The Case of the Curious Bride

There seems to be a wide divergence of opinion on the quality or otherwise of this one, whether it's poor and dull or witty and fast. I plump for the latter, even though Warners' portrayal of the lawyer left something to be desired, turning him into potentially yet another run of the mill private eye for the b market. But the production values in this were pretty high and it was directed by Michael Curtiz with panache.

Woman comes to Perry Mason played again by William Warren for help because her first husband she thought dead has come back to shake her and her new rich husband down. Her first husband gets his instead, from then on the game is on to find whodunit and why, with some witty if sometimes improbable plot twists along the way. From the outset with Perry and his laconic coroner friend buying lobsters for the creation of a new gastronomic sensation to Errol Flynn's flashback appearance it carries you along on a tide of incessant lighthearted repartee and swift soft focus fade out's and in's. Typecast Allen Jenkins plays Perry's helper the brash and loyal Spudsy in what must be one of his finest performances ever, he weaves in and out of the story as a perfect counterpoint to his boss. Favourite bits: The all-too-short scenes in Luigi's restaurant on that "nutty night"; Perry and the coroner's continual smart ass one liners; the cosy relationship depicted between Perry and the newspaper men; Jenkins getting knocked out by the 2nd husband; Flynn's bit.

It should be a great watch for fans of b&w 30's detective films (and maybe screwball comedies too), I certainly have always enjoyed this 2nd entry in the series. But not to be taken too seriously.

Of all the "Perry Mason" films of the 1930's (there were six films, produced from 1934 to 1937), this one has to be the best. -- At least, it's MY favorite.

Warren William, who played Mason in more of these films than anyone else, elevates this short murder mystery from programmer to an 'almost-A' feature.

Claire Dodd, as Della Street, is little more than window dressing, as were all of the "Della's" in these early Warners' Perry Mason films. Allen Jenkins gives one of his standard (but good) blustery performances as Mason's side-kick, Paul Drake (called "Spuds" Drake in this film, and a complete opposite of TV's dapper Paul Drake, played by William Hopper). The best supporting role was that of Olin Howard as the coroner, who is also Perry's good buddy, and frequent dining partner. The veteran character actress, Margaret Lindsay is the "Curious Bride" of the title.

The real surprise (the first time I saw this) was seeing Errol Flynn doing a "bit" part in a flashback sequence at the end of the film. Flynn has a non-speaking part as Margaret Lindsay's first husband. This flashback scene is narrated by the Curious Bride's current husband, played by Donald Woods (who would later play Perry Mason in another of these Warner Brothers efforts, though not anywhere as entertainingly as Warren William).

The use of soft-focus fades for every scene change, at first seems to help move the story, but can also be a bit irritating.-- Overall though, this is a well photographed film, --both the nicely composed interiors, and the outdoor urban location shots of 1935 San Francisco (although the Mason stories are mostly based in L.A.).

Directed by Michael Curtiz, this swift-moving murder mystery has the feel of many of Curtiz's bigger-budgeted Warner films, and is easily the best of the Mason series. At the same time, it is not too unlike the other 5 Mason films that Warners produced.

Unfortunately, Warren William could not play Mason in all of these films, but overlooking that fact, all six of the Warners "Perry Mason" films, including "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop", "The Case of the Velvet Claws," and "The Case of the Lucky Legs" are very faithful to the source material, and all are entertainingly done.

By the way-- because all of these films were adapted from original Earl Stanley Gardner stories, all of these titles showed up in the 1950's, produced as episodes in Raymond Burr's "Perry Mason" TV series. It's very interesting to see the different treatment these stories were given on TV.

--D.--

This is the only Warren William Perry Mason movie I've seen so far, and I thought it was a lot of fun! It gallops along at a breakneck pace, partly thanks to its super-kinetic (and rather disorienting) editing. William and Dodd bring a really delicious tongue-in-cheek camaraderie to the roles of Perry and Della, while Mayo Methot (was she already married to Bogart?)has a lot of fun with the small part of Florabelle. The coroner is not to be missed, by the way!

