csteidler Reviews

Miss Pinkerton (1932)

Fair nurse-as-detective genre entry

[6/10 · 7 May 2024]

Nurse in white uniform Joan Blondell is bored, bored, bored at the hospital, and so she is thrilled when given an assignment to care for the rich old lady at that big spooky house. There was just a suicide in that house - or was it a murder?

Blondell reports for duty and is quickly pulled aside by handsome young police detective George Brent, who urges her to keep her eyes open for suspicious characters - he wants her to be his deputy. Am I a copper now? She wants to know. You're Miss Pinkerton, Brent announces. They giggle a bit and set off to investigate.

The flirting between Blondell and Brent is kind of fun if maybe a little too cute. The rest of the picture is mainly a lot of people sneaking around in the dark, often being followed by other people also sneaking around in the dark. The suspects include the usual - the family doctor, the lawyer, the butler, a pair of young lovers.

The plot really has no great surprises but there are some suspenseful moments, and Blondell's enthusiastic performance is easy to watch.

One great scene: The picture opens with a quick expository bit in which a newspaper editor (played by a very young Lyle Talbot) takes the details of the recent death-at-the-mansion over the phone and repeats them for our benefit as he jots them down. In about ten seconds, we are given an entire back story needed to follow the plot from here. Talk about efficient scene setting!

There Goes My Girl (1937)

Screwball newspaper comedy is familiar fun

[6/10 · 7 May 2024]

Ann Sothern and Gene Raymond make a pleasant team as a pair of newspaper reporters whose wedding plans are delayed while they investigate a couple of murders. Richard Lane is frantic and loud as Sothern's editor, gleefully stooping to any trick to keep from losing his star reporter.

The capable supporting cast includes Frank Jenks and Gordon Jones as fellow reporters caught between pal Sothern and boss Lane. Bradley Page is the smoothly sinister nightclub owner who is up to no good.

Sothern has a couple of wild scenes where she throws a righteous fit at Lane's interference; Lane himself has some deliciously wicked moments in which he rubs his hands together and chuckles over his next scheme for separating Sothern from Raymond (who, after all, works for a rival paper). Raymond is fine if predictable as his usual fast talking self.

The plot moves fast but never really offers any surprises - maybe it's just too similar to every other newspaper crime-comedy made around the same time. In any case, while certainly enjoyable enough for fans, it's all too familiar to be very exciting.

Smartest Girl in Town (1936)

Predictable plot, charming and enthusiastic cast

[7/10 · 17 March 2024]

Ann Sothern and Gene Raymond are the handsome young leads who are bound to get together eventually in this good-natured, slightly manic comedy.

Sothern plays a model determined to find and marry a rich man. She meets handsome millionaire Raymond during a modeling job on his yacht - but mistakenly assumes he is the male model supposed to meet her there. Raymond (immediately smitten, of course) quickly gathers that it will be more fun if she thinks he is a peer rather than a millionaire, and he begins an elaborate scheme to win her heart as a poor working sap.

A big part of Raymond's scheme is enlisting his valet, Eric Blore, to pretend to switch roles with him. Blore is hilarious as the scandalized employee gradually leaning into his assumed role as boss instead of servant. Helen Broderick is equally good as Sothern's tart-tongued sister and manager. Erik Rhodes has a couple of extremely goofy scenes as a baron with money who would be an eligible suitor for Sothern if he could just stop talking about birds and eggs all the time.

The plot holds hardly any surprises, but there is a neat scene where Sothern washes Raymond's wild mop of hair in her bathroom sink, realizing as she does so that he has become more than just a co-worker. And despite the standard plot, clever dialog and enthusiastic performances throughout make this one lots of fun.

Earthworm Tractors (1936)

Natural born salesman vs. hard boiled customer

[6/10 · 17 March 2024]

Joe E. Brown stars as the irrepressible Alexander Botts, self-proclaimed "natural born salesman." He sets out to sell a fleet of tractors to hard-boiled lumber yard owner Guy Kibbee, who most emphatically does not believe in these newfangled tractor things. But our hero does not give up quickly - partly because Kibbee's daughter keeps offering him advice and encouragement.

