The Adventures of Jane Arden

A fast paced, short (one hour) film. It is one of those "B" films from Warner Brothers in the 1930's and it is very enjoyable. The lead actress, Rosella Towne, is quite good in the lead role. Wonder why she never made it big in Hollywood? One will never know. The plot is as old as the hills, all about a female newspaper reporter on the trail of jewel smugglers, but this is a still a treat to watch. I recommend this little film!!

A society girl is slain by a criminal gang. The police has their scape goat but NYC reporter Jane Arden does not believe them. Arden refuses to write the story and gets fired for it. She gets a tip to a meeting. The firing is fake and they are joined by a jewelry investigator. She goes undercover to catch the real killers with stolen jewelry supplied by the investigator.

I don't understand the fake firing. Is there a point to that other than some contrived writing? The firing should be real and Arden should go investigating on her own. Ignoring that part, the story is fine. It's functional. I don't know this IP. I've never heard of it. I still don't understand the fake firing.

I was astonished to find this little movie on TCM which nicely illustrates how one has to be willing to explore film history in order to find some unknown gems. In this case, the jewel of the piece is Rosella Towne, a beautiful actress whose name and background were totally unknown to me after 60 years of being a movie fan and whose presence in this film lifts it far above the ordinary. Only 21 years old when the film was made, Rosella projects an image which is equal to and frequently above the performances of stars who became much more well-known during the same era. The first bit part for Rosella was in 1937 when she was 19 years old. Her career lasted until 1943, a scant 6 years later, and during this brief sojourn, she managed to knock out 34 films. When she is on screen, her presence demands that you watch her actions. The ending when she kisses William Gargan is particularly dramatic. Too bad that Rosella Towne's career did not last longer. She had a lot to offer and it is a shame that we have so few examples of her work to exhibit. During this movie, you will also need to watch for Pierre Watkin who played Perry White in the Superman series and who managed to be involved with 388 movies in a 25-year career.

Fun B movie, with Rosella Towne, a real find. She had a very short career, retiring after marrying a screenwriter, but you can see she's got what it takes here.

This was intended to be the first of a series, based on a comic strip, but it didn't happen.

Arden is a reporter, working for William Gargan. She goes undercover to investigate a jewelry smuggling ring.

Unfortunately, the head honcho (James Stephenson) learns her true identity almost immediately. Since they are on board a ship bound for France, she has nowhere to run.

Fast-moving and entertaining. James Stephenson entered films late, after a stage career but died in 1941.

Rosella Towne wears clothes beautifully, moves well, is pretty, and has great comic timing. Why had I never heard of her before this turned up and what happened to her career?

This is an entertaining romantic comic newspaper crime story. Maris Wrixon is a chic bad girl who reforms a little late and James Stephenson, always good, is conniving as the heart throb of a smuggler/killer.

But it's Towne's movie.l And three cheers for her!