Slightly Honorable

"Slightly Honorable" is a rather strange but enjoyable film. I say strange because it's a serious drama about crime and murder...yet the movie also has an oddly comedic bent to it.

The story begins with the Highway Commissioner dying in an auto accident on a poorly maintained road. This ironic beginning is there to acquaint the audience with the fact that there's a lot of corruption in local government. And, it's not just the Commissioner but the District Attorney as well as the publisher of the local newspaper (Edward Arnold). When once of John Webb's old lady friends is murdered, Webb (Pat O'Brian) is out to determine who did it...and he assumes Cushing and his cronies are behind it.

The film never can be taken all that seriously because it never really takes itself seriously. This isn't a complaint so much as telling you about the style...but it is a bit of a problem with the film takes a dark and unexpected turn near the end. Best see it to see what I mean. Overall, a modestly enjoyable film....nothing about it says must-see, but it will keep your attention.

this is one of those pleasant surprises that makes buying cheap films you've never heard of before so much fun. the first thing that came to mind as this film unreeled was how much fun the dialogue was. this is the blue collar version of the thin man. what it lacks in dry humor and sly irony, from nick and nora, is made up for in sheer fun. ruth terry is terrific as pat o'brien's wannabe girl. her energy is almost manic, and o'brien plays off it perfectly as the straight man to her ditzy rambles. the rest of the cast doesn't let you down either. arnold, arden and broderick crawford play their parts without flaw. the mystery, per se, is pretty average; realizing that you must wonder why more 'average' plots don't fall into the hands of talented directors, writers and cast and go on to be really good films. my only sorrow is in the DVD i have, the alpha video version #alp4644d. if you can find another print, get it. the visuals are OK, at least i have seen much worse, but the sound track is dreadful. about half of the film i couldn't understand, and i still loved it.

The overriding story of the film - the murder of a well-known party girl (Claire Dodd) whose body is discovered by crusading attorney John Webb (Pat O'Brien) who also happens to be a former boyfriend - and things don't look good for our hero who is instantly murder suspect number one. Furthermore Webb is trying to get the goods on graft king Vincent Cushing (Edward Arnold). Webb thinks Cushing did the murder and set him up to take the fall, and thus spends the rest of the movie trying to clear his name. The movie is well-paced and everything is moving along in an interesting fashion when every few minutes - like interference on a radio channel - in pops Ruth Terry's character and her incessant yammering. She has her eye set on Webb from the moment she sees him although she says she's 18 and he looks old enough to be her father. She lies about her background, so why couldn't she be lying about her age? If Webb were smarter he'd be equally as worried about getting involved in a statutory rape rap as he is murder. What girl of 18 gets dressed up in a revealing gown, goes to a party full of known hoods, and then is shocked when one puts the moves on her? Or doesn't have the sense to NOT take her dress off in front of a grown man when she's alone in his apartment? She's either 13 or she doesn't have all of her marbles.

I waste so much time on Terry's character here because it distracts from what could have been a very good film. I took off two stars just for the annoyance factor alone. Other than that - and its a big "that" - the film is a great noir with an interesting twist at the end. Robert Osborne said that director Tay Garnett became ill during filming and Walter Wanger had to finish the film out himself with Garnett very upset at the end result. I can only guess that Mr. Garnett's objections were the same as mine.

Pat O'Brien and Broderick Crawford are a couple of attorneys and political enemies of Boss Edward Arnold who's grown rich on all kinds of graft. They're starting to have people listen to them until a couple of murders get pinned on O'Brien. They're on the defensive after that until those murders are solved.

Tay Garnett manages to strike the right blend of humor and drama to Slightly Honorable. O'Brien, Crawford, and Arnold do well in very familiar roles to them.

One thing that truly was annoying was juvenile Ruth Terry. She's fresh out of bobby sox and O'Brien's a man of the world. Now if she was something slinky and sexy like Lauren Bacall was with Humphrey Bogart or even sophisticated like Myrna Loy with William Powell, the attractiveness would make some sense. But she's frankly just one royal pain. I can't figure out why O'Brien would possibly be interested in her.

Still it's an interesting plot that the audience will find intriguing.

Ever get stuck watching a movie and you couldn't wait until it ended? This was one of the few that I've seen. Excruciating is a good word. Only a great cast saves it from a lower rating - makes you wonder what they could have done with better material.

"Slightly Honorable" can't decide if it's a comedy or a mystery picture and fails on both levels - not funny and not very mysterious. Ruth Terry is 'cute and perky' but is an annoying presence. Eve Arden is wasted, as is Edward Arnold. Pat O'Brien does his best but it's not enough. The disjointed storyline is not believable and not worth recounting.

If this picture is shown on a rainy day and you have nothing to do, find a good book.