It Couldn't Have Happened (But It Did)

It couldn't have happened, but it obviously did: this WONDERFULLY enjoyable, entertaining and clever classic 'whodunit' seems to have sunken into oblivion. I'm VERY lucky that it was recommended to me by a very good friend of mine, a real connoisseur of classic mysteries, because otherwise I'd probably never heard about it at all...

And how much wrong can time do to such great movies - just because they weren't produced by a major studio, just because they didn't have some 'great star' in their cast?? And yet, this SUBLIME example of a classic murder mystery, which has literally got everything from a complicated plot with LOTS of suspects, a pretty unusual murder method, and some QUITE suspenseful moments, to the most funny and original wisecracks and the most hilarious characters, CAN boost of quite some big names among its cast: first of all, former silent leading lady Evelyn Brent (best known to us all as 'Feathers' in the archetypal gangster movie "Underworld"), once again as the 'femme fatale' for many men; then Reginald Denny (whom we got to know and love as 'Algy', the hapless friend of 'Bulldog Drummond') as the playwright who reluctantly starts investigating the case, being pushed by his secretary who's in love with him - and wonderfully played by lovely Inez Courtney - , and last but not least Jack La Rue, one of Hollywood's 'eternal gangsters'.

Now, I'd say that it's HIGH time to remember those 'forgotten' old mysteries, dig them up from the movie cellar and bring them back into the limelight again - and "It Couldn't Have Happened, But It Did" certainly is one of those who DESERVES to become known to a MUCH wider audience!

"It Couldn't Have Happened (But It Did)" (1936) is a cutesy murder mystery produced by Invincible Pictures and distributed by both Chesterfield and First Division for the States Rights system. All this should be a red flag to be aware and probably stay away. However: it stars Reginald Denny, Evelyn Brent, Inez Courtney, and Jack La Rue! Frankly, it really stars Inez Courtney, and she's a pip! Wonderful pep, wonderful spirit altogether, and beautifully realized part that pulls the entire picture through the gauze of cheap - and I do mean cheap... There are quite literally only four scenes or so in the entire film, and it lasts 70 minutes. It's as though we were on stage and there are four sets on stage where a focus light focuses on one, then another, then another, then back to one, then on to the other, etc. Cheap, cheap, cheap for a film. Directed by Phil Rosen, it begins with some sluggishness, then speeds up like a film coming together after breaking, then zips along at a furious pace, then comes to a denouement: thud, bing, bang, boom!

We begin on stage. Later the two producers are murdered. Looks like Denny could have done it. Yeah, he had a motive, but his heart, mind, and soul just ain't that kind. Brent looks and acts the part. She's tough. So are a couple of others. Oh, and, yeah, La Rue's a laughing - and sometimes laughable - gangster. He's tough enough to do it. Would he? Well, he laughs too much, don't ya think? Who else? Everybody, that's who... A quick 70 minutes that most will enjoy. Some will think, "This is just awful!" Some will moan, "No more!" Some will wonder what hit them. I thought it was well worth the watch. Especially with Denny in it. But Inez Courtney was a blast... Brent seemed tired, frankly; maybe just plain worn out. Oh, by the way, the murder method is about as inventive and just plain out of this world - if not corny - as any you've ever seen! You'll never figure it out. I must admit, too, that by the end, I couldn't really figure out who the murderer was. Yeah, it's told, but I really didn't care. Still, it was worth the watch.

Reginald Denny is quite charismatic here as "Stone", a playwright who is cajoled into getting to the bottom of the double-murder of two of his theatrical producer friends. His problem here is that he is just as much of a suspect for the police as any of the other candidates so would rather just keep his head down. Unfortunately for him, "Linda Sands" (Inez Courtney) is determined he should be the one who solves the mystery (she's a wee bit keen on him, you see). There are a few red herrings dotted about, but joining them together and getting to the criminal isn't very difficult; this is really just a jolly crime thriller with plenty of personality on screen that easily and enjoyably - if not remotely taxingly - passes an hour or so.

Reginald Denny is a playwright reluctantly trying to solve a double murder. Since he writes murder plays, everyone seems to expect him to be able to solve the murder of two producers, one found tied up in a closet, another shot in the head without a gunshot being heard.

Jack LaRue, as a gangster trying to help Denny, steals every scene he's in. Inez Courtney plays the producers' secretary, and naturally she's nuts about Denny - but he's too dumb to notice. The big surprise was seeing Hugh Marlowe (billed as John Marlowe) in one of his earliest roles. The not-so-big surprise is that he was obnoxious even that far back.

The climax is preposterous. Denny pens a quickie play which is performed in front of the police and all the suspects, and the murderer is revealed. He couldn't have just said "So and so did it." No, that would have only taken five seconds.

One scene I especially enjoyed is when Denny is in his apartment at night getting ready to take a bath. He is interrupted by a constant parade of people begging him to solve the murder. Then four cops show up as well, and search the place. The only thing missing was Margaret Dumont opening the apartment door and everyone tumbling out.

It Couldn't Have Happened, But It Did casts Reginald Denny as a playwright who is among many people suspected of murdering the two producer partners who are putting on his play. He just wants to stay away and let Detective Robert Homans do his job. But the producer's secretary Inez Courtney who has a thing for Denny wants him to solve the mystery. After all it certainly worked for Jessica Fletcher for years. And think of the publicity.

Like Nick Charles who in several Thin Man films would feign indifference but in the end was drawn in and solved the mystery, Reginald Denny has the additional motivation of being a suspect. Courtney is a little bit more annoying than Myrna Loy was, but in the end she proves a useful ally.

Denny takes a leaf from the Bard and Hamlet like writes a play to catch the conscience of the killer. It Could Have Happened might easily have been a whole lot better at a major studio, but it's all right film in any event.