June Travis is just fine in the predictable but pleasant role of the attractive daughter. Kibbee is great fun to watch as the flustered businessman who is given more than one unwanted ride on Brown's machine (a piece of equipment that we today might call a bulldozer rather than a tractor).

Other familiar faces appear in supporting roles, including Gene Lockhart and Joseph Crehan as Earthworm Tractor Company employees, and Carol Hughes and Dick Foran as an old flame and old rival back in Brown's hometown.

Joe E. Brown has a unique screen presence that is possibly not for everyone, I suppose, although I always find him easy to watch. The lightweight story is very silly but moves along nicely. The action actually gets pretty wild a couple of times when Brown gets behind the controls of that big tractor.

Make Me a Star (1932)

Surprisingly sentimental comedy-drama

[6/10 · 15 March 2024]

Stuart Erwin is enthusiastically dense as Merton Gill, a young man who has gotten himself a mail order diploma from an acting school and ditches his small town for Hollywood, determined to make it big.

It's harder than he expected, of course, but Erwin persists in hanging around the movie studio. Eventually studio star Joan Blondell takes pity on him and convinces a director to give him a bit part in a western. When star and director get a load of Erwin's comical overacting, they get an idea - and suddenly Erwin is starring in his own western picture, taking himself very seriously while everyone around him is well aware that the picture is intended to be a farce. As production wraps up, Blondell - who, it turns out, really is pretty softhearted - grows increasingly worried what will happen when Erwin figures out that everyone is laughing at him.

Blondell is fun to watch and quite good as the movie actor with a conscience. Stuart Erwin is just fine as Merton, a bit dopey but still a sympathetic figure. In fact, while the movie feels like it should be a comedy - with all of Erwin's "serious acting" scenes drawing laughs from those around him - it turns out to be more drama than comedy, and finally builds to a climax that aims to be moving rather than hilarious.

It's no classic, and the story feels like kind of a chestnut even for 1932, but still - it's hard not to feel yourself really rooting for Merton in the end there.

Jim Hanvey, Detective (1937)

Guy Kibbee as folksy detective

[6/10 · 15 March 2024]

Guy Kibbee is pretty much the whole show in this fast-paced B mystery. The plot involves some stolen pearls, a young couple who want to get married, and a murder. Kibbee looks perfectly comfortable as retired detective Jim Hanvey, famous but reluctant sleuth who takes the case more out of a personal interest in the young people than any urgent desire to solve a mystery.

The supporting cast includes Ed Gargan and Ed Brophy as a couple of shady characters; sadly, they're not as funny a pair as you might expect from those two veteran comic relief specialists. The rather bland sweethearts are played by the mostly forgotten Lucie Kay and Tom Brown.

It's certainly enjoyable enough, especially for fans of Guy Kibbee or cheapie 30s mysteries. However, the low budget really shows, and ultimately this one is not too memorable.

Hooray for Love (1935)

Uneven comedy with musical interludes

[6/10 · 27 February 2024]

Brash college man Gene Raymond is a would-be producer of musical shows. Ann Sothern sings in a nightclub. Thurston Hall is Sothern's father, another would-be producer looking for some money to put on his show, Hooray for Love, which will star his daughter. Raymond manages to borrow a bunch of money to finance the show, and the trio set about putting on an extravaganza.

Along the way, the show is off-again, on-again. The producers may be wanted by the police. Raymond gets to be great pals with Sothern and they exchange silly dialog. ("If this hadn't have happened, I'd have never discovered what a sap I am, would I?" "Oh yes, you would. I would have told you.")

The action slows way down for a series of musical numbers shown in rehearsal. A ballet bit with the famous Maria Gambarelli is impressive but feels out of a place. It's followed by a comic relief song delivered by Pert Kelton while her manager Etienne Girardot looks on fondly and musical director Lionel Stander makes rude comments. Sadly, it's just not too funny.

