Slightly Honorable

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.

What a surprise. This film, which showcases the under-remarked comic skills of Pat O'Brien is a genuine treat which belongs right up there with "The Front Page" (with O'Brien and James Cagney) its remake "His Girl Friday" and the best of the 'Thin Man' series. Director Tay Garnett is probably best known for directing some of the better series in the early days of television ("Bonanza", "The Untouchables" "Naked City", "Rawhide")and at least two film classics ("The Postman Always Rings Twice" , "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court"). After seeing this film one can only guess that the reason his name is not as well known as that of Sturgess or Capra or even Wilder is that he moved to television at a time when that medium was seen as a real threat to the film industry and thereby encountered some resentment. How else to explain the fact that "Slightly Honorable" is not mentioned on more 'Best' lists?

O'Brien is probably more likable (and believable as a semi-romantic lead) here than in almost any of his other films. Always effective in serious dramas he reminds us of how versatile some of our greatest stars of middle period American cinema (Cagney, John Wayne, Katherine Hepburn,Clark Gable) were-switching effortlessly from drama to comedy in a way that seems to be beyond the scope of some later stars.

Much the same can be said for Ruth Terry who would own this film were it not for the strength of her co-star's performances. Terry retired before she was 45 years old. By that time she was reduced to bit parts but a look at her work here will have you shaking your head in wonder at how that happened.

A great performance from Broderick Crawford and standout supporting turns from Eve Arden and Claire Dodd (among others) crackerjack pacing and set design,snappy clever and first rate dialogue combine to make for a wonderful hilarious film that deserves a wide audience and a restoration treatment to enhance the sometimes muddy soundtrack and occasional glitch in the currently available print. Do NOT hesitate to rent this one.

By the way, contrary to IMDb's spell checking feature "dialogue" is NOT a misspelling. Look it up.

Frank Presnell's first of three crime novels, "Send Another Coffin", is the basis for this film, completed the year following publication of the original, featuring flinty Ohio attorney John Webb (Pat O'Brien) with his wife Ann (Ruth Terry), the duo patterned somewhat upon Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles, although Webb is less suave than Nick and more eager to stir political pots. A corrupt state politician, Vincent Cushing (Edward Arnold), is the principal target for Webb's reforming urge, and when Cushing's mistress Alma (Claire Dodd), erstwhile flame of Webb, is murdered, nearly all of the major characters seem to have a motive, including Webb, who faces most of the heat from the homicide investigation although he perceives himself to be "slightly honorable" when compared with those about him. The work includes a strong comedic element along with its murder mystery and socially conscious themes. Vivacious Terry, with her patented energy and spirit, steals the film in what she states is her favourite role, a part for which she is promised by producer Walter Wanger and director Tay Garnett that the former night club singer/dancer will be spotlighted in a musical specialty number, and that she is, one that is perfectly woven into the screenplay, this while under personal contract to Howard Hughes who loans her to Wanger for this production. A cardinal pleasure inherent with film reviewing is discovery of works that have not received an amount of recognition that they deserve, and that is the case in this instance, for it is a piece that includes among its attributes sparkling dialogue, skillful acting and, especially, that mastery of narrative pace and rhythm that marks the best efforts from Garnett who here cunningly blends details for his established mise-en-scène within the script, as is his custom. Even without his foremost mannequin, Marlene Dietrich, Travis Banton's gowns are noteworthy and there is a strikingly illustrative score from Werner Janssen.

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.

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.