Mr. and Mrs. North

Gracie Allen and William Post, Jr. are the Norths in "Mr. and Mrs. North," based on the characters created by Francis and Richard Lockridge. Actually, all the studio did was take the names and attempt to make them into Thin Man ripoffs. I read a lot of Mr. and Mrs. North books, and all I remember is that they drank like fish and had a college-age son.

This is a fun mystery, with Gracie being Gracie, but William Post, Jr. is not quite right for her. Of course her ideal partner was George Burns, who looked upon her antics with wry humor. Post kind of sighs and gives up. Also given the way he acts, it's kind of hard to figure out why they got married.

Felix Bressart is a riot as the Fowler Brush Man who is summoned to the D.A.'s office and keeps introducing himself as "The Fowler Brush Man" and getting thrown out of every office. Great to see a young Virginia Grey, too, and Jerome Cowan, Tom Conway, Fortunio Bonanova as the landlord, and Paul Kelly as the detective on the murder case. He cringes every time he hears the name "Mrs. North." You might too, so watch at your own risk.

I recall, as a young lad, listening to Mr. & Mrs. North on the radio. The show was, basically, a clone of "The Thin Man" with the North's engaging in amusing banter and solving murders a la Nick & Nora (but with no Asta). However, when MGM decided to make a motion picture about the North's, they went for the broad laughs by casting Gracie Allen as Pam North. This obvious miscasting simply did not work.

Gracie Allen was an attractive woman who, for many years, played a lovable, scatterbrained character on Radio, Television, and in a few movies. She did this to perfection. But, the common denominator in her career was the presence of her husband, the talented and much loved George Burns. Burns was perfect at playing the straight man and comic foil for Gracie and her outrageous ramblings. But, Burns wasn't in this movie and the resulting mediocre effort shows it. Instead of being funny, Gracie was simply annoying and, at times, obnoxious in her role. This movie would have been so much better with a different actress playing the part of Pam North.

From my standpoint, one very pleasant surprise was the casting of Fortunio Bonanova as the North's landlord. He was only in a couple of early scenes but, his presence in any movie is always a treat for me. His rich, Italian accented voice is superb, whether he is speaking or singing.

All in all, this is a decent little comedy-mystery but, it sure could have, and would have been better without Gracie Allen.

Although Gracie Allen outdid herself in the Gracie Allen Murder Case, this film has Gracie solving the mystery in her own inimitable fashion. Her conclusions, as only she can reach them.

With someone as well known and as popular as Gracie Allen, who by this time had spent ten years on national radio (and was to spend ten years on national television in 1950-1959) steps into a role, preconceptions abound.

If they can be left aside, Gracie Allen does an admirable job, in her own inimitable way, of playing the part of Mrs. North. William Post also does a good job. If you're looking for George Burns, you won't find him. But it's unfair to judge Post by comic Burns' standards. Post was playing a part and did so very well.

In fact, he handled Allen with the grace of a bewildered husband, but did it in a different way than Burns. So what? Post's dignity and style were all his own and he handled his part well. You might ask why did he marry someone as crazy as Gracie Allen? You could ask the same thing of George Burns. But, you're forgetting this is a movie -- a film. It is played for laughs, and Allen and Post fit into this mold well.

The movie has charm and carries your interest throughout. It has several funny gags, too, that work well in this film. This is a really good comedic mystery, just as it's supposed to be.

Both Gracie Allen and William Post deliver fine performances in their roles of Mr. and Mrs. North.

I guess if you were exposed to a lot of Gracie Allen, with or without hubby George Burns, you would have a different perspective. While I've seen Gracie with George a time or two, can't say I'm overexposed with her. She came across very attractive and interesting in this. She's refreshing if you haven't had your fill of her elsewhere. I didn't miss George especially - hey, they were doing something different here, likely attempting to trade on her popularity. But, it took a little while getting used to her with hubby, Post, seeming too young and precocious himself. Mr. Burns, being much the dry, straight man, is a perfect foil. However, this Post is an attractive fellow, who did fine. It's not a tight spy thriller, after all. I really liked Gracie talking through the credits at the end. That was a very funny touch. I don't know what most expect from this type of thing, but for what it was, a mystery comedy on the lower budget order, it was good. You had the usual improbable hijinks going on, the usual sort of fairly inept coppers and the usual suspects. Though there were some good actors in this, it was Gracie's show, shared mainly with Post, her husband, who, again, I thought did a good job.