Chronique mondaine

Big city newspaper man and light-hearted heiress should mean a screwball comedy, but this one takes a surprising turn into a murder mystery..Some snappy dialogue by Herman Mankiewicz (Dinner at Eight) and elegant production with amazing gowns by Adrian and sets by Cedric Gibbons give this picture an air of class. Clark Gable is Clark Gable in his "It Happened One Night" mode. Constance Bennett has wonderful chemistry with Gable and shows the same light comedy flair from "Topper." I kept thinking this should be better known because it's a very stylish hybrid - society murder mystery and madcap comedy.

Clark Gable and Constance Bennett star in "After Office Hours," a 1935 film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Gable is Jim Branch, the go-getter editor of a newspaper, who is hot on the trial of a society love triangle. Irritated with the music critic, Sharon Norwood (Bennett), he fires her, only to find out that evening that she is very good friends with all the parties. He then not so subtly tries to find out as much as he can. When the woman in the triangle is murdered, he's certain that he knows who did it - but since it's someone Sharon is close to, he's going to have a tough time of it.

Gable and Bennett make a great team, though how Sharon ever believed a word coming out Branch's mouth is beyond me. Bennett is beautiful with outfits that match her elegant looks, and Gable makes a pretty glib Jim - also an insincere one. One assumes Sharon was in love with him and gave him the benefit of the doubt. You really couldn't blame her.

A delightful film with two wonderful stars.

Until the murder takes place, "After Office Hours" seems tired and boring with a stellar cast going to waste, but then it turns into a fairly decent romantic comedy murder yarn. Though it is always a delight to see Constance Bennett and Clark Gable on the screen, and together they do make a dynamic pair, the funniest lines come from Stu Erwin and William Demarest. The movie comes to life when the police detective (Demarest in an uncredited role)investigates the crime scene. Demarest steals the show and it becomes obvious why he went on to become one of Hollywood's leading character actors. The most hilarious part of the movie comes toward the end when Jim Branch (Gable) is doing his own investigation at the prime suspect's house. He has Hank Parr (Erwin)talk as loud as possible to see if his voice can be heard over the music coming from the Victrola upstairs. If you don't laugh at Stu Erwin's antics in this scene then you need to have your giggle box tested. It was pleasing to see Margaret Dumont, the butt of so many of Groucho's wisecracks in the Marx Brothers films, in a brief walk on part. She makes the most of the few seconds given her. Too bad she wasn't given a larger part.

Though this is no "It Happened One Night," it is entertaining with several cleverly written scenes highlighting the comic talents of Stu Erwin and William Demarest. Add the enchanting Constance Bennett, the always debonair Clark Gable, a tipsy Billie Burke and how can you go wrong?

First half hour's great as Herman J. Mankiewiecz's typewriter functions more like a Gatling gun, spewing out wisecracks, putdowns, zingers and bon mots all over the place. Then, right after the scene at the Riverview Cafe, Mank's comic energy begins to wane and the not very interesting plot and story, something to do with high society adultery and murder, takes over and director Robert Z. Leonard's lack of visual comic skills is alarmingly exposed. So, let's give it a generous C plus for the first thirty minutes and the charm and comic timing of Gable, Bennett and a couple of the subsidiary players like Stu Erwin and Billie Burke.

A year earlier Clark Gable as a "punishment" for a recalcitrant star was farmed out to Columbia Pictures by Louis B. Mayer to make a real dog of a film about a bus trip entitled It Happened One Night.

That film essentially created the modern screen comedy as we know it and made a grand slam of the major Oscar categories including one for Clark Gable as Best Actor. Gable played a newspaper reporter in that one, on the trail of runaway heiress Claudette Colbert.

One thing about Louis B. Mayer, if he saw a trend he'd capitalize on it. If his number one star got an Oscar as a reporter, we'll make him an editor. And we'll bring the society girl into the newsroom where she's also working as a reporter. Common job interests should provide a basis for romance.

And that boys and girls is how After Office Hours came into being. But despite the naughty title, the main thing that Clark Gable and Constance Bennett are working on after work is an argument over a society murder.

Gable has a notion that the man arrested for murdering a society grand dame who was doing a little stepping out is not the guilty party. He needs Bennett to help him gain entree to the Cholly Knickerbocker set to prove it.

Bennett and Gable settle comfortably into their roles and Stu Erwin has a nice turn as Gable's sidekick.

As for Louis B. Mayer and MGM, After Office Hours did OK, but Gable made them some big money that year in Mutiny on the Bounty.

But I'll bet Mayer was mighty careful over what he assigned as punishments.