The Florentine Dagger

In fact some of the dialogue is so out there it's actually an asset versus a distraction for this little B mystery film from Warner Brothers. The stars are all good performers, with Margaret Lindsay being a 30's post-code favorite actress of mine. But some of that dialogue - and just some of it - seems like it was produced by title card writers from 1910. I just don't know how Donald Woods and Margaret Lindsay could keep a straight face given some of their campy lines.

The story starts with three visitors to the famous abandoned castle of the Borgias in Italy. One is producer Victor Ballau (Henry O'Neill), another is psychiatrist Gerard Lytton (C. Aubrey Smith), and a third is a troubled young man (Donald Woods) who is the last of the Borgias - his namesake is Cesare Borgia to whom he bears a remarkable likeness. The troubled young man, Juan Cesare, attempts suicide to prevent himself from becoming a murderer when he feels the Borgia urge to kill rise up in him. Fortunately his attempt is thwarted by Dr. Lytton. Instead, Juan goes to Vienna where he recovers from his obsessions with his heritage and writes a play for Ballau that is about the Borgias. Juan cannot find the perfect Lucrezia Borgia for his play until he meets Ballau's step-daughter Florence (Margaret Lindsay). The long and short of it is that Victor Ballau winds up dead in his study one night, stabbed to death with one of the Florentine daggers he possesses that once belonged to the Borgias. There are many suspects, and the mystery has many unexpected twists and turns and for that matter, many improbabilities.

One of the goofiest and best things about this film besides its campy dialogue is Robert Barrat's performance as Police Inspector Von Brinkner who is in charge of the murder investigation. Von Brinkner's not a threatening kind of fellow at all, and he's given to all kinds of appetite, usually found to be chewing on brie and the finest food he can scrounge when he isn't chewing scenery, or talking to his girlfriend on the phone. However he turns out to be surprisingly competent and generous. Watch and find out what I mean.

One thing you'll probably note is the precode ending a full year after the production code went into effect. Again, you'll have to watch to find out what I mean, but I just don't know how the censors let this ending stand as it did.

"The Florentine Dagger" is a Warner Brothers film from 1935 starring Donald Woods, Margaret Lindsay, Henry O'Neill, and C. Aubrey Smith. Woods plays a descendant of the Borgias who comes to Italy to see the Borgia castle. Apparently afraid that he has inherited the Borgia madness, he tries to kill himself with a potion, but the psychiatrist (Smith) tells him it's fake. He suggests that Woods write a play about the family and achieve some closure that way. O'Neill plays a producer who does the play in Vienna, with his daughter (Lindsay) as the lead. The play is a huge hit, and Woods and Lindsay fall for one another. When O'Neill is stabbed with a Florentine dagger, Woods becomes the main suspect.

Very atmospheric for such a small film with some good performances, particularly by Robert Barrat as a police inspector who's quite funny. Lindsay is miscast as this mysterious, goddess-like woman whose performance is the talk of Vienna. A Greta Garbo role in the hands of Margaret Lindsay, a completely different type.

A short film, fairly well done given the budget.

This 65-minute mystery was part of the Warner Brothers' "Clue Club" series of programmers. Most of these short thrillers are truly unwatchable melanges of slapstick and skullduggery. The Florentine Dagger is a little better, and does keep one's interest with the foggy Viennese (as opposed to foggy London) locations, production values that aren't bottom-of-the-barrel, and a story that involves a descendant of the Borgias. C. Aubrey Smith lends a real whiff of greasepaint to the proceedings. Don't waste your life waiting for this one to roll around, but, if you catch it, you may find it a tolerable way to pass an hour.

Donald Woods plays a descendant of the infamous Borgia family who believes he is predestined for evil. When the father of the girl he loves (Margaret Lindsay) is murdered, Woods worries he might be responsible. I'm a big fan of Margaret Lindsay. She's one of my favorite actresses from this period that doesn't get much recognition and she's the primary reason I watched this. She doesn't have a very juicy part but she makes the most of it. Donald Woods is boxing above his weight class here. The role requires a more theatrical actor I think. Woods is a little too stiff for such a neurotic character. Robert Barrat steals every scene he's in as the police inspector investigating the murder. A minor thing but I liked the use of model trains in a couple of early scenes. It may seem cheap today but I think it adds a quaint charm to the movie. A nice little programmer from WB with a neat ending. A little silly at times but interesting enough to warrant checking out.

Florentine Dagger, The (1935)

** (out of 4)

Yet another murder/mystery with this time a young play-write (Donald Woods) stopping off in a small village where he meets a beautiful young woman (Margaret Lindsay) who he wants in his latest play. Soon the play is a hit and they want to be married but her father (Henry O'Neill) refuses permission but soon he's found dead with a dagger in his heart. That's pretty much the set-up to this thing but in the end I found the majority of the picture to be downright boring with very little going for it. I've always thought Florey did his best work outside this genre as it just seemed like he never could pull things together very well. I think the biggest problem with this film isn't his direction but instead it's the screenplay that doesn't offer up any decent characters and the weak story is just a major drag. I had a very hard time getting into the film early on simply because the characters were all underwritten and even worse is the fact that the movie itself doesn't really know what it wants to do. Yes, we eventually get the mystery but everything is pretty dry without any small laughs and the romance is pretty boring as well. Woods is usually a very reliable actor but even he seems very bored here as he goes from one scene to another without too much energy and seems to be lacking any type of passion. Lindsay is also pretty bland in his role but so is O'Neill as the soon-to-be-dead father and Robert Barrat does very little with the Inspector role. C. Aubrey Smith is good as the doctor who ends up staying close to Woods. Florey does add a couple nice touches including a rich atmosphere in the house as well as a few other scenes where the darkness does some justice but in the end this thing is just too flat for its own good.