Miss Pinkerton

Joan Blondell is nicknamed "Miss Pinkerton" in this 1932 film also starring George Brent and Ruth Hall. She's nicknamed Miss Pinkerton by Brent when she attempts to help solve a murder. She's actually Nurse Adams, bored with her hospital job. She's offered a chance to take care of an elderly lady who has gone into shock after finding someone dead in her house from an apparent suicide. Nurse Adams is supposed to keep an eye on things. She's thrilled.

Miss Pinkerton doesn't believe the suicide - she thinks it was murder. The house gives her plenty of ammunition to believe it. It's an old, dark with a mean-looking maid, a scary butler, the frightened patient, and the doctor who doesn't seem too stable either.

A young girl shows up (Hall). She was married to the murder victim but in love with someone else. This someone is Elliot (Donald Dillaway) who has been caught sneaking around the house. There is also a stenographer (Mary Doran). Then there is a second murder.

George Brent is the investigating detective, and he's young and unmustached here. Normally he played opposite a major leading lady. He's charming here.

Fast-moving mystery with the delightful Blondell keeping things lively. Some interesting camera work, including a gigantic shadow of a man over the house. Lots of screaming, too, as befits this kind of movie.

Nurse Joan Blondell is bored with the humdrum goings-on at the hospital where she works. So when offered a little excitement by helping the police with a murder investigation, she jumps at the chance. Pleasant old dark house mystery with a little bit of comedy added to the mix. Joan's wonderful, as she always was in the '30s. Pretty, funny, immensely likable. Very fetching in that nurse uniform. She's one of the most underrated stars of her era. She's got nice support here from George Brent in an early role and many fine character actors like Holmes Herbert and C. Henry Gordon. Also Elizabeth Patterson (Miss Trumbull from I Love Lucy) plays the old lady Blondell is assigned to take care of. Well-directed by Lloyd Bacon with some nicely-framed shots and some spooky use of wind and shadows. The film ends in such a way one might think this was the first of a series. Unfortunately, that's not the case and there were no sequels.

By the time MISS PINKERTON was made, Hollywood was starting to repeat themselves in their treatments of Mary Roberts Rinehart (first purveyor of the "little old lady detective" that Agatha Christie would perfect with her Miss Marple and Angela Lansbury would do to a fare thee well in her Jessica Fletcher character) and the stage based sets for their "old dark house" mysteries. From the very first shots of MISS PINKERTON, with long shadows cast on the facade of the house in question where murder is to be done (and done again?), we're back in the territory of THE BAT (aka The Spiral Staircase), Ms. Rinehart's most successful stage and film excursion.

As before, we have Ms. Rinehart's feisty "little old lady," Elizabeth Patterson as Juliet Mitchell, accompanied by a comic companion (in this case Nurse Adams played by Joan Blondell) and a host of potential suspects in her mysterious (and enormous) old house, but as film making technique has progressed in only a few years of sound (and Ms. Rinehart knew when to vary a successful template), this time we have a fun twist in casting the young comedienne as the lead and assistant to the fresh faced detective (George Brent as Inspector Patten on his "first case"), and the old lady as one of the potential suspects, thought to pass off a suicide as murder for the insurance money . . . or was it murder after all?

Blondell is at her youthful best, and the studio cast is crammed full of first class talent on their way up from C. Henry Gordon as Dr. Stuart to the briefest of shots of a young Walter Brennan as a Police Dispatcher at the beginning.

Modern action buffs may sniff that the atmospheric tale seems at times to be more about the enormous, detailed sets than the mystery itself, with unidentified characters sneaking in and up long back staircases, women screaming and the odd comic set piece (is the dog a clue?), but director Lloyd Bacon (the silent film actor turned director who had shepherded Cole Porter's 50 MILLION FRENCHMAN to the screen the year before with members of the Broadway cast but without Porter's songs and would mount the classic 42ND STREET *with* songs the next year, continuing to work into the 1950's!) keeps the action spinning for the barely hour (six minutes over) running time.

Bask in the details of life in the early depression era (before the details of life outside got too depressing) and have the good time this nicely layered film offers, seeing if you can keep the suspects and motivations straight even when murder is committed right in front of your eyes - and remember "it ain't over 'till it's over," and that isn't when it first appears!

Miss Pinkerton (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Nurse Adams (Joan Blondell) is growing tired and the same events happening everyday at the hospital but she gets her chance for excitement when Inspector Patten (George Brent) asks her to help with a suicide case. The nurse is brought on to care for an elderly woman who found her nephew's body after he killed himself but Patten believes it was actually murder. MISS PINKERTON, a nickname given to the nurse, is a fairly entertaining murder-mystery and just like the countless others that were released in this era. If you've seen its remake, THE NURSE'S SECRET, then you'll realize that it followed this one pretty closely but there's no question that this here is the better of the two. The main reason this one works so well is because Blondell is just so charming in her role. She manages to bring some light humor when it's needed but she can also handle the drama without a problem. Another major plus is that she's given a pre-code sequence where she's changing. Of course, by today's standards this is pretty tame but fans of the genre should at least get a smile out of it. Brent isn't all that memorable in his part as he sleepwalks through it. John Wray is fun as Hugo, a butler who is a prime suspect. Director Lloyd Bacon actually adds a little style to the picture including a very good scene where a person dies and we get a POV shot as she slips away. There are several attack sequences throughout the film and these too are well directed and staged. With that said, the 66-minute running time does drag in spots and there's no question that a bit of a stronger story would have been nice. Still, fans of the genre and Blondell should be entertained.

Love mystery. Love thriller, though this is more of a mystery with splashes of comedy. Also appreciate a lot of comedy, though some styles are more to my taste than others it has to be admitted. It is always interesting when they are combined together and a lot of films do it very well indeed. Have loved a lot the work of Joan Blondell, here in a role she played very well, and Lloyd Bacon (best known for the film that transformed the musical genre '42nd Street') had a lot of talent. George Brent was more hit and miss for me.

'Miss Pinkerton' was from personal opinion one of those above average but not particularly mind-blowing kind of films, not too bad a position to be in but there was potential for it to have been much better. A lot of good things, wonderful in the case of Blondell, the production values and Bacon's direction. But also some big drawbacks, such as the over-stuffed and over-complicated plotting and lack of chemistry between Blondell and Brent (who is not at his best here in 'Miss Pinkerton').

Will start with what was good. 'Miss Pinkerton' looks great. Especially the inventive camera angles and the truly haunting use of shadow. Blondell also wears her beautiful costumes well. Bacon's direction at its best is quite masterly, what he does with the visuals is extraordinary, the film isn't dull and he does allow for some genuinely suspenseful moments. The type of role Blondell has here really suits her and she is immensely engaging in it, playing the part with keen humour, intensity, charm and easy charisma.

John Wray and Elizabeth Patterson have fun too in their roles, Bacon's direction also shines in his direction of Patterson. The script is witty and intriguing and enough of the story compels and never feels too obvious.

Did feel though that the story was problematic though. With such a lot going in a film with a quite short length, 'Miss Pinkerton' for my tastes did feel over-stuffed and with not a lot of breathing space it felt rushed and more complicated than it needed to be. The ending is abrupt and convoluted, even if it was also surprising.

Brent also felt rather dull in his not particularly meaty part and some witty banter aside his chemistry with Blondell never fully fleshes out.

Overall, above average but not great. 6/10