I Love Trouble

The dialog in this flick makes it an instant classic. There's a lot of twist, turns and femme fatales. If you come across it, it's definitely worth the watch.

Ok film noir that has a plot similar to that of dozens of other noir and B detective pictures: private eye is hired to find a dame and twists ensue. There's nothing inherently wrong with this movie. It's actually pretty solid. But it's very familiar territory and the script isn't as snappy as I would like. Franchot Tone is also a bit flat. I doubt it would be a blip on anyone's radar if not for it apparently being considered lost for decades. Amusingly this was written by Roy Huggins, the creator of TV shows like Maverick and The Fugitive. He would use the character played by Tone to greater success later in 77 Sunset Strip.

I was interested in seeing this after just reading and reviewing the novel on Amazon. A pretty good adaptation, containing scenes and dialogue lifted directly from Huggins' novel. The story has been speeded up and abbreviated, and some of the names have been changed, but if you liked the novel you'll like the movie. Probably one of a million in 1948, but well worth watching for now because of Franchot Tone, the smarty pants Glenda Farrell (The Mystery Of The Wax Museum, Torchy Blaine), and early roles by Raymond Burr (Perry Mason), John Ireland (any number of John Wayne movies).and the prolific character actor Arthur Space. This convoluted movie and the novel were written by the great Roy Huggins (The Fugitive, Rockford Files, and 77 Sunset Strip, which was based on this movie and his novel), and directed by S. Sylvan Simon who died at age forty-two soon after this was released. For those who want to look up the novel, the ending is identical. Enjoy, enjoy.

I read the other reviews so I had to add my two cents. I liked Franchot Tone as the Private Eye. It would be easy to underestimate his toughness. The story is well written and well played by the actors. Glenda Farrell's part was especially entertaining. Unlike a couple of other reviewers I didn't find it slow or dull at all. I liked the pace of the story and the dialogue. My only complaint was the very poor quality of the print. One reviewer mentioned seeing it at a festival. I'd love to see a better copy. It's a shame that the PD version out there is so awful. Still, it kept me entertained despite the terrible, almost unwatchable print. Fans of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett are bound to love the character Roy Huggins created for this film.

A detective is hired to investigate the real identity of client's wife, leading him into a tangled thicket of leads.

So where is Janie Joy. Detective Bailey's having a heckuva time finding out, what with all those luscious ladies parading in and out—not that I'm complaining. But the sorting process does get difficult at times. This is a detective story, and not classic noir, more like Philo Vance than Phillip Marlowe. LA-area locations are emphasized rather than light and shadow. But it is a good look at post-war LA, including the photogenic Buster Buffin's Buffett.

As the detective, the slender Tone brings a different kind of appeal. Wisely, the screenplay emphasizes his verbal skills rather than tough-guy brawn. In fact, he almost gets shoved around enough to embarrass fall-guy Elisha Cook Jr. Still, Tone does have a ready smile and easy charm. But that's also a problem for the movie. In short, characters and events lack the kind of grit needed to generate needed menace. Sure, there is a guessing game as to where Janie Joy is, but it's more like a brain-teaser than a fear factor. Plus, screenwriter Huggins clearly knows his way around wisecracks and clever banter. Yet the story's architecture remains murky and plodding. All in all, this is a movie of individual scenes rather than memorable whole.

Nonetheless, it's a good chance to ogle the ladies and their 40's fashions, along with Detroit's four-wheel designs, post-war, that is.