Later on, we do get a real musical highlight called "Living in a Great Big Way," with Bill Robinson, Fats Waller, and an almost forgotten dancer named Jeni Le Gon who is sensational. Again, it has nothing to do with the story but it sure is fun.

The plot, such as it is, finally reaches its conclusion and provides the expected answers to questions like, Will the show go on? And Will the stars get together? Overall, it's not great but has some good moments.

The Law in Her Hands (1936)

Good premise turns out so-so

[5/10 · 27 February 2024]

As this picture opens, we see fresh law school grads Margaret Lindsay and Glenda Farrell taking the oath and becoming lawyers. "All we need now's an office and a client," Farrell says.

They do set up an office but the clients don't come, so Lindsay works as a waitress and discovers that her boss is being shaken down for protection money. What can she do?

She soon encounters smooth talking Lyle Talbot, who runs the Restaurant Owners Benevolent Organization. Talbot doesn't like to do rough stuff but with an organization name like that, we know what his business is. However, instead of putting the pressure on this lady lawyer, he decides to put her on the payroll. Lindsay resists the idea but soon enough the lure of easy money has her working for Talbot - and she and Farrell have moved into a nice big fancy office.

Meanwhile, assistant district attorney Warren Hull has taken an interest in both the protection racket and in Lindsay herself. In fact, he would like her to quit lawyering and marry him. She resists him too but eventually, of course, things come to a head and Lindsay is forced to make a choice.

The cast do their best and they all talk very fast, but the silly plot here really defeats their efforts. Eddie Acuff has an amusing comic role as a process server who helps out his pals Lindsay and Farrell. Talbot as the crook is quite a bit more interesting than poor Warren Hull as the straight as an arrow prosecutor. Glenda Farrell is - most annoyingly - pretty much wasted as Lindsay's partner in law who apparently is little more than an assistant. Isn't she supposed to be a lawyer here too? You'd think they would have at least written in a few choice wisecracks for Glenda to deliver. Lindsay herself is good enough in the lead role but the whole thing is never remotely believable, even for a B movie.

It does move fast and has an exciting courtroom climax. Overall, though, not as much as fun as it sounds like it would be.

Nine Lives Are Not Enough (1941)

Familiar but pleasant B comedy-mystery

[6/10 · 6 April 2023]

Ronald Reagan is fine as a quick-thinking, high energy newspaper reporter looking for a scoop and investigating a murder.

A fun cast of supporting actors includes Edward Brophy as a dim-witted cop and James Gleason as his perpetually exasperated superior officer. Howard Da Silva is also good as Reagan's blustery city editor.

The plot involves a missing rich guy who turns up dead in a locked boarding house bedroom. Reagan is on the track of the killers--gangster Ben Welden and his henchmen, who happen to live next door. The victim's beautiful daughter, Joan Perry, is impressed by Reagan's efforts; meanwhile, rival reporter Charles Drake keeps trying to muscle in on Reagan's scoop.

It's all pretty standard stuff but the dialog is not bad and the plot moves right along. The entire cast is good, with Reagan talking fast and flashing that winning grin.

The Lone Wolf Returns (1935)

Reformed gentleman thief outsmarts cops and rivals

[7/10 · 6 April 2023]

Melvyn Douglas is suave, daring, and sometimes surprising as Michael Lanyard, the notorious but possibly reformed jewel thief known as the Lone Wolf.

Having stolen Gail Patrick's valuable pendant during a ritzy party, Douglas later sneaks back into her bedroom, replaces the pendant and steals her portrait instead. Was he just protecting the pendant from the real crooks, who are also lurking?

Raymond Walburn offers excellent assistance as the Lone Wolf's resourceful gentleman's gentleman. The always wily Douglas Dumbrille heads up the rival team of crooks, which includes dark and slinky Tala Birell. Gail Patrick is very good as the rich girl whom Douglas finds even more interesting than her jewels. Meanwhile, police inspector Thurston Hall knows that the Lone Wolf is in town and sees his chance to finally catch an old nemesis.

It's a pretty standard B mystery plot but has some fun dialog. (Douglas and Birell know that they have encountered each other somewhere before: "Did I catch you going through my desk or was it the other way around?")

