After Office Hours

Take a story of no significance, load it with events of dubious credibility...and what do you have? If you also manage to include roles that are ideal for Clark Gable, Constance Bennett and Billie Burke, and if you find these players at the top of their form, and bring this mix alive with a crackling script by Herman Mankiewicz, the significance and credibility of it all are distinctly secondary. The characters talk fast, think fast, and move fast. This type of picture was done often in the 30s: part screwball, part melodrama, part love story (with sharp edges). When it worked - as it surely does here - you would be royally entertained. Enjoy.

"After Office Hours", directed by Robert Z. Leonard was shown as part of a Constance Bennett retrospective the other day on TCM. This 1935 film was written for the screen by Herman Mankiewicz.

The wonderful world of New York's high society and the sensational news by the tabloids of the thirties are combined in this movie to give us a fast paced comedy in which most of the comments submitted to this forum express a surprise in the turn it takes when the happy situation at the start of the film and the illicit romance being investigated by a newspaper changes into a different, and unexpected climax.

The gorgeous Constance Bennett and the handsome Clark Gable are a delight to watch in the movie. Both these actors had great chemistry, and frankly, it's a shame they weren't seen together more often. Ms. Bennett was at, perhaps, one of the best times in her career and as the society girl turned newspaper music critic, she makes quite an impression. Also, the newspaper editor portrayed by Mr. Gable is one of his best characterizations in the movies.

Also in the cast some famous faces, the luminous Billie Burke, who plays Ms. Bennett's mother is a welcome presence in any film. Stuwart Erwin, Harvey Stephens, Henry Travers, William Demarest and Margaret Dumond are seen in supporting roles.

This is an excellent movie because of the fine contributions of Constance Bennett and Clark Gable.

Clark Gable is fun as a (maybe not so) tough-guy reporter. Stuart Erwin is wasted -- fine but he deserved more -- as his subordinate. Billie Burke is as always fun. But Constance Bennett strolls away with this.

Probably 99.9% of all living beings today have never heard of Ms. Bennett. Granted, about 90% have probably never heard of Clark Gable, either, But there is something odd about Bennett's fall from grace.

She was a huge star and her performances hold up beautifully. Yet, she seems to be viewed as a blip on the radar screen of American movie history, which she really was not.

I wonder, as an example, why "Topper" is almost never shown. I saw it once and thought it a very chic and appealing screwball comedy. Heaven knows, it spawned sequels (sot of sequels) and a TV series based on it was quite popular. Are there some sort of copyright problems? This movie, in any case, has a nice, twisting plot. It's amusing, it's stylish, it has a bit of suspense. It isn't great by any means, though it surely would have been more fun before the Code -- only a year or two before it was released.

(The title is racy but seems to have little bearing on the movie itself, just as an aside.)

Until the murder takes place, "After Office Hours" seems tired and boring with a stellar cast going to waste, but then it turns into a fairly decent romantic comedy murder yarn. Though it is always a delight to see Constance Bennett and Clark Gable on the screen, and together they do make a dynamic pair, the funniest lines come from Stu Erwin and William Demarest. The movie comes to life when the police detective (Demarest in an uncredited role)investigates the crime scene. Demarest steals the show and it becomes obvious why he went on to become one of Hollywood's leading character actors. The most hilarious part of the movie comes toward the end when Jim Branch (Gable) is doing his own investigation at the prime suspect's house. He has Hank Parr (Erwin)talk as loud as possible to see if his voice can be heard over the music coming from the Victrola upstairs. If you don't laugh at Stu Erwin's antics in this scene then you need to have your giggle box tested. It was pleasing to see Margaret Dumont, the butt of so many of Groucho's wisecracks in the Marx Brothers films, in a brief walk on part. She makes the most of the few seconds given her. Too bad she wasn't given a larger part.

Though this is no "It Happened One Night," it is entertaining with several cleverly written scenes highlighting the comic talents of Stu Erwin and William Demarest. Add the enchanting Constance Bennett, the always debonair Clark Gable, a tipsy Billie Burke and how can you go wrong?

I was surprised when what I thought was a lighthearted comedy turned into a murder mystery. This seemed to be the film's biggest flaw -- neck-wrenching changes in the action and feel of the show. Is it a romantic comedy, a dark mystery, a brooding social commentary on the upper-crust of society, or what? It didn't know, and neither does the viewer. One thing I did enjoy was finding "other" stars in the movie -- Billie Burke (The Good Witch from "Wizard of Oz") as Mrs. Norwood and William Demarest (Uncle Charlie from 60's/70's TV Show "My Three Sons") as a police detective. I think the film could have used a bit of editing for flow, otherwise it was a nice diversion. Just slightly above average, but I'm glad I saw it.