It is fascinating to see what a different interpretation of the character of Perry Mason William gives; he seems to be drawing as much on his previous performance as Philo Vance as on anything in the books. Naturally, this makes him nothing at all like Raymond Burr's Mason. (And he's in San Francisco, by the way, not Los Angeles.) I certainly missed the gravitas and moral authority that Burr gave the part, but William is hilarious and highly professional, pulling off a performance not unlike that of a drunken tightrope walker working without a net with aplomb and smooth daring-do.

The murder (of Errol Flynn, no less!) is incidental.

"The Case of the Curious Bride" is one of the Perry Mason films of the 1930s that starred Warren William as Perry. Erle Stanley Gardner hated these films with a passion. His 1930s Perry in the books was a passionate young man given to intense speeches. He mellowed later on, of course, and it was Gardner himself who saw Burr at the audition for Hamilton Burger and said, "That's Perry Mason." (The original star of the series was supposed to be Fred MacMurray.) So it's easy to see why Gardner despised everything about this particular Mason incarnation.

Regardless of how Gardner felt, this film is a lot of fun, thanks to a breezy performance by Warren William, who flirts shamelessly with every woman who crosses his path and fools the DA time and time again. The dialogue is fast and witty, and Curtiz keeps the action going at a breakneck speed. Allan Jenkins is Paul Drake like you've never seen him - Perry calls him Spudsy -- and Della is the beautiful Clare Dodd. Margaret Lindsay is the woman Perry is defending, who comes to him with a marital problem, i.e., the husband she thought was dead is alive - at first. Later, he winds up dead, in the person of...Errol Flynn in his first American appearance - and his wife is accused. Flynn doesn't have much to do except appear in flashback. For some reason, instead of Los Angeles, the story is set in San Francisco - more atmosphere, perhaps.

William seems to have had the same approach to this character as he had for Philo Vance and the Sam Spade character he played in Satan Met a Lady, but he's so delightful, it doesn't matter. He always looks like he's having a blast, and the audience does too. Hard to believe that until he hit B movies in the mid-'30s, he generally played heavies, but he did, and played them well. When his leading man days were over, he continued in character roles until his death in 1948. How great that we can see his talent now on Turner Classic Movies.

This film is a great reminder that during the Depression, Hollywood gave audiences films that to enjoy and watch to forget their troubles for awhile. I'm not in the Depression per se; I'm just depressed, but "The Case of the Curious Bride" put a smile on my face. It will yours, too.

There are a lot of different film genres I enjoy, but one I've enjoyed as long as I can remember (at least 45 years) is 30s/40s-era detective/murder mysteries. For reasons I can't explain, the early Perry Mason movies have, until the other night, remained unknown to me. I love the Thin Man, Falcon, and the Saint - Perry Mason ticks all the same boxes. Mix a decent little murder mystery with a bit of nice comedy, snappy dialogue, an appealing cast, and a well-shot, nice looking film and you'll end up with film that will most likely work on me. The Case of the Curious Bride may not be the best of the bunch, but it is a whole lot of fun.

The plot involves a worried woman named Rhoda. She tracks down Perry with a story of "friend" who has recently remarried, but is worried her first husband may not be dead after all. What should the "friend" do? It doesn't take a detective to see that Rhoda's in trouble. Perry agrees to help, but before he can do much, Rhoda's first husband turns up dead - for real this time. With Rhoda the chief suspect and Perry's reputation on the line, he's got to find the real killer.

The Case of the Curious Bride has a couple things going for it. First, Warren William's Perry Mason is a joy to watch. Similar to Nick Charles, Mason is a worldly sort - capable of everything from cooking a gourmet meal to solving a murder to just about everything in between. And he does all with style and grace. His barbs, directed at the police or whoever gets in his way, and his overall wit are real treat. He's quite a character.

The second is Director Michael Curtiz. His direction, even in a relatively "small" picture like The Case of the Curious Bride, is spot-on. The direction is snappy, without a single wasted scene. Curtiz deftly gives the film a light, airy feel that works. The mix of comedy, mystery, and action is handled expertly. He was a real underrated professional.

Overall, a real treat that I easily rate a 7/10.