The excellent cast and well-defined characters make this a high class entry in the series mystery genre.

Secret Service of the Air (1939)

G-Men in airplanes

[6/10 · 6 April 2023]

A bold gang is smuggling in aliens via airplane. The Secret Service needs a new agent to infiltrate the gang and find out how they operate. Veteran agent John Litel knows a young pilot who has just been waiting for a chance to join up:

Ronald Reagan is the energetic young flyer who jumps at the chance for some adventure. The G-men cook up a scheme where Reagan is arrested for counterfeiting and put in prison - where he can make some contacts and do some investigating.

The dialog isn't too good but a fairly decent plot moves along quickly. Reagan is fine as the brash undercover hero. James Stephenson is predictably suave and cunning as the head bad guy whom Reagan must outsmart. Eddie Foy Jr. Tries hard but gets few laughs in a comic relief role that's more annoying than funny.

Nothing too exciting but Reagan is undeniably fun to watch.

Blond Cheat (1938)

Lively comedy features cute stars, clever plot

[7/10 · 14 March 2020]

Good-natured Cecil Kellaway runs the Trafalgar Loan Company. His employee Robert Coote has his eyes on Kellaway's daughter but the girl is currently interested in Derrick De Marney, another clerk who happens to have some blue blood.

One day at closing time a man rushes in, says he desperately needs a loan, and offers his daughter's earrings as security. De Marney takes a look at the daughter--Joan Fontaine--and hands over the money. As the man races out the door, De Marney realizes that the earrings don't come out and the man has left Fontaine herself as security. De Marney had plans to dine with the boss--but he can't very well let those earrings out of his sight.

Joan Fontaine is excellent as the beautiful but also resourceful young woman who is attached to De Marney for the evening. De Marney is very funny as the conscientious but rather hapless young man who really wants to be a good employee.

The entire cast is good, including Kellaway as the slightly mischievous boss, and Coote as the sharp-witted fellow clerk. ("My dear chap, I know a wild oat when I see one," he smirks at De Marney upon discovering him and Fontaine in a café booth.)

The plot contains some neat surprises and clever twists, with plenty of enjoyable interaction between Fontaine and De Marney, who are both quite charming. Overall, it's silly but fun.

Love Is on the Air (1937)

Radio personality also fights crime

[7/10 · 14 March 2020]

Racketeers and gamblers are wreaking havoc in the city. Business leaders hold an emergency meeting to discuss. Civic-minded radio reporter Ronald Reagan is right there, hoping to gather "a bit of the inside story for my broadcast tonight." Reagan has a popular show but sponsor Addison Richards would like to shut him up--Richards is one of the crooks.

Keeping the sponsor happy, station manager Robert Barrat reassigns Reagan to the kiddie show where he can't make any trouble. Disappointed, Reagan nevertheless sets out to make the most of his new assignment, while always keeping his eyes open for a chance to break that big corruption story.

Ronald Reagan is fun as the irrepressible radio announcer who knows how to make the most of his opportunities. A good supporting cast includes Eddie Acuff as Reagan's loyal but sleepy assistant, and June Travis as another announcer who does the kids' show until Reagan takes it over. Travis and Reagan of course have an ongoing love-hate romance.

Reagan's best scenes are a couple of remote broadcasts where he sets up the radio equipment at a kids' bike race and boxing match. He interviews the participants and some fans, looking very much at home behind the microphone and mingling with the kids. When one of the kids turns out to have some info about the crooks in town, Reagan is back on that case, with exciting results.

Nothing brilliant but full of good humor and enthusiastic performances. Most enjoyable.

The Florentine Dagger (1935)

Old World setting for okay murder mystery

[6/10 · 26 February 2020]

Three travelers arrive by train and check in at the Hotel Cesare Borgia, somewhere in Italy: Henry O'Neill, a drama producer, there to read some plays; C. Aubrey Smith, a doctor who has prescribed himself some rest; and Donald Woods, who doesn't say why he's there but looks just like the hotel's portrait of Cesare Borgia.

