Mad Holiday

Mad Holiday (1936)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

MGM crime-mystery about actor Philip Trent (Edmund Lowe) who grows tired of playing a mystery solver so he decides to quit the film business and go on a trip. On board a ship he runs into Peter Dean (Elissa Landi) who just happens to be the writer of his story. It doesn't take long for the two to find a dead body and now they're got a real mystery to solve. It's clear that this "B" picture was trying to recapture the magic of THE THIN MAN and while it doesn't reach the levels of that classic, the fun cast makes the film worth viewing. There's no question that Lowe was an expert at playing this type of character. The character is rather full of himself, charming and has a way with words so Lowe is perfect at this. He's especially good early on once he finally cracks and realizes that he doesn't want to act in these type of pictures. Landi makes for a good partner in crime as the two manage to have some nice chemistry. The supporting cast has some very familiar faces with Edgar Kennedy stealing the picture as a detective who just happens to be on board the ship. Zasu Pitts plays a rather dimwitted fan of the actor and Ted Healy can be seen playing a stooge promotional man for the studio. The actual mystery itself is a pretty good one as you'll certainly be left in the dark as to who the killer is and what the exact motive was. Director George B. Seitz does a nice job at keeping the film moving at a nice pace and the screenplay also has some good touches and especially when it gives the viewer a few winks about what happens behind the scenes of one of these films. MAD HOLIDAY is far from perfect but it's a nice little time killer.

Phil Trent (Ed Lowe) has been playing a super sleuth in films for years now, and wants to just get away for a while. he gets on a cruise ship to escape, but of course the crowds recognize him. his publisher pulls a stunt that makes him look foolish. in all the confusion, he meets the actual writer of the detective stories who just HAPPENS to be on the same cruise ship. Zasu Pitts is in here for comedic fun, and plays a drunk who hates drunkards. and the real bodies start piling up. and a diamond is missing. the usual shenanigans. mixups. twists that aren't so surprising. now we're off the ship and in a chinatown theater. and Trent is still hot on the trail of the diamond and the murderer. it's pretty good. low key fun. some slapstick comedy tossed in. Directed by George Seitz. died young at 56, but not much information available on him.

This film is a spoof of ALL the mystery films of the 30's & 40's. An actor quits his job playing a "super sleuth", goes on a Vacation, and discovers a REAL murder!

Lowe & Landi are terrific together; there's quite a "chemistry" between them. It's a shame that they didn't make this combo into a series!

More laffs are provided by Edgar Kennedy (with his "slow burn"), Zazu Pitts, and Ted Healy. It's quite obvious that everyone enjoyed making this film! It's a real HOOT! (Especially funny how it spoofs its own "mystery" genre).

The only (slight) drawback to this film is that it's incredibly easy to figure out who the "masked murderer" is....but, you've GOTTA see this film!

Edmund Lowe and Elissa Landi are terrific in this comedy-drama directed by sure comedy hand George Seitz. They are supported by the always hilarious Edgar Kennedy and Zasu Pitts, as well as the annoying Ted Healy, with Edmund Gwenn in a small but well-performed role.

The movie looks like it was originally intended for William Powell and Myrna Loy as a spoof on THE THIN MAN, but the lead pair -- Lowe plays a movie actor trapped in a series of successful murder movies written by hack Landi -- manage their own chemistry. Lowe times his wisecracks like Groucho Marx and Landi's timing and character reminds me of Greer Garson, still three years from being noticed by Louis Mayer.

Seitz had had a sure hand for comedy, both as a writer for Broadway and for the movies since silent days. He would direct a couple more great comedies for Metro, including the amazing MY DEAR MISS ALDRICH and then spend the remainder of his life directing the lively Andy Hardy series. If you get a chance to see what he could do with a good script and adult actors, take it.

In the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made tons of mystery films in which amateurs solve crimes that the police are just too stupid to solve. It seems that anyone who wanted to be a detective could solve crimes in these pictures....school teachers, reporters, and, in "Mad Holiday", actors.

When the story begins, Philip Trent (Edmund Lowe) is finishing up his sixth mystery movie...and he's sick of them. He feels that the stories are trite and he refuses to do any more. Before he'll even consider returning to the studio to work in any film, he wants a vacation. However, when he takes a cruise, wouldn't you know it but bodies would start piling up, and, in some cases, disappearing! Apparently it all has something to do with a stolen Chinese diamond...and reluctantly Trent begins investigating the case along with Ms. Dean...the woman who wrote his trite screenplays.

In support of Lowe are a variety of familiar actors (such as Zasu Pitts, Edmund Gwenn and Edgar Kennedy), but the most interesting was Ted Healy. While I never have been a Healy fan, he is an interesting guy here because it's so obvious that the part was written for Ted Healy and His Stooges. The Three Stooges had been partners with Healy up until about 1933 and here, without the Stooges, he inexplicably smacks a few guys around as if they were Moe, Curly and Larry! Again and again, he's slapping poor schmucks who just seem willing to take it! It really was weird.

Even though this plot is too familiar, having Trent be an actor who has no interest in investigating crimes is unusual. He only begrudgingly investigates...and he really would rather be left alone.

So is it any good? Yes...mostly because I love Lowe and loved his style in this movie. He's an actor mostly forgotten today, though he certainly deserves to be remembered. Here he manages to take a B-mystery and inject a lot of life into it. Well worth seeing and fun.