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THE PLOT THICKENS (RKO Radio, 1936) directed by Ben Holmes, marks the fifth installment of Stuart Palmer's "Hildegarde Withers" mysteries Though James Gleason resumes his Inspector Oscar Piper of the Homicide Bureau, a role he originated in PENGUIN POOL MURDER (1932), followed by its sequels, MURDER ON THE BLACKBOARD (1934), MURDER ON A HONEYMOON (1935) all starring Edna May Oliver as Hildegarde Withers; and MURDER ON A BRIDAL PATH (1936) with the recasting of Helen Broderick as Hildegarde Withers. While Broderick made a fine substitute for Oliver, Miss Withers this time around is recast again, played by the miscast ZaSu Pitts. Having worked together in previous films together, Gleason and Pitts show they make a grand team. Overlooking the fact that Pitts is no Edna May Oliver, and James Gleason gets more screen time than Pitts, THE PLOT THICKENS is actually good enough installment to hold its own.

Starting traditionally with a prologue set in New York's Van Cortlandt Park, plot development begins with the introduction of various characters: Officer Cassidy (Lew Kelly), an astrologist who reads about horoscopes and asking those about their birthday; to Robert Wilkins (Owen Davis Jr.) arguing with his girlfriend, Alice Stevens (Louise Latimer) over her involvement with millionaire businessman John Carter (Richard Tucker). Threatened not to see him again, Alice goes against his wishes by telephoning Carter to meet with her in the park. Discovered inside Carter's Roadster, the over jealous Robert threatens Carter but is stopped by Cassidy. After resisting Carter's advances, Alice leaves only to hear a gunshot and finding Carter murdered. The following morning, Carter's body is discovered seated behind the desk in his library by his butler, Kendall (Arthur Aylesworth). Inspector Oscar Piper (James Gleason) and his assistant, Jim (James Donlan) are called to investigate. As much as Piper intends on solving this case on his own, crime solver Hildegarde Withers (ZaSu Pitts) appears with intentions to help Oscar. Others involved in the case are Marie (Barbara Barondess), the maid; Joe (Paul Fix), the chauffeur; and Theresa (Bodil Rosing), the cook. The Carter case soon gets more involved and interesting s Miss Withers comes upon a stolen jewel leading her to a museum for its history, only to find more mystery than she would expect.

For its crisp 67 minutes, the involvement of both park murder and international jewel thievery gets better as the story progresses. Even though Pitts doesn't attempt to carbon copy either Oliver or Broderick's mannerisms of Hildegarde Withers, she manages not to do any damage to her character even when performed in the best Zasu Pitts tradition. Though the series could have ended here, the studio resumed with one last try reteaming Gleason and Pitts for FORTY NAUGHTY GIRLS (1937). That installment may have its moments but not enough to resume for more installments or turn it into a grand finale. (**1/2)

THE MALTESE FALCON (Warner Brothers, 1941) written and directed by John Huston, based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, is regarded the best, if not, one of the best detective movies ever produced. While William Powell will be forever connected as Nick Charles, a/k/a THE THIN MAN (1934), Humphrey Bogart will be remembered for his characterization as Samuel "Sam" Spade along with his other sleuth of Philip Marlowe in THE BIG SLEEP (1946). Though a classic in its own right, this THE MALTESE FALCON is not an original production. Warners filmed it earlier in 1931 starring Bebe Daniels and Ricardo Cortez (televised as "Dangerous Female") and revamped it again in comedy mode as SATAN MET A LADY (1936) with Bette Davis and Warren William. These two editions, especially the latter one, had little or no lasting impact. For many, this third carnation proved to be more favorable, in fact, an improvement over the earlier screen adaptations that still holds up decades after its initial release. Not only did it take Bogart to a whole new level in critical acclaim but also proved to be the one, the only one best associated with Mary Astor, not overlooking her scene stealing Academy Award win as Best Supporting Actress for THE GREAT LIE (1941) opposite Bette Davis. After repeated viewings, the success of THE MALTESE FALCON relies both on its perfect casting and first-time direction by John Huston.