Woods, a descendant of the infamous Borgia family, intends to kill himself in the ancestral village. Luckily, however, psychiatrist Smith convinces him to try writing a play to rid himself of his demons. Next thing we know, Woods is in Vienna where he's written a play about the Borgias and producer O'Neill is preparing it for the stage. When O'Neill's daughter Margaret Lindsay shows up, Woods knows immediately that she is perfect for the role of Lucretia.

It's a unique setup that gradually develops into a more standard mystery plot: Woods falls in love with beautiful Lindsay, her father forbids their marriage and soon afterwards is found murdered. The murder weapon? An ancient dagger supposed to be an actual Borgia relic. The suspects? Those closest to the murdered man. Woods investigates as best he can, his old pal Aubrey Smith takes on the psychological angle, and Lindsay seems like she might be shielding someone - but whom?

Robert Barrat has a good role as a humorous police inspector (who keeps calling his wife to tell her whether he'll be home late). Woods and Lindsay are fine as the leads. C. Aubrey Smith does a nice job, as always, as the shrewd older gentleman.

Overall, this B mystery tries to be something a little different and mostly succeeds.

Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935)

Good cast, lively plot that keeps you guessing

[7/10 · 26 February 2020]

Baldpate Inn is closed for the season when mystery writer Gene Raymond arrives on a cold, windy night. He's looking for a lonely place to write a novel but quickly discovers that the dark hotel is anything but deserted. Over the course of a madcap evening, he encounters a steady stream of crooks and eccentrics.

Gene Raymond is dashing and funny as the writer who seems delighted with each new character who sneaks into the inn. When a gangster threatens him with a gun and a snarl, Raymond just laughs - "I've written this sort of thing a hundred times," he says, to the gangster's confusion.

The series of visitors includes, among others, Henry Travers as the neighborhood crank who masquerades as a ghost to scare people off; Eric Blore as a mysterious gentleman who may be a professor looking for a quiet place to read exams; and Margaret Callahan as the beautiful young woman who won't tell Raymond why she's there but stops him when he tries to phone the police.

The plot involves a stolen treasure, some crooks who are after it, and an insurance claim. It's not always clear who's who, and hardly matters, really. There are a few surprises, the dialog is good, and there's a bit of romance thrown in as well. It's not highbrow but this one is a lot of fun.

Special Investigator (1936)

Strong plot and lively characters in compact crime drama

[7/10 · 15 February 2020]

Crafty lawyer Richard Dix just got another criminal off the hook. The judge chews him out for being an enemy to society. When Dix's own brother says that he agrees with the judge, Dix turns thoughtful; when the brother is murdered, Dix suddenly quits his law practice and tells his friends that he is going away. He does a little research then heads to a small Nevada town on the trail of some stolen gold....

Richard Dix is solid as the self-appointed investigator who switches to the side of justice but is not afraid to mix with the crooks. Having heard that the gang is processing their stolen bullion in an old mine and then selling it as ore, he sets up a law office in the nearby town and works on infiltrating their operation.

Strong supporting characters really liven up this well-written adventure. Joe Sawyer is excellent as the tough guy who runs the mine--he wears a ranger hat, talks with his pipe in his mouth, and is suspicious of everyone. J. Carrol Naish is superb as the outfit's big boss--he's been shot and is laid up in bed but manages (barely) to maintain control over his gang. It's a small role but Naish delivers his lines in a terrific Edward G. Robinson snarl. ("Among fighters I was a fighter. But among scum like you, I'm a king.") Margaret Callahan is convincing as Naish's not easily intimidated sister. Having arrived by bus and joined the crooks to tend to her wounded brother, she gets to know Dix as well.

As Dix's investigation moves along, tension among the crooks bubbles, and it all builds to an exciting climax. Overall, this fast paced B adventure packs a lot into an hour. Very good.

