Get That Venus

Star reporter and ladies' man Ernest Truex -- I suppose Donald Meek wasn't available -- is assigned to cover the proposed sale of the Asterville Venus, a painting that is the only thing in town that visitors are interested in seeing. The owner, not being interested in anything you can't put a saddle on, is supposed to be selling it to a Dutch man, even as the paper tries to raise money to buy it. Truex interviews local art expert Harry Davenport, whose daughter, Jean Arthur, he instantly falls in love with. Meanwhile, Davenport meets up with local burglar Tom Howard to get him to steal the Venus to keep it in town.

Aside from the odd casting of the lead, it's an amusing Poverty Row movie, with the conversations between Davenport and Howard very funny. Other interesting performers include Molly O'Day, Wesley Barry Jr, and an uncredited Donald MacBride as a detective.

"Get That Venus" is a B-comedy from tiny Regent Pictures. It mostly stars some B-list actors (such as Ernest Truex and Harry Davenport) but also has Jean Arthur, before her career went off like a skyrocket in the mid-1930s.

A rich woman wants to raise money for her beloved horses. To do so, she plans on selling a valuable painting called "The Asterville Venus". However, the town of Asterville doesn't want to lose the painting, as it's its one claim to fame...so the local paper starts a fundraiser to buy the picture. However, the lady doesn't seem inclined to sell it to them, as she dislikes her hometown and is being a bit spiteful. So, in order to get the painting some folks resort to hiring an idiotic thief (Tom Howard) to steal it....all for the good of Asterville, of course!

The thief in the film is pretty much the same character Tom Howard played in the short comedy "2 a.m."...and if you like one film, you'll likely enjoy the other. Truex, on the other hand, plays a character very much unlike his usual characters...he plays a real lecherous guy...one that is at odds with his usually mousey demeanor.

So is it any good? Yes, but it certainly is pretty lightweight and isn't a film that will change your life. It's more a pleasant time-passer than anything else.

By the way, you can REALLY tell that this is a Pre-Code film, as the editor of the newspaper curses repeatedly throughout the film...something you'd NEVER have heard after the nrew Production Code went into effect in July, 1934.