24 Hours

There are some terrific gems in Paramount's library from 1930-34 that are simply turning to dust. It's a shame they're not on video. 24 Hours qualifies for an unqualified hit on all counts. It's moody, almost "noir" feel is fascinating. It's a visual treasure. Adulterous couple Clive Brook (his stiff, inebriated self) and Kay Francis (captivating here in one of her subtle, effective performances)survive an harrowing 24 Hours in which Brooks' lover (Miriam Hopkins steals the show as a lively chanteuse) manages to get bumped off by her maniacal husband (Regis Toomey). It's tastefully handled, yet gripping in its understatement. The photography is fluid -- this seems more like a 1932 film than a 31 -- it's very mobile, edited nicely. Try to get a copy of this from a collector. You won't be disappointed.

In 24 HOURS, Clive Brook drinks, Miriam Hopkins sings, Kay Francis suffers, and Regis Toomey acts. Only two of them will survive to the end of this engrossing movie. Can those two find happiness, or at least a little recognition for their fine performances?

It's always a surprise to find a gem hiding in a shady corner of the internet, and distressing to find that the only way to discover this one is through a wanton copyright violator (now shut down). In this case -- I think the reason for the obscurity is lack of TCM exposure, and a copyright owner who has not found the hook to release an 83 year old movie, because the director isn't Wellman, Hawks, Lubitsch, Ford, or Curtiz, and the stars, while certainly well enough loved by fans of the pre-code, don't get a lot of notice today.

This is a real shame, in this case, because this one is a real find, helped by the very strong acting and a plot with a strong strain of melancholy, and sense of doom which. with the striking photography, suggests film noir. Colin Clive and Regis Toomey are responsible for a lot of arid celluloid, but in this case, the director has drawn out strong performances out of both of them. Kay Francis delivers a good performance out of the one thankless role (the suffering wife), and Miriam Hopkins does real well with the nightclub singer who has more personality than voice.

I'm sure the movie will reappear again -- as long as copyright owners bury their lest well-known product -- violators of 80 year old copyrights will flourish. But, really, this one deserves a reissue in a shining new print. Olive Films? Criterion Collection? TCM? Universal? How about it?

Where else but the precodes could a husband and wife reconcile over a murder rap?

The film starts out showing a big city as the camera pans over the skyscrapers during a snowy night as the clock strikes 11PM. Unhappily married Jim Towner (Clive Brook) and Fanny Towner (Kay Francis) are leaving a small quiet party held by one of their society swells. They talk of why they are so unhappy and...explain nothing. It seems like gibberish. But whatever the reason, Fanny is carrying on with a fellow rich person who looks rather sickly and sits under a blanket. He is hardly sexy. Fanny decides to break it off and try to work it out with Jim. I don't think she is sacrificing that much.

Meanwhile Jim leaves the apartment house, talks a bit to the doorman, heads over on foot to a speakeasy to have a drink, and then over to "Rosie's" named after his girlfriend, Rosie Duggan (Miriam Hopkins). He has some more drinks. Rosie takes him back to her place and puts him to bed on the couch. The next morning Jim awakens and finds Rosie lying across her bed. obviously murdered. He realizes that everyone will think he murdered her - obviously. He tries to sneak out, but he is seen, recognized, and arrested for Rosie's murder.

Why is this a small world? Well, the doorman Jim was talking to was Rosie's brother. He saw Jim leave Rosie's building when he came over to tell her about his new baby. The speakeasy Jim stopped at? There had just been a gangland killing before Jim got there, and the killer was Rosie's estranged husband, brilliantly played by Regis Toomey who is at his whiny sniveling best. He is apparently some kind of small town hood, and the murder now has the big time hoods on his case.

The great little touches in this film? A hungry woman digs through some trash cans as Jim trudges in the snow during the blizzard towards the speakeasy. He almost does nothing, but even through the fog of alcohol that he is in he gives the woman some money, remembering "noblesse oblige" just a little. Miriam Hopkins is a revelation as Rosie, a torch singer who sexily belts out a song trying to make portly 50ish men feel desirable as she runs her fingers through her own wild hair. Finally there is Lucille La Verne as Toomey's character's landlady. Note to Toomey's character- maybe if you desperately need help from someone you shouldn't call that person an old hag. She has a small part - smaller than Toomey's, but she makes quite an impression.

This is 66 minutes of precode heaven. I highly recommend it.

Much of the problem with "24 Hours" might be because of when it was made. Many of the films from 1929-31 are a bit stilted and slow compared to ones made just a few years later. And, stilted and slow is definitely the way I'd sum up this film. This is really weird, however, as the film is filled with murders (one is particularly vivid and brutal), adultery and more....but the characters seem unperturbed and behave pretty much like like they are bored or talking about stamp collecting. This is definitely true of the leads, Kay Francis and Clive Brook...a couple who are cheating on each other yet there is no energy at all when they admit this to each other. There are some sparks from Regis Toomey and Miriam Hopkins...but not enough to recommend this rather boring film. And how they could make this plot boring is beyond me! The film could have definitely used an infusion of energy and zip!!

"24 Hours" is a well-produced precode with a great cast, including Clive Brook, Kay Francis, Miriam Hopkins, Regis Toomey, and Lucille Laverne. Seeing Regis Toomey this young was a shock.

The film, as you might guess, takes place in a 24-hour period and we see the clock start the 24 hours and finish it. There's the added effect of snow.

Brook and a glamorous Francis are an unhappily married couple, Jim and Fanny Towner. They both admit they are miserable; Jim, drunk, leaves and walks in the snow. As he's walking, he sees a murder. He stops in a bar and drinks more and then heads to see Rosie (Hopkins), a nightclub singer. Her husband Tony (Toomey) shows up but she holds him off and takes Jim to her place so he can sleep it off.

The outraged Tony breaks in and kills her accidentally. When he realizes she's dead, he becomes terrified and runs.

Jim wakes up in the morning and finds Hopkins dead. He's arrested for murder. When Francis reads about his arrest, she rushes to the police station.

As good as some of the actors are, Miriam Hopkins has the best role and makes the most of it. She sings two great songs looks floosy-ish but great. She is one of the most underrated actresses in film history. Everyone is good, with a great turn by another unsung actress, Lucille Laverne.

Despite being on the slow side, and some of the actors lacking energy, these films are valuable for showing us life and mores, in this case 84 years ago. Plays, films, and movies were written about the upper class - with the depression and writers like Odets, that would soon change, and the common man would take over.