Los desaparecidos

This is one of the fastest-moving classic films I've ever seen....and very interesting. The story tells of the many people who report missing persons In New York City, and some of the wild stories behind these disappearances. Some are humorous, but most are sad. The main one here centers around Bette Davis, who is wanted in Chicago for allegedly murdering her husband. She meets up with Pat O'Brien, a tough-talking, hard-nosed cop who has just been reluctantly signed up to the bureau.

The dialog is dated but that's what makes some of these early 1930s films interesting. Today, O'Brien would have been slapped with numerous harassment charges the way he talked to women in here and then beat one up late in the movie.

Lewis Stone is excellent as the compassionate head of the bureau. All the characters are interesting and there are some neat plot twists near the end concerning Davis, O'Brien and another man whom Davis says is framing her. I never thought Davis was that attractive but, as young actress here, she looked hot, perhaps the best she ever looked.

It is a typically fun high-speed Warner's. Cocky detective Pat O'Brien has just been kicked downstairs to the eponymous branch, wearing a derby hat. Bureau chief Lewis Stone tells him that his old-fashioned brutality won't work here.

the movie starts off as a series of vignettes about the sort of people who go missing and why, ranging from cringeworthy (Hugh Herbert and Alan Jenkins argue about how put together "jigsaws" -- corpses that have been chopped up) to amusing -- one recovered husband had disappeared because his young wife had been too physically demanding.

Despite the speed of the speech (except by Stone, who maintains the same emphatic style that he would use in Andy Hardy movies) and the zip cuts, the real story doesn't begin until half an hour into this 73-minute movie, when Bette Davis walks in, asking about her missing husband. The story quickly becomes complicated and sustains interest to the end, where O'Brien wears a Fedora to symbolize his redemptive modernity.

It's an unassuming movie , meant for fun, and it goes to demonstrate the brilliance of Warners' production in this period. Both the brutality and gags are kept offstage, lending a blase attitude towards the best and the worst. Herbert gets a rare straight outing, and does a good job. It's a pity that the movies seem incapable of speed and fun like this anymore.

If you've already seen all the well-known studio films from the early 30's, it's fun to go back and fill in with some lesser known ones, like this typical Warner's B-movie.

Its director, Roy del Ruth, was strictly B-list at this point in his career. The supporting cast -- Allen Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly, Glenda Farrell, Hugh Herbert -- are familiar from the Busby Berkeley movies, and each brings a stereotyped character briefly to life, which is what they were paid to do. Farrell in particular is funny as a gold-digger.

Pat O'Brien is actually the lead, although Bette Davis was given top billing. He's best known for playing butch types -- reporters, cops, soldiers, manly priests. (In this one, Butch is actually his character's name!) His performance here is surprisingly subtle and varied; it makes me want to see more of his movies.

Unfortunately the story is hopelessly implausible and unconvincing. Davis does the best she can with a confusingly-written part, although I can't quite tell whether she's trying to do an accent or not. And she changes from a blonde to a brunette halfway through -- was she shooting another picture at the same time?

The whole thing looks like it was thrown together in a couple of weeks. Probably the only really demanding scene to film was a car chase near the end, shot on location (or was it stock footage?).

All in all, probably worth 72 minutes of your time if you happen to run across it on TCM. Don't expect too much though...

For getting too rough on robbery cases, New York City detective Pat O'Brien (as "Butch" Saunders) is transferred to the "Bureau of Missing Persons" where he must answer to MGM stalwart Lewis Stone (as Captain Webb) who appears to be moonlighting at First National-Warner Bros. Typical of the missing is businessman Clay Clement (as Burton C. Kingman) - found honeymooning with a woman who is not his wife. Also located by Mr. O'Brien is 12-year-old prodigy Tad Alexander (as Caesar Paul)...

When her husband runs away with their cook, a woman tells Mr. Stone, "Never mind about him, I want my cook!"

After a half hour getting to know smooth-talking detective Allen Jenkins (as Joe Musik) and the cast, the main case gets started when beautiful young Bette Davis (as Norma Williams) arrives on screen, to report her groom missing. Very obviously, Ms. Davis is holding back some important details about her so-called missing husband. Business is mixed with pleasure as O'Brien, separated from so-called wife Glenda Farrell (as Belle) for a year, is attracted to Davis. Stay tuned for murder and other mayhem.

***** Bureau of Missing Persons (9/8/33) Roy Del Ruth ~ Pat O'Brien, Bette Davis, Lewis Stone, Allen Jenkins

This pre-Code WB production is typical of the period—a fast-talking lead, a batch of loose dames, a rather comical supporting cast, and an upbeat tempo.

As tough, aggressive cop named "Butch", O'Brien machine-guns his dialogue in pretty strident tones. Trouble is it does get tiresome. As Butch, he's sent over to Missing Persons Bureau from his former assignment to hopefully mellow out. Fat chance. Anyway, the screenplay weaves a number of missing person cases into the narrative, with the Bette Davis case being primary. An authoritative, no-nonsense Lewis Stone presides over the bureau that makes you believe he can handle the thuggish new guy. This was before Stone became enshrined in the Andy Hardy series. On the whole, Davis may get the billing but it's really O'Brien's movie.

With the comically adept likes of Farrell, Jenkins, Herbert, and Donnelly, there're a number of chuckles. But what I really like is that bit of business at the coffee bar, where condiments slide back and forth like hockey pucks. I wonder if that was director Del Ruth, a generally underrated craftsman with occasional flair. Despite the title, there's no mystery but there is some suspense near the end. All in all, the 73-minutes is more like a fabric of characters colorfully interwoven.