The Detective Tales cover for May

This is now the time for another upload of a cover from Detective Tales. It is getting more and more challenging to find an original cover and something new to say every month. This is the cover from May 1949. I chose a simpler one this time. The quality of the picture is not as good: the colours are worn out. I do think however that it is part of its charm. It looks appropriately retro. The setting is interesting: a private detective's office, or rather its inside and its outside, separated by a window broken by guns. The action is of course a gun fight. It is a bit confusing: who is the villain, who is the good guy? Is the man inside the office an intruder taking hostage the blonde, or is he pushing her away, trying to protect her from the outside assailant. As neither men have clear features identifying them as the good guy and the villain, it is difficult to tell. If the man outside the private detective, why is he outside? All we know for sure is that the blonde in the red dress is a damsel in distress. That said, in spite or because of this confusion, I love this cover.