After Office Hours

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.

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?

TCM never fails to surprise me. As the centerpiece on TV today for classic MGM films from that studio's golden era, I can say that I never heard of or saw this film before it was shown and I caught it tonight, on the station.

I think Gable and Bennett are great, even better together, as are Burke et al. What surprises me is that it doesn't quite feel or seem like it's up to the quality and visual level of a typical Metro film of the era. Actually, it plays like a film coming from the studio that did It Happened One Night to which Gable had been loaned out by MGM's Louis B. Mayer the year before, ironically.

The movie's OK, not the best.. But I can watch Clark and Constance in anything, because they gave their everything to each of their films.

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.

Take a story of no significance, load it with events of dubious credibility...and what do you have? If you also manage to include roles that are ideal for Clark Gable, Constance Bennett and Billie Burke, and if you find these players at the top of their form, and bring this mix alive with a crackling script by Herman Mankiewicz, the significance and credibility of it all are distinctly secondary. The characters talk fast, think fast, and move fast. This type of picture was done often in the 30s: part screwball, part melodrama, part love story (with sharp edges). When it worked - as it surely does here - you would be royally entertained. Enjoy.