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This is an odd little movie but not without its merits. The first is Warren William, a prominent star in early talkies due to his beautiful voice and patrician good looks that included a John Barrymore-ish profile. The second is Mary Astor, known more today for her appearance in “The Maltese Falcon” (also directed by Roy Del Ruth). She’s a status-seeking wife and William is her indulgent and very wealthy husband. Their son, who’s packed off to camp like we’d put our dog out, is played by popular child actor, Dickie Moore.A young Ginger Rogers is a showgirl with a heart of gold, or greed. She’s attracted and attractive to William, who is otherwise a somewhat happily, though neglected, married man. Rogers’ boyfriend/manager is effectively played by J. Carroll Naish, who keeps his eye on the money.A maybe affair ensues along with an attempt at blackmail, a couple of murders, and a scandalous trial. Along the way, you will meet Andy Devine as a pleasant chauffeur, John Qualen as a bribeable janitor, the handsome Robert Barrat as the police commissioner who may have been paid off, and the intrepid Sidney Toler, as a policeman who finds pertinent information and won’t be stifled. The ending is somewhat abrupt and when the chauffeur props Dickie Moore up on the railing of a cruise ship to Europe, I have to admit I cringed.But it’s interesting to see an early Ginger Rogers, who had only one pairing with Fred Astaire behind her; she was on the cusp of stardom. Dickie Moore went on to make more than 100 movies, retired at age 29, and married Jane Powell in 1988. Sidney Toler came to fame later for playing Charlie Chan from 1939-1946. Warren William died young in 1948 at age 54 and is not so well known today but should be appreciated for his body of work.The movie is a Warner Brothers production and the musical credits go to Leo F. Forbstein. He signed with Warner Brothers in 1926 as head of the music department and director of the Vitaphone Orchestra. When he died in 1948, he had almost 600 credits to his name. This is a movie for movie buffs only but it has its worthy moments.
This is a fine film that features William Powell shortly before his Thin Man days. He plays the character, Philo Vance, who is a debonair detective and bon vivant. Sound familiar? Powell made five “Philo” movies before moving to MGM and being paired with Myrna Loy, and this was his last. (Philo Vance is a character in 12 crime novels by S.S. Van Dine (Willard Huntington Wright) and was featured in 15 movies.)So along with the witty Powell, there is a great cast of suspects: Ralph Morgan (older brother of the more famous “pay-no-attention-to-that-man-behind-the-curtain” Frank), Mary Astor, Paul Cavanagh, Arthur Hohl, Helen Vinson, and Jack LaRue. There’s a murder, maybe, or two, and everyone has a motive. Eugene Pallette, the always recognizable rotund, gravel-voiced actor, plays a dim-witted detective whose amusing banter with Powell is always at Pallette’s expense. The coroner is humorously played by Etienne Giradot who after Powell, gets the best lines.The seemingly unsolvable crime is slowly unraveled by Powell (“It’s a maze of conflicting clues”), and you might get it beforehand or you may not. How does a man in a room locked from the inside get murdered, or was it suicide? The director creatively uses split screens and imaginative flashbacks, and if you don’t know his name, you certainly know the movies Michael Curtiz directed: Casablanca, Mildred Pierce, Yankee Doodle Dandy, and many more. This is a well-crafted story with a clever plot. And you need to pay attention; it’s an early sound-film, and the movie unfolds through the dialogue. If you’re a mystery fan, a William Powell fan, or just a fan of well-written films, you’ll want to watch this entertaining movie.
“It’s slightly complicated since the man was shot, slugged, and stabbed himself, particularly in the back.”
This is a good movie, and much better than its 1953 remake, “Mogambo”. Clark Gable manages a rubber plantation somewhere in Indo-China. And yes, there’s plenty of Asian racism, not the least of which is the silly, laughing Willie Fung (Fung made 100s of movies, usually portraying a servant, a waiter, etc.). Into Gable’s world comes Jean Harlow, an attractive, wisecracking woman of ill-repute, who fleeing something or someone, finds her way to the plantation. Add to this plantation mix Gene Reynolds, who has been hired by Gable and unexpectedly brings along his pretty wife, Mary Astor. Relationships emerge, develop, and intertwine: Gable with Harlow, Harlow with Astor, Astor with Gable, Gable with Reynolds, etc.Gable (31 years old) and Harlow (21) have great chemistry and both play their roles wonderfully. Astor is fine as the tempted woman (much better than Grace Kelly in the later “Mogambo”), and Reynolds is relegated to having a fever and proclaiming his dependence on his wife. Donald Crisp plays a very minor part, and Tully Marshall is Gable’s assistant on the plantation (“If it was the summer of 1894, I’d play games with you sister (Harlow). But life is much simpler now”).For a movie produced in the studio, the production is good, ignoring that terrible set with Gable and Reynolds on the tree branch. There is no musical score but the acting and dialogue carry the movie very well. Being made before the Movie Production Code was enforced (that began in 1934), the movie contains scenes and double entendres that two years later would not have been possible. * In “Mogambo”, Gable reprised his character, this time as a big-game hunter, Ave Gardner played the Harlow role, and Kelly took the Astor part. Although “Mogambo” is filmed on location, “Red Dust” still beats it hands down. Watch for the famous bath in the rain barrel scene with Harlow and Gable. If you’re a fan of these two stars, you’ll enjoy seeing them together in this film. I wouldn’t touch her with your best pair of rubber gloves. Harlow upon being warned by Gable to stay away from the lady, Mary Astor. * See http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Production_Code for some history and an interesting read.
