a disgraced Scotland Yard dipsomaniac who is trying to find "the squeaker," a fence who turns in crooks when they don't accept his terms, and at the same time Lowe is making love to Ann Todd.
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