Blind Adventure

"Blind Adventure" is an agreeable low-budget adventure film and while it won't change your life, it is worth your time.

"Blind Adventure" begins with an American (Robert Armstrong) stumbling into a London home and seeing what appears to be a dead man! He immediately leaves the flat and gets help, but when he returns only a moment later, the body is gone and everyone inside behaves as if nothing has happened and Armstrong is crazy. However, a woman staying there in the flat (Helen Mack) realizes SOMETHING is amiss and the rest of the film is like a jigsaw puzzle, as the two of them and a new friend (Roland Young) all worth together to figure out what's really going on--and with spies, blackmail and the sort, it's all pretty exciting.

While the film is easy enough to forget, it has an interesting plot, decent acting and some agreeable supporting actors. I could say more about the film but I don't want to ruin the mystery.

In London, businessman Richard Bruce (Robert Armstrong) is a stranger to the city. He gets lost in the London fog and stumbles into the wrong house where he discovers a dead body. A man runs out and disappears into the fog. Richard gives chase and bumps into a seemingly different person. They go back together to the house but the body is gone and the people there are incensed.

The situation is convoluted but a little fun in the way of a manufactured mystery. I think the fog really helps. It's a big part of the plot and gives a nice spooky tone to the movie. Running around the chimney is just silly. It's a mystery with its tongue fully in cheek. Every once in awhile, there is a silly line that comes out of nowhere. I do wonder if the dead man should stay dead. By being alive, the dead man just adds more to the complications.

Noel Coward may have sung of the self-possession of an Englishman in New York, but Robert Armstrong is an American in London in this movie. Lost in a Pea-Souper, he wanders into a home to ask directions back to his hotel only to discover a corpse resting in an armchair.

This quickie is more interesting for its details than its overall effect. The fun of seeing Roland Young playing a soft-hearted Cockney burglar is offset a bit by Helen Mack's unsteady posh accent; the nice plot conceit of starting the movie out by having the whole thing appear to be a P.G. Wodehouse London populated by idiotic young Drones, only to finally reveal the John-Buchan machinations beneath is lessened by the limited number of jokes (mostly a fascination with English Trifles) and the inexplicable inability of people to overcome a copper armed with a whistle.

Still, what there is, is good, is mostly well performed and moves at a good clip. If the bits don't hang together perfectly, many of the bits are a lot of fun.

Blind Adventure (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Director Schoedsack and star Robert Armstrong made this film right after KING KONG and right before THE SON OF KONG so needless to say it's understandable why it's been forgotten over the years. In the film Armstrong plays an American visiting London for the first time and he accidentally walks into a house and finds a dead body. Before long he, a woman (Helen Mack) and a burglars (Roland Young) are involved with a gang of criminals trying to blackmail an important figure. This certainly isn't in the same league as other Schoedsack titles but it's a decent little mystery that will appeal to those who enjoy this type of low-budget thriller, which RKO was an expert at back in the day. For the most part the story is a rather interesting one even though the screenplay never gets too deep into any sort of details. We're pretty much introduced to our characters, the conspiracy and then we see it play out with a few twists and turns but for the most part everything is played straight and quick. At just 63-minutes there's really not too many details about anything but this isn't a bad thing because I'm sure had they added more time then the thing would have started to drag. Armstong is pretty good in his part as the story gives him plenty of attempts at playing the strong, tough guy but it also has fun with his comic timing. This is easy to spot during a scene where he's trying to get out of a party so that he can get a bit of information to the Secret Service. The story really doesn't do Mack much justice but she's certainly easy on the eyes and mixes well with Armstrong. Young doesn't get much to do either but he's fine in the role as is a young Ralph Bellamy. There's some running gags about Americans in London and we even get some nice atmosphere thanks to what appears to be the best fog machine in Hollywood history. The amount of fog that is constantly going is rather fun and makes for a few interesting scenes including one on top of a building where our three leads are trying to get down. BLIND ADVENTURE isn't going to make anyone forget that giant ape but if you've got some time to kill you should be entertained.

1st watched 6/4/2002 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Ernest Shoedsack): Whimsical, and interesting man being at the wrong place at the wrong time movie where an American in London becomes involved with some sort of spy thriller quite accidentally. Hard to find, forgotten film from the co-director of `King Kong.' is really played out well from beginning to end. Robert Armstrong plays the man in the wrong place with humor and bravado when needed, showing his ability to con even the cons on his own despite his anonymity. He was supposed to be taking in London for the excitement of the city but on his own he was bored, but he's dragged into an adventure that is carried on mostly in the fog-filled London streets which I'm sure helped give it the title. This is a quiet gem that should be brought out more into the open. Watch it if you can find it.