The Firebird

In "The Firebird", Ricardo Cortez plays Herman Brandt, a stage actor and complete cad who loves to use women in order to further his fortunes. Again and again, you see him treating these women like dirt...so it's no surprise when eventually he is found dead in his apartment...a murder victim. So, it's up to the local police inspector (C. Aubrey Smith) to determined who did it and why.

This film had a very nice cast. Cortez was good, as always, as a smooth and amoral cad. As for the rest, many are exceptional supporting actors (such as Smith, Anita Louise and Lionel Atwill) and they work together to make a very dandy picture. I especially liked the way the Inspector handled the case.

In Vienna, arrogant famous musician Herman Brandt (Ricardo Cortez) moves into a high-end apartment. John (Lionel Atwill) and Carola Pointer (Verree Teasdale) with their daughter Mariette (Anita Louise) live in that building. Herman makes a pass at Carola and she is not amused. She complains but he refuses to leave. He gets murdered and the Pointers are the obvious suspects.

I like the setup. It seems ready for a good murder mystery. Once the investigation starts, the story gets bogged down. The intensity slowly leaks out of the balloon. It could have gone a lot better. This is based on a play. I don't how close is the adaptation. It does need to energize the screen much more. I started really invested in the characters. By the end, I don't really care as much.

You can tell that a lot of production money was thrown at THE FIREBIRD but for the life of me I can't tell why it's set in Germany. Ricardo Cortez (the corpse to be) plays a horndog actor with a shady past who lives in a high class apartment building. There's an angry ex-wife, an effeminate personal assistant that's in love with the corpse's Dachsund, and well heeled neighbors with a lovely daughter (Anita Louise) who fear for their reputation. C. Aubrey Smith, the 71-year old impeccable Englishman, plays the police inspector. Remember this is supposed to be set in 1934 Germany (what, no Nazis?). Except for the wiener dog, the apartment manager's pipe, beer swilling policeman and some German shop signs, you'd never know it. Not one stab at an accent between them. A standard whodunnit.

It was not only in more recent times that parents asked themselves what was going on with the younger generation. In pre-War Vienna too -- parents forbade their children from listening to Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite." Anita Louise is the daughter to Verree Teasdale and Lionel Atwill. The story concerns who has been tempted by Ricardo Cortez, the actor living in the apartment below? Someone silences him forever -- they might have done so earlier and spiced up a very slow start. Some twists and turns towards the end can't save this otherwise forgettable social commentary masquerading as a mystery.

I had never heard of this movie, and had never seen Verree Teasdale given top billing in a film, so I tuned in for the novelty value.

It turned out to be a very pleasant surprise -- a fast-paced story, imaginatively presented.

The cast is full of faces familiar to any '30s movie fan -- C. Aubrey Smith, Ricardo Cortez (he of the dazzling smile), Anita Louise.

There's even a wire-haired terrier that looks like the dog who played Asta (I don't know the canine actor's name!)

So I recommend this as a little-known but certainly worth-seeing gem, and a great reason for keeping your TCM subscription up to date.