Mystery House (1938)

Lighthearted mystery

[6/10 · 8 February 2020]

Country house, stormy night. A company president tells the officers seated around his dinner table that one of them has defrauded the company of half a million dollars. Then he goes off to bed--and soon is found dead. The police call it suicide but the man's daughter has her doubts. She asks her old aunt's nurse if she knows of any good detectives. "Why yes," Nurse Keate answers, "I think I know one of the best. Lance O'Leary is his name."

This dialog is silly but fun, as is the idea that you would ask a nurse to recommend a private detective. However, this B mystery doesn't take itself too seriously and while it may be short on thrills or snappy dialog, it's nevertheless quite entertaining.

Ann Sheridan is wide-eyed and earnest as Nurse Sara Keate, on hand to care for the cranky old invalid aunt. Dick Purcell is just fine as Lance O'Leary, the dashing detective and sometime boyfriend who is summoned by the nurse to look into the situation. Lance picks up clues, discusses them with Nurse Keate, and draws up theories. (Is the old aunt really confined to her wheelchair? "I'm not so sure about that," he says with set jaw.)

It's a pretty standard plot with a couple of murders and a handful of shady suspects. Elspeth Dudgeon is fun as the feisty old aunt. There's also a dog that has a pretty good role--he's always sniffing around at closed doors and even gets involved in the climactic fight.

A minor entry in the old dark house genre but fun for fans.

Back in Circulation (1937)

Loud performances, annoyingly bad plot

[4/10 · 8 February 2020]

Ace reporter Joan Blondell drives through the night and breaks some rules to get the story on the big train wreck. Back at the paper, she expects kudos--but boss Pat O'Brien does nothing but complain. Blondell is insulted, O'Brien insists that he appreciates her work, and they get all lovey-dovey for about two seconds...and then O'Brien tells her that she looks tired and she stomps out of his office, slamming the door and breaking the glass.

Both stars are energetic and talk fast but the characterizations are not subtle in this noisy newspaper drama. O'Brien is exceedingly bossy and unpleasant as the demanding editor; Blondell is just not believable as the hardboiled reporter who for some reason has a soft spot for her crabby boss.

The plot involves a murder investigation by Blondell and the paper. Having received an anonymous tip, Blondell stops a funeral and convinces the coroner to do an autopsy. Sure enough, the guy was poisoned. Could the murderer have been Margaret Lindsay, the beautiful widow? John Litel, the doctor who attributed the death to a heart attack? The paper pushes hard for Lindsay's indictment for the murder but just when it's almost too late, Blondell starts feeling guilty and wonders if Lindsay is innocent after all....

An interesting cast includes Regis Toomey, Eddie Acuff, and George E. Stone as various newspaper employees. Ben Welden plays a casino owner who, in one of the picture's many ridiculous sequences, visits O'Brien's office to help identify a suspect and then is held at gunpoint by O'Brien to prevent him leaving and talking to other papers' reporters.

A fast paced newspaper drama with these stars sounds like great fun. Unfortunately, the obnoxious characters and poor plot pretty much sink it.

Love on a Bet (1936)

Fun characters in entertaining cross country adventure

[7/10 · 22 January 2020]

Fast talker Gene Raymond wants to produce a play. His rich uncle refuses to back the play because its plot is ridiculous: A man leaves New York in his underwear and arrives 10 days later in Los Angeles with a new suit, $100 in his pocket, and a beautiful fiancée.

It's not ridiculous, Raymond argues. He says that he could do it himself--and bets his uncle that he will. If Raymond wins the bet, his uncle finances the play. If Raymond fails, he takes a job in the uncle's meat packing plant.

Meanwhile, Wendy Barrie and her aunt Helen Broderick discuss whether Barrie should marry wealthy Addison Randall. She would rather not but they're broke so, "All right, dear," she says, "I'll marry him." Barrie and Broderick set out on a cross country drive to Los Angeles to catch up with Randall; not at all surprisingly, on the way out of town, Raymond jumps on board as a travel partner and the unlikely trio set off together.

Their adventures along the way include a lesson from Raymond on roasting marshmallows ("Just keep your head down, your eye on the marshmallow, follow through"), a cider drinking contest with a surprise winner, and an encounter with a couple of wanted criminals.

