Penthouse

This film contains all the elements of a great gangster story. It is a perfect example of 1930's big city gangster films. Yet it does not fall into a stereotypical mold at all. It is entertaining throughout. Just when you think it is going one way, it goes the other, building the suspense and irony until you realize it is not going to be a typical story.

All the players keep in character and hold your attention with crisp and refreshing dialogue. Baxter and Loy are so in tune with one another, and you do not get the feeling they are acting.

And isn't it neat to see Nat Pendleton play a smart, in-charge guy for once, instead of just a bumbling half-wit mob henchman. (Though he is always likable in that role, it surprised me to see what a smart guy he really was!) The plot of this film is genre-based, yet quite original and full of all the necessary elements: virtue, vice, mystery, false suspicion, resolution of mystery, resolution of false suspicion, romance, heavy action, jazz, and many doors that seem to want to open, but just the right ones open at just the right intervals to keep you entertained throughout this gem of a film.

This film was made a year before Myrna Loy catapulted to super-stardom with the Thin Man movies. At this point in her career, she was still a relatively unknown actress with a long but generally undistinguished track record. Warner Baxter, on the other hand, was the bigger star--with starring roles in 42ND STREET, THE CISCO KID (and its sequel) and THE SQUAW MAN.

Stylistically, the film is actually a lot like Baxter's B-movie series, The Crime Doctor, though in this case he plays a defense attorney who investigates crimes instead of a criminal psychiatrist who investigates crimes. Additionally, PENTHOUSE has a bit more style, polish and better acting than the Columbia Pictures series.

The film begins with Baxter getting a big-time hood off for a crime he apparently did not commit (for once). However, in a odd scene, the other lawyers in the practice vote him out because they don't want to be associated with such riffraff and attorneys who defend them (Ethics and a law practice?!?! What planet did these lawyers come from anyway?!?!). Additionally, Baxter's stuck up fiancée breaks it off with him because of the unsavory element he chooses to defend. However, Baxter really isn't a jerk lawyer--he just feels that IF the guy is actually innocent, he deserves a strong defense attorney (duh). But in this bizarre As I said above, this is a film with the odd idea of an attorney PERSONALLY investigating and solving crimes which his friends or clients are accused of committing. In reality, this never happens and I can't imagine Johnny Cochran or Robert Shapiro doing this and it's a cliché you just have to accept or else the film makes very little sense.

Along for the ride are Loy, Nat Pendleton (in one of his better and richer supporting roles) and a variety of other familiar faces (including veteran B actor, George E. Stone). It won't change your life and is a tad silly, but so well done that it's easy to forgive and enjoy.

By the way, having Myrna Loy stay in Baxter's apartment (even though they were in separate rooms) probably never would have gotten past the censors just one year later after the new Production Code would be enacted. Nor would a single man (Baxter) have been allowed to show a single girl around his bedroom.

Had no idea just what this 1933 film was all about and if I would even be interested and was greatly surprised at how great it really was way back when. Warner Baxter,(Jack Durant) played the role of a crooked Lawyer who was being brought up on criminal charges. Myrna Loy,(Gertie Waxted) plays the role of a hostess, prostitute and all around well experienced girl who has been around the block many many times. Mae Clarke,(Mimi Montagne) gave an outstanding performance in this story that has many interesting twists and turns that will keep you guessing just how this picture will end. Myrna Loy did an outstanding performance and made this a very different kind of film which is not very well known.

"Penthouse" is a first-rate example of "they don't make 'em like that anymore." The tale of a society lawyer turned criminal defense attorney -- out to prove the innocence of the accused murderer who waltzed off with his fiancée -- zips along. The dialog of the fabled Hackett-Goodrich team is sassy and clever. The relationship between lawyer Warner Baxter and Nat Pendleton as the racketeer who's his guardian angel perks up the plot. But it's Myrna Loy as the call girl who joins forces with Baxter to nail the real killer who shines. There are certain people the camera finds irresistible. And here, as the most lovable fallen woman of the pre-code era, Loy demonstrates the impish allure that would light up the screen for years to come.

Penthouse (1933)

*** (out of 4)

Warner Baxter plays a lawyer who has a reputation of getting guilty men off with murders but in reality he takes those who look guilty and proves their innocents. After getting a gangster off for murder, he gets involved with a new case where a friend of his is accused of murder and the only way to break through the case is by taking up with a gangster moll (Myrna Loy). I was really looking forward to this film, which many (including Maltin) talk up as a major gem of the decade and while I wouldn't go that far the movie is still pretty good. I think the biggest benefit here is that we get a lot of pre-code material including Baxter and Loy spending the night together, some sexual innuendo and most important is the sight of blood coming out of bullet holes, which wasn't seen in some of the major gangster films of the era. Another major plus are the performances with Baxter and Loy doing great work and really having great chemistry together. Moy easily steals the film in a very sexy performance that gives her quite a bit of range in terms of her character development. The supporting cast includes Charles Butterworth, Mae Clarke, C. Henry Gordon, Nat Pendleton, Raymond Hatton and George E. Stone. I think the film gets a little long winded in the middle but in the end this is another winning picture from the director and certainly worth watching when it pops up on Turner Classic Movies.