The Case of the Curious Bride

Of all the "Perry Mason" films of the 1930's (there were six films, produced from 1934 to 1937), this one has to be the best. -- At least, it's MY favorite.

Warren William, who played Mason in more of these films than anyone else, elevates this short murder mystery from programmer to an 'almost-A' feature.

Claire Dodd, as Della Street, is little more than window dressing, as were all of the "Della's" in these early Warners' Perry Mason films. Allen Jenkins gives one of his standard (but good) blustery performances as Mason's side-kick, Paul Drake (called "Spuds" Drake in this film, and a complete opposite of TV's dapper Paul Drake, played by William Hopper). The best supporting role was that of Olin Howard as the coroner, who is also Perry's good buddy, and frequent dining partner. The veteran character actress, Margaret Lindsay is the "Curious Bride" of the title.

The real surprise (the first time I saw this) was seeing Errol Flynn doing a "bit" part in a flashback sequence at the end of the film. Flynn has a non-speaking part as Margaret Lindsay's first husband. This flashback scene is narrated by the Curious Bride's current husband, played by Donald Woods (who would later play Perry Mason in another of these Warner Brothers efforts, though not anywhere as entertainingly as Warren William).

The use of soft-focus fades for every scene change, at first seems to help move the story, but can also be a bit irritating.-- Overall though, this is a well photographed film, --both the nicely composed interiors, and the outdoor urban location shots of 1935 San Francisco (although the Mason stories are mostly based in L.A.).

Directed by Michael Curtiz, this swift-moving murder mystery has the feel of many of Curtiz's bigger-budgeted Warner films, and is easily the best of the Mason series. At the same time, it is not too unlike the other 5 Mason films that Warners produced.

Unfortunately, Warren William could not play Mason in all of these films, but overlooking that fact, all six of the Warners "Perry Mason" films, including "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop", "The Case of the Velvet Claws," and "The Case of the Lucky Legs" are very faithful to the source material, and all are entertainingly done.

By the way-- because all of these films were adapted from original Earl Stanley Gardner stories, all of these titles showed up in the 1950's, produced as episodes in Raymond Burr's "Perry Mason" TV series. It's very interesting to see the different treatment these stories were given on TV.

--D.--

... since the premise of the crime does not make sense, and the behavior of both Perry (William) and the DA are outright illegal and unethical. (Sometimes one is not necessarily the other).

Rhoda Montagne (Margaret Lindsay), recently married to the wealthy Carl Montagne (Donald Woods), is allegedly "curious" if a particular person is alive. Except she isn't curious when she calls Perry and does the obvious old "a friend of mine wants to know" routine. Her allegedly dead husband has returned from the grave and has been bothering her for lots of money or he threatens the scandal of bigamy. Now this guy's racket makes no sense. He marries women, fakes his own death, and waits for them to marry rich men and then pulls the bigamy routine? How does he know, during the Great Depression, that any of them will marry a rich guy? This is a scam that might never pay off.

Well Rhoda's not dead husband turns up dead again - this time for real - stabbed in his apartment. Rhoda is arrested for the crime. But even her arrest is full of hijinks. Perry first hides the suspect then turns her over to be "arrested by the press", who then don't have to turn her over until they finish their interview? The police and DA work to hide Rhoda from her attorney, Perry, in spite of a habeas corpus order UNTIL they get a confession. Law & Order prosecutor Jack McCoy would shake his head and knock all of their heads together Three Stooges style.

And yet it works. Because the mystery of who actually did do it is a pretty good yarn. Because Warren William as the always suave never mussed never plussed attorney moves gracefully through his paces. Because Allan Jenkins as Perry's ever loyal muscle is a not very bright yet humorous delight. And because of the coroner who loves his work - "I'll be seeing you" - is always his greeting to everybody.

A couple of surprises - Margaret Lindsay and Donald Woods were paired several times because they had some chemistry together. But this time the wooden Donald Woods uses his stiffness to surprise you with the outcome. Also, speaking of stiffs, Errol Flynn is mute in a bit part as the murdered man. Did director Michael Curtiz, who directed Flynn in a total of twelve films, look under the sheet and say "kid, you've got something"?.

Second in the Perry Mason film series starring Warren William as the famed lawyer/detective. It's arguably the best in the series. This time around Perry is asked for help by an old flame and winds up investigating her estranged husband's murder. Fun entry with a weird thread involving Perry's cooking hobby. William is having fun as he usually seemed to be. Allen Jenkins is a hoot as Perry's sidekick. Claire Dodd is an enjoyable Della Street. Errol Flynn has a "blink and you'll miss him" appearance in a flashback. This was his inauspicious feature film debut. One of Humphrey Bogart's wives, Mayo Methot, has a small part. The rest of the fine cast includes the always lovely Margaret Lindsay, the always bland Donald Woods, and the always grumpy Barton MacLane. It's a good-looking film, attractively photographed by David Abel with nice direction from the great Michael Curtiz, who would go on to much bigger and better films, including many starring Flynn.

This is the only Warren William Perry Mason movie I've seen so far, and I thought it was a lot of fun! It gallops along at a breakneck pace, partly thanks to its super-kinetic (and rather disorienting) editing. William and Dodd bring a really delicious tongue-in-cheek camaraderie to the roles of Perry and Della, while Mayo Methot (was she already married to Bogart?)has a lot of fun with the small part of Florabelle. The coroner is not to be missed, by the way!

It is fascinating to see what a different interpretation of the character of Perry Mason William gives; he seems to be drawing as much on his previous performance as Philo Vance as on anything in the books. Naturally, this makes him nothing at all like Raymond Burr's Mason. (And he's in San Francisco, by the way, not Los Angeles.) I certainly missed the gravitas and moral authority that Burr gave the part, but William is hilarious and highly professional, pulling off a performance not unlike that of a drunken tightrope walker working without a net with aplomb and smooth daring-do.

The murder (of Errol Flynn, no less!) is incidental.

Perry Mason, Celebrity! A whirlwind opening sequence flashes a headline across the screen: "Perry Mason Wins Brilliant Battle of Wits." To celebrate his latest magnificent courtroom victory, Mason and team sweep into a posh restaurant, where the hero waltzes right into the kitchen and starts chopping food, to the delight of the entire kitchen staff.

Warren William is charming, energetic, a bit cocky and rather brilliant as the famous lawyer-detective in this zippy series mystery.

He is aided by Allen Jenkins, at his best as the assistant whose loyalty is invaluable but who would like some of the credit. Claire Dodd is good in a small role as Mason's secretary Della—or is she his girlfriend? She's certainly the only character who can order Mason around, telling him (for example) to go take a shower.

Margaret Lindsay is the "curious bride" of the title, an old friend of Perry's who brings him this new case: she was married four years ago, she says, but her husband disappeared. Now she wants to remarry and needs to prove that that first husband is dead—but she has her doubts. The plot thickens, needless to say, and includes a murder, an empty coffin, and a variety of conversations with the coroner.

Nice directorial flourishes add flair—from showy camera zooms to clever little touches (like the shot of a sign on a door– COUNTY MORGUE – that pans down to a floor mat: WELCOME).

The pace is also very fast, so fast that you can't quite keep up—at least not with Perry Mason, who not only thinks and talks fast but bounds up stairs two at a time.

Sharp dialog and a fairly complicated plot keep things interesting, but it's the enthusiastic cast that make this one especially entertaining.