Spiel mit dem Feuer

Dashing Edmund Lowe plays insurance investigator Tom Fletcher who is hot on the trail of an arsonist. He is helped by his dedicated assistant John Grayson (Onslow Stevens) even though they both suspect each other eventually. Of course they are harassed by authority figures played by great character actors including Edward Van Sloan as the curmudgeonly board of directors and Robert Middlemass as Fire Chief Mulligan. Because Fletcher always demands a huge fee for his services, he finds himself one of the suspects in this latest rash of deliberate fires. A surprise plot-twist puts Fletcher and heroine/suspect Adrienne Martin (Ann Sothern) on the scent of the real firebug. This modest Columbia production was distinguished by several spectacular and real fire scenes that probably came from newsreel footage, all of which quickly found their way into the studio's stock-footage files. Good, tough dialogue and nice pacing by director Kenton.

I love mysteries set in the 30s because the form was so new, invention was rampant.

And right after the code started being enforced, a good part of that invention was in how to portray sexuality (in women) indirectly.

In this case, its the heat of fire, transposed with the presence of Ann Sothern, a redhead turned blond for her entire career. Our detective is a profound womanizer, natch. In addition to his extremely high fee, he demands a pretty secretary and a running joke is that his clients send him first a sexpot, then a pretty woman who is dumber than the comic norm, then a battleax.

Anyway, the mystery grinds on with a clever arsonist and some gimmicks. The title doesn't have much to do with the story, I'm afraid. And other than the mild idea of sex and fire (and both against "insurance"), its pretty mundane. The building fires are real and pretty impressive.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

ANN SOTHERN and EDMUND LOWE were teamed earlier in a romantic comedy, but this time it's a suspenseful little programmer about tracking down an arsonist. It's a clever story with some brisk dialog that keeps things going merrily along while the chase for the arsonist consumes most of the plot.

Lowe is a former tracker of arson fires who is re-hired when a series of fires puts the city out of control in trying to curb the serial man determined to burn down various factories. Lowe suspects it might be ONSLOW STEVENS, while Stevens in turn suspects Lowe of setting the fires in order to get his old job back. Then too, suspicion is firmly planted on ANN SOTHERN when she turns up at every fire and turns out to have an assumed name in order to cover a very valuable clue.

It's dated, of course, but fun to watch with a puzzling mystery at the center of things. Lowe and Sothern work well together and Stevens does well in an interesting supporting role.

A Stumped insurance company is forced to re-hire the most expensive, most big-headed, but best arson investigator to solve a string of major losses.

Edmund Lowe plays his usual dapper character who is smart but also a bit smug and a know-it-all. However, he has a bit charm with it. It's a steadily moving mystery thriller centred around a pyromaniac, and despite the fiery subject, it is not too serious, and has a mix of romance and comedy as well as mystery. The dialogue is snappy with nice witty comebacks. Ann Southern also stars as Lowe's romantic interest and is a suspect due to her turning up at every arson.

The 30's were full of amateur sleuths. This Columbia production amounts to a neat variation. Instead of a gentleman detective, Fletcher's (Lowe) a professional arson investigator, cocky and high-priced, with a Sherlock instinct for sifting through ashes. So who's the firebug setting half the town ablaze. We figure it's got to be one of the supporting cast, at least that's the way the game usually works. But in this nifty screenplay, the culprit could even be a cast principal, since they have reasons as well. But whatever you do, watch out for those lashing flames. They're realistic as heck.

Lowe's too cocky here to be really likable, but he does command center stage. Too bad the actor's largely forgotten since he could pass for William Powell's over-eager brother. On the other hand, Sothern hasn't yet created her sparkling comedic side and hasn't much to do but stand around and look blonde. Then too, I really like the movie's added comedic touches, like the comely blonde secretary, who soon gives way to an annoyingly squeaky replacement, who in turn gives way to a battle-hardened witch— the company's way of punishing the demanding Fletcher. Then there're the street spies who are either "blind" old guys or "harmless" old ladies. Touches like these lift a programmer from the merely ordinary to the memorable. Yet, I have to agree with reviewer planktonrules. The relationship between Fletcher and his assistant Grayson (Stevens) goes suddenly sour mid-way through without explanation (was this an error of editing?).

Anyway, the 60-minutes is a better than average programmer with a number of engaging touches.