Opening with an overview of San Francisco, California, the story introduces Samuel Spade (Humphrey Bogart) and Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) as partners of a detective agency, with Effie Perine (Lee Patrick) as their secretary. They meet with a proposed client from New York by the name of Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor) searching for her sister who happens to be married to Floyd Thursby. Miles assigns himself to the assignment only to be found dead along with Thursby later that night. Leaving a widow, Iva Archer (Gladys George), who's been carrying on an affair with Sam, has hounding detectives Dundy (Barton MacLane) and Tom Polhaus (Ward Bond) suspecting Sam responsible for Archer's murder to be free and marry Iva. After Miss Wonderly reveals her true name of Bridgid O'Shaughnessy and being in danger, Sam encounters more mystery when visited by Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) offering him $5,000 to locate a valuable black statuette of a falcon with valuable jewels hidden inside; to be later shadowed by a Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook Jr.), associate of Casper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet), a 300-pound man hoping he could locate and produce the falcon, and after 17 years in search will stop at nothing to get it. Other members in the cast include James Burke, John Hamilton, and cameo appearance by John Huston's father, Walter.

Nominated for an Academy Award as Best Picture, other nomination goes to Sydney Greenstreet (in movie debut) in a mesmerizing performance. Great camera shot of Greenstreet where his presence fills the screen is hard to overlook. Even though the name of Gladys George is listed third in the casting credits, she is given only three minor scenes playing a dressed in black widow. By the time the closing credits reach the screen, it already forgotten she's in the movie at all.

The success of THE MALTESE FALCON reunited director John Huston with Bogart, Astor and Greenstreet again for ACROSS THE PACIFIC (1942). Due to frequent television revivals and availability of both video cassette and DVD, the initial union (which was colorized in the late 1980s) is obviously best known and admired, especially in original format of black and white. A long-awaited sequel THE BLACK BIRD (Columbia, 1976) starring George Segan as Sam Spade Jr. With Lee Patrick and Elisha Cook Jr. Reprising their original roles, is not as well-known as this true classic that can be seen over and over again without any loss of interest. (***1/2)

THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (Warner Brothers, 1940) directed by Raoul Walsh, stars George Raft in one of his top movie roles that is often regarded to be his best for the studio next to EACH DAWN I DIE (1939) starring James Cagney. Working for the second and final time opposite Humphrey Bogart, following their crime drama INVISIBLE STRIPES (1939), Raft and Bogart don't play taxi drivers working night shifts but truck driving brothers working long hours delivering big hauls with little time for themselves. Basically, a man's movie focusing on the struggles of truck driving featuring near miss road accidents, drinking coffee to avoid falling asleep at the wheel, dodging bill collectors out to repossess their truck for back payment, there's also moments involving female co-stars as Ann Sheridan and Gale Page, with the standout performance going to Ida Lupino making her Warner Brothers debut and a studio contract.

The story introduces the Fabrini brothers, Joe (George Raft) and Paul (Humphrey Bogart), truckers working under Mike Williams (Charles C. Wilson). While Paul would rather spend more time with his wife, Pearl (Gale Page) as opposed of long stretches on the road with his brother, Joe is ambitious in getting ahead hoping to someday get out of the trucking business and work for himself instead. While driving down the road, Joe has Paul stop to pick up Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan), a waitress they had earlier met at Barney's diner to give her a ride and out from the heavy rain. During the course of time, Joe becomes interested in Cassie and later acquires an office job by former friend and trucker, Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale). Though his new advancement is helping him learn more about the trucking business to strike out on his own, Joe is unable to avoid the advances of Ed's wife, Lana (Ida Lupino). After Ed's death leaving Joe in charge of the business with enough income to marry Cassie, "Mrs. Carlsen" does whatever she can to keep Joe to herself. Others in the cast include John Litel, Henry O'Neill, George Tobias, Paul Hurst, Charles Halton and John Ridgely.

Though Raft and Lupino worked together earlier in the comedy YOURS FOR THE ASKING (Paramount, 1936), THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT is the one that had more impact on their careers. If the Lupino segment sounds familiar, portions of it were borrowed from BORDERTOWN (Warner Brothers, 1935) starring Paul Muni with Bette Davis in the role Lupino inherited. By comparison, Davis' take as the obsessive wife was more natural and believable than Lupino's over-the-top performance. Regardless, Lupino became the one most memorable character by the time the closing credits reach the screen. Lighter moments go to Roscoe Karns as one of the truck drivers who spends more time playing pinball machines than making deliveries, with Joyce Compton as his sassy blonde girlfriend he met in one of the functions. Had THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT been produced at MGM, chances are the material would have been the right fit for Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy playing truck driving partners rather than brothers. Raft and Bogart are properly placed in their roles with Raft having more to do. Bogart gets his moments to shine, however, notably when unable to drive a truck anymore and feeling himself useless with nothing to do. Though Bogart and Lupino share no scenes together, they would appear together for the classic HIGH SIERRA (1941) which helped advance Bogart to superstardom roles to come.

THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, which often plays on cable channels as Turner Classic Movies or Movies, is available on video cassette since the 1980s and DVD distribution. (***)