At less than an hour in duration, this telemovie was likely a pilot for a television series that was never made.
It is inspired by long-running radio series The Fat Man (based on characters by Dashiell Hammett), itself filmed in 1951 as The Fat Man. It must be noted, however, that the amateur detective in the radio series and earlier film was Brad Runyan, where the character's name in this film is Lucius Crane.