Gene Raymond is brash and funny; Wendy Barrie is a good match, feisty and energetic. The plot is nothing too original, and for the most part this picture is a pretty standard entry in the cross country romance genre. However, the characters are well drawn and the stars are fun to watch. Overall this is a fun picture.

The Beloved Brat (1938)

Very entertaining in spite of silly plot

[7/10 · 22 January 2020]

Poor little rich girl Bonita Granville is lonely. It's her birthday but her parents are too busy even to have lunch with her. "I'm sorry, I can't make it," her father tells her casually. "Now, anything else you want for your birthday, just name it and it's yours."

Granville wanders off and makes a friend - a kid named Pinky who has a pop gun and likes to go fishing. But when Granville invites Pinky over to her house, the butler calls him a ragamuffin and throws him out. Now Bonita is mad and you can hardly blame her. One thing leads to another and soon she has set her bedroom on fire, helped to cause a car accident, and been sent to a girls' school to reform.

It's sappy and predictable but this family drama is still hard to resist. Bonita Granville pours on the wild mood swings pretty heavily, but in spite of the overblown emotions she remains charismatic and even charming. She makes us cringe a couple of times but we are certainly happy to root for her.

Donald Crisp and Natalie Moorhead give competent but thankless performances as the clueless parents. Dolores Costello is fine as the lead teacher at the school who urges patience with Granville; she strikes up a friendship with Donald Briggs, the one adult whom Granville seems to trust. A young Leo Gorcey appears in one scene and pushes Bonita into a river.

Overall, Bonita Granville is pretty much the whole show. It's a ridiculously corny plot but, surprisingly, it works.

The Patient in Room 18 (1938)

Lively mystery with some laughs

[6/10 · 8 January 2020]

Patric Knowles is noted author and crime specialist Lance O'Leary. He has been acting strangely after failing to solve a case and winds up in the hospital with a nervous breakdown. The doctor prescribes him rest and an absolute ban on anything to do with crime solving. Ann Sheridan is nurse Sara Keate, who tends to Lance and runs the hospital ward. Nurse Keate is Lance's girlfriend, is currently mad at him, and turns out to have an investigative streak of her own.

The setup is definitely comedy, and while the plot involves murder and missing radium, the emphasis is mostly on laughs in this modestly entertaining B mystery.

A rich patient has just bought the hospital $100,000 worth of radium and then checked right in. They put him in room 18 and he goes off to sleep with the radium taped to his chest. (Yes, taped to his chest--partly to safeguard the radium but mainly for the excellent health benefits.) Almost immediately the patient is murdered by a shadowy figure; the radium disappears. Who did it?

Among the suspects are a lawyer, a doctor, and various other characters who sneak around the hospital acting suspiciously. The police are called in, of course, but they seem perfectly happy to let Lance work on the case, while Nurse Keate gathers clues as well.

The plot really isn't much but Knowles and Sheridan are fun to watch. Knowles's best trick is hiding a lit cigarette in his mouth--until Sheridan catches him at it. Like that old trick, this movie is nothing particularly original but plenty enjoyable nevertheless.

Muss 'em Up (1936)

Edgy whodunit with complex plot, the usual suspicious characters

[6/10 · 7 January 2020]

Tough guy private detective Preston Foster is summoned via telegram. Rich client Alan Mowbray is having trouble: Someone has shot his dog and sent him a letter warning that "The next time it will be you."

Foster gets to work quickly but Mowbray's daughter is kidnapped, his chauffeur's son is killed...and the house is full of shady suspects.

Margaret Callahan is fine as the secretary who actually sent the telegram asking for Foster's help; she and the detective naturally suspect each other's abilities before teaming up. Ralph Morgan is Mowbray's sneaky brother-in-law. John Carroll is a suspicious-looking smooth talker who is involved with the daughter. Mowbray, the rich client, is known as "the guy with a house full of guns," and entertains himself by taking indoor target practice.

