Fast and Furious

ANN SOTHERN and FRANCHOT TONE play a husband and wife team, a book dealer and his scheming, scatterbrained wife who get involved with murder at a seaside resort. She tags along to help solve the crime, but mostly because she knows there are too many bathing beauties around that might catch his eye.

Among the suspects are LEE BOWMAN, RUTH HUSSEY, MARY BETH HUGHES and ALLYN JOSLYN, with FRANK ORTH and some tame lions providing some unusual comedy relief. Miss Hussey is the surprise here, playing the sort of "heavy" role as a villainess that she seldom ever essayed in other films. Mary Beth Hughes does her usual blonde beauty routine and Allyn Joslyn is the best character actor in the cast.

With the accent on comedy, it's not difficult for FRANCHOT TONE and ANN SOTHERN to carry the leads with effortless charm.

Probably passed the time pleasantly as the second feature on a double bill, but hasn't dated as badly as some other comedy/mysteries of this sort have. Busby Berkeley is the unlikely director.

Joel Sloane, a lawyer, is visited by a friend, Mike Stevens, who wants to borrow some money from him to invest in his boss' business that promises excellent return. Sloane, is reluctant at first, but relents because Mike seems a nice guy. Mike extends him an invitation to come to Seaside for the pageant. Little does Joel know he has already been made a judge in the competition.

As Joel arrives at the resort town with his wife Garda, things begin taking a different twist. The arrival of Eric Bartell in the scene and the murder of Mike's boss present a problem. Mike is hauled to jail for suspicion of being the one that committed the crime. There are other people around that could be involved, but Joel runs in different directions to help Mike and solve the mystery to clear his friend.

At the hotel where the Sloanes are staying there is a lion tamer who plays a trick on them in one of the best moments in the movie. Needless to say, Joel realizes who the real culprit is and unmasks the person at the end for a happy ending.

Busby Berkeley directed this light MGM comedy with his usual eye for style and movement. Best of all are Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern who played the Sloanes with elegance and fun. Others in the film are Ruth Hussey, Lee Bowman, John Miljan and Mary Beth Hughes.

The movie is a light entertainment, a product of the times. Watch it as a curiosity.

Engaging fluff which must have been a second feature back in Hollywood's Golden Age. Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern are the principals in a comedy/ mystery with a dizzy plot. The couple go on a semi-vacation to what must be Atlantic City. Tone is to be a judge at a beauty contest but the promoter is murdered during the festivities. Lots of snappy dialogue and plot twists in this good-natured story, directed by none other than Busby Berkley.

Tone and Sothern work well together to make the picture work and with able support from Lee Bowman and Ruth Hussey. Harmless fun from this better-than-average 'B" picture that strives to be an "A".

6/10 - Website no longer prints my star rating.

Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern star as Joel and Garda Sloane in this slick, lighthearted murder mystery. Joel loans his good friend Mike (Lee Bowman) $5,000 to invest in a beauty pageant. Mike invites Joel to the pageant and enlists him as a judge. When the pageant's producer is murdered and the police are convinced that Mike did it, Joel and Garda decide to investigate in order to clear Mike. It's all a bit of a lark since no one really liked the murder victim. As to be expected, Tone and Sothern did a good job with their banter and comedic flair. However, Sothern's Garda's excessive jealousy of Joel's casual attention to the bevy of beauties quickly becomes boring and somewhat annoying. The bit about the lion tamer (Frank Orth) and his two lions is far fetched but quite funny. This is an entertaining and enjoyable movie and is recommended.

B-movies were cheap and short films that were made to play as the lesser film at a double-feature. Many small-time studios specialized in Bs (such as Monogram and Republic) and the bigger studios also made Bs. In this case, the very respected MGM produced what seems like a B-movie in almost every way except that its stars were slightly better than you'd expect to see in a B. Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern star as a married couple who, not surprisingly, investigate crimes but are NOT professional detectives. I say 'not surprisingly' because there were plenty of B films with amateur detectives constantly showing up the police--such as Boston Blackie, Bulldog Drummond and Nancy Drew. And, like these other films, this was one of a series of such films--though NONE of the actors and actresses who played the two main roles played them in more than one film! The movie begins with Garda Sloane trying to trick her husband Joel into taking them on a vacation. Coincidentally, an old friend arrives and talks about a beauty contest going on at the SAME place where the Sloanes are headed (what are the odds?!). Once there, the Sloanes meet this friend once again but also (not surprisingly) stumble into a murder. And, like the genre, the pair begin investigating the crime and do far better than trained detectives.

The plot is about average for this sort of film--no better, no worse. However, Tone and Sothern are quite good AND the dialog is quite nice. It also helps that there is a nice sense of humor about the film--such as the wonderful dictophone scene. Overall, breezy and entertaining--but you wonder why neither Tone nor Sothern were used again for these roles.