Movie Stats:
Released 1934 (USA)
American, in English
Director - W.S. Van Dyke
Stars - William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan, Nat Pendleton
Plot Summary:
Wealthy Nick & Nora Charles (Powell & Loy) get drawn into a murder investigation and have to use their sleuthing skills to solve the case. O’Sullivan co-stars as Dorothy Wynant, daughter of a missing man who’s suspected of the murder, and Pendleton as police detective Guild. This is the first film of a detective serial that was popular at the time.
Warnings:
Violence; minor gore; implied sexy times.
Bad Stuff:
None of the acting wowed me. It was just okay.
The “reveal” scene goes on far too long. I realize that the movie is trying to tease the audience, but by that point I just wanted them to wrap things up.
Good Stuff:
It’s a pretty good mystery. Even though I guessed early who the ultimate “bad guy” is, I don’t necessarily think it was obvious.
The chemistry between Powell and Loy is phenomenal. I really enjoyed their relationship.
It’s funny. Lots of great dialogue.
Loved the soundtrack.
About the Performance:
Like I said, no one knocked it out of the park, but Loy was more than adequate. She’s got great comedic timing, and her chemistry with Powell is most of what makes the film “zing.” I do wish that she had a little bit more to do. Once it got to the sleuthing portion of the film, there was a strong element of “protect the delicate woman from the bad stuff” that kept her out of most of the action. Overall, however, I found her very likable and engaging.
Other performances of Loy’s I’ve reviewed: The Best Years of Our Lives; The Great Ziegfeld.
The Verdict:
I really enjoyed this film. It’s not the best story ever written and the acting isn’t Oscar-caliber. But it’s still immensely entertaining. Regular readers know that I’m a sucker for characters who face adversity with feigned indifference and snark. This film is full of people like that, and with lots of other fun, eccentric characters. There’s so much great, funny dialogue, and it comes at you so fast that it can be easy to miss, so you'll want to pay close attention. I can see why this serial was popular. It’s immensely entertaining.
I give it 4 stars.
2 comments:
And who doesn't love a good entertaining? I think I've needed to be entertained a lot in 2017. Sheesh.
I hear that re: entertainment! I was listening to the "You Must Remember This" podcast earlier & she made a passing mention of Myrna Loy in a pre-Thin Man role. It was a pleasant little shock to hear a random reference that I got!
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