Preston Foster is not bad as the rough-and-tumble investigator who wants the facts and makes no pretense at being a gentleman detective. He is assisted by Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, a bodyguard who spends his spare moments reading up on parlor tricks. (A rare moment of comic relief features Williams attempting a funny disappearing egg trick that he doesn't understand.)

The picture's tone is more that of a gangster drama than a typical parlor mystery. Overall, though, the complex plot and good performances make for a solid whodunit.

Blind Alibi (1938)

Artist and dog search for stolen letters in bland museum drama

[4/10 · 1 December 2019]

Richard Dix is an artist with a nice little Parisian garret. His sister asks him to retrieve some letters that are being used to blackmail her. He almost succeeds in stealing the letters but the packet slips away, concealed in a shipment of artworks on its way to a California museum. Dix moves west and hatches a plan to get into the museum: He pretends he is blind and hangs out in the museum studying and making copies of its sculptures.

Once in the museum, Dix digs around when he can, hoping to stumble on the packet. Whitney Bourne plays the beautiful museum director who takes an interest in Dix, little knowing his real purpose there. Eduardo Ciannelli and Paul Guilfoyle are a couple of crooks working for the blackmailers--they are also after the letters and Guilfoyle even picks up a job as a museum guard.

Dix and Bourne do their best but the far-fetched plot is never remotely believable. Weak dialog, predictable characters....I hate to say it but there just isn't a lot to recommend about this one.

Ace the Wonder Dog has a featured role as Dix's seeing eye dog. Unfortunately, even Ace's scenes aren't particularly convincing.

Exclusive Story (1936)

Newspaper vs. crooks in solid drama

[6/10 · 15 November 2019]

Madge Evans tracks down a newspaper reporter and asks for help: she overheard a racketeer pressuring her grocer father to sell more numbers - or else. Hard-nosed reporter Stuart Erwin is on the case but newspaper lawyer Franchot Tone thinks it's a lot of fuss over nickel and dime gambling.

Erwin investigates while Evans assists and worries about her father. Tone gradually comes around and joins the fight. It's a predictable plot but this fast-paced crime drama features some solid performances.

J. Farrell MacDonald is sympathetic as Evans's father, the kindly grocer. Joseph Calleia is appropriately nasty as the clever racketeer who threatens MacDonald and leers at Evans. The cast of familiar B movie veterans also includes Robert Barrat as the head mobster, Wade Boteler as a bodyguard, and Raymond Hatton as a newspaper editor.

Erwin has the juiciest role as the hard-working wise guy reporter. In one great shot, he's about to board a flight out of town, coat on, cigarette in mouth. He says goodbye to his wife, takes out his cigarette, kisses her--and then exhales smoke.

Evans and Tone are a little less colorful but both come across as attractive and convincing. Overall it's an enjoyable and fast-moving adventure that is fun as long as you don't think about it too much. (For example: Evans calls up Erwin to report that a man has been murdered on her doorstep. His response: "I'll be right there. Hold everything. And don't call the cops!")

Midnight Court (1937)

Fast-paced crime drama is entertaining but predictable

[6/10 · 15 November 2019]

One-time district attorney John Litel has fallen on hard times. He's down and out, drinking in a dive bar. The cops raid the joint and take everybody to night court. Charged with drunkenness, Litel makes a passionate speech to the judge about how wrong he was to try and protect a thankless public when he was the DA. Suddenly court clerk Ann Dvorak calls out his name. He passes out on the courtroom floor.

It's not too believable but John Litel and Ann Dvorak give sincere performances in this modest crime melodrama.

We soon learn that Litel and Dvorak were formerly married, before he got all broken down and bitter. Having taken him to her apartment for breakfast, Dvorak challenges Litel to pull himself together...at which point he announces that he has decided to go to work for a local mob boss and become "the greatest criminal attorney this town has ever known."

Litel succeeds in starting up a new career getting crooks acquitted. The bad guys love him, including boss William B. Davidson. Their car stealing racket is going great. Litel is certainly getting rich...but Dvorak holds out hope for his redemption. What will it take to turn him back around?

Plenty of dramatics but not a lot of careful character development in this standard fast-moving B picture.