Fast Life

"Fast Life" is a so-so comedy romance built around early boat racing off Catalina Island. The plot is okay, but the screenplay, filming and editing are all very choppy. The comedy is sparse. MGM apparently wasn't putting as much effort, quality and talent into some of its early films that it did for others. "Possessed" of 1931 with Clark Gable and Joan Crawford is an example. Other films with prominent leading actors were much better quality. The most interesting thing about this film is the boat racing and speeding that it shows.

This is a rare look at William Haines in the lead role as Sanderson 'Sandy' Norton. Haines had been a leading man in silent films throughout the 1920s. But, he would make only two more films after this one that would end his Hollywood career. His voice isn't bad for sound films, but his persona and appearance were rough and not as handsome as some established and rising actors were providing. William Powell was already a popular leading man whose star would continue to rise through the 1940s. Clark Gable was rising to stardom and James Stewart would be added in a couple of years to the MGM cadre of handsome, leading men and superb actors.

None of the cast are exceptional in this film. Most are forgettable, even though Madge Evans, Conrad Nagel, and some others continued in the show business - movies and/or TV into the 1960s. Here are some of the better lines in the film.

Shirley Jameson, "I like your nerve." Sandy Sanderson, "That's a good start. Gradually, you'll like all of me."

John Jameson, "My boy, your only fault is modesty."

Clarence Burton, "Sanderson, has Miss Jameson told you that we are engaged?" Sandy Sanderson, "Why, no. Has she told you?" Burton, "Well, practically." Sanderson, "Practically? Heh, heh, heh. Now, when I was in the Navy, I was practically an admiral. But the Navy Department didn't know a thing about it."

John Jameson, "A quitter never wins, and a winner never quits."