Evelyn Prentice

Evelyn Prentice (Myrna Loy) is the neglected wife of a prominent lawyer (William Powell) who briefly takes up with his beautiful client (Rosalind Russell). When Evelyn finds out, she does her own dallying with a conniving poet and playwright (Harvey Stephens) who has a jealous girlfriend (Isabel Jewell). Evelyn's ditsy friend and house guest (Una Merkel) acts as confidant when the dalliance turns disastrous and Evelyn finds herself involved in blackmail and murder. Now, her marriage and the future happiness of her little daughter (Cora Sue Collins) are in jeopardy.

This courtroom mystery could have stood fewer melodramatic contrivances, especially toward the end, but the dialogue and characterizations are strong. Far stronger, however, are the remarkable performances from everyone involved. Myrna Loy's quiet desperation is utterly convincing. Powell, good throughout, is especially deft after discovering a stunning secret during the climactic courtroom trial: without a trace of ham, he genuinely looks as if he is about to keel over from shock, as he is forced to go on. Isabel Jewell, eschewing all phony theatrics, is remarkably good during her testimony at the end. Cora Sue is charming as the little girl. These performances distract us from the occasional creaks and groans in the plot and make the movie worth seeing.

Lenore Coffee was a prolific screenwriter whose specialty was the "women's picture," and she writes a honey of one here. William Powell is a too-busy lawyer who's dallying with client Rosalind Russell and who neglects his family (and boy, can I identify with that), to the point where good wife Loy is momentarily distracted by a lounge-lizard poet with a busy black book. Disastrous complications ensue. William Howard's direction is workmanlike at best, but Coffee keeps the fireworks popping. She balances things expertly between smart, sassy dialog and courtroom melodramatics, and she can write persuasively for tart-tongued best friends (a soignee Una Merkel), wide-eyed daughters (a relatively unannoying Cora Sue Collins), wronged women (a heavy-lidded Isabel Jewell), and a supporting cast of New York sophisticates. The windup is a little fast and the idyllic fadeout not entirely convincing, but in these days of overheated trials and yellow Murdoch journalism, it's not entirely implausible, either. A very fast and smart comedy-drama, and I didn't mind the absence of the Nick and Nora personas, or Asta, one bit.

This is an absorbing, intelligent picture, bolstered by sensitive performances and adept handling of an adult story. Its fundamentals may be overly familiar, and perhaps a bit too much plot gets in the way of believable, touching characterizations. But you will care about the main characters, whose weaknesses and oversights lead them to the brink of ruin - even if (in a questionable decision by the film makers) they are given the trappings of art deco luxuries, instead of being brought closer to a lifestyle familiar to the audience.

Powell and Loy, alone and together, are fine, as always. Credit Isabel Jewell with a low-key, yet emotionally-charged performance. Jessie Ralph is excellent is one extended scene in which she babbles and equivocates as the tension builds to a quiet frenzy. Una Merkel softens her familiar screen mannerisms to play the character, rather than vice versa.

Not a well-known film, "Evelyn Prentice" is most definitely worth your while.

This is a mystery film that, although not quite of the calabre of The Thin Man, builds suspense and intrigue thoroughly. Both William Powell and Myrna Loy are superb, playing characters completely different from those they play in The Thin Man series. They breathe a new life into a common plot. This film may seem slow, but it is certainly worth it.

"Evelyn Prentice" starred William Powell & Myrna Loy, who were inbetween working on the first & second movies in "The Thin Man" series. There are similarities between their roles in this movie & their roles in that series. In both cases, they're debonair rich folks with fancy clothes & a beautiful home. In both cases, Powell plays a character who likes to drink (more so in "The Thin Man") & is involved with solving a murder mystery. But "The Thin Man" series is more light-hearted, with more flippant, snappier dialog, & is generally more enjoyable than "Evelyn Prentice." Astra the Dog is missed, & replaced by the couple's young daughter. But this is a good movie, & has a more surprising plot twist than any entry in "The Thin Man" series. The plot here has more typical pre-code elements than the later "Thin Man" entries, which I won't mention here because I don't want to give away the storyline. Una Merkel is good as Loy's wisecracking friend. Isabel Jewell is very convincing in her role (I didn't think so at first, but as I began to watch her more closely, I started to think that she's a really good actress). I rate it 8/10.