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Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas are Bill and Sally Reardon in "There's Always a Woman," a 1938 screwball comedy. Douglas is a former detective with the D.A.'s office who has opened his own office. However, there are no clients after a few months, so he returns to the D.A. Sally, his wife, is supposed to close the office, but when a Mrs. Fraser (Mary Astor) enters, Sally passes herself as a detective and gets the case - plus a retainer. It then becomes a competition between husband and wife to see which one will solve the case, which becomes more complicated, involving murder and blackmail.

It's hard not to love Joan Blondell is just about anything, and she's excellent in this. She and Douglas make a good team, though in the sequel, it's Virginia Bruce who steps into her role.

The script is witty, and the acting is excellent from all involved. This is no "Thin Man" - there were a few of these husband-wife detective movies that came out after the success of "The Thin Man" - in fact, one try at a series featuring Joel Sloane, a rare book dealer, and his wife, Garda, starred Melvyn Douglas in 1938. None quite measured up, but often these films were entertaining. "There's Always a Woman" is definitely a good one.

Despite thin comedy material, JOAN BLONDELL and MELVYN DOUGLAS give their all to the interplay between the detective husband and snoopy wife routine in this fast-moving comedy/mystery. Douglas is a detective badly in need of clients when MARY ASTOR pops into his office while he's away and tells her story to Blondell about keeping tabs on an unfaithful husband.

MARY ASTOR, JEROME COWAN and ROBERT PAIGE are the chief suspects when the man is killed, but the accent throughout is on comedy rather than solution of the crime. What matters is that the comedy is breezy and stylish in the Blondell/Douglas manner with both of them at the top of their form. Revelaton of the murderer comes as no big surprise.

Trivia note: RITA HAYWORTH has a fleeting moment as a secretary, unbilled in the credits. Blink and you may miss her one line and quick exit.

Party mystery, part screwball comedy There's Always A Woman features Melvyn Douglas and Joan Blondell as a man who opened a private detective agency and his ever helpful wife.

Douglas had worked for the DA's office as an investigator and felt he was in a career rut so he opened a private agency. As clients haven't been flocking to his office he's ready to go back to work for DA Thurston Hall, But Blondell says she wants to keep the agency open just in case.

No sooner does Douglas get his job back than in walks a client Mary Astor. She plunks down 3 century notes.which pays a lot of back rent and she wants Frances Drake who has been carrying on with husband Lester Matthews.

She does some surveillance in a madcap sort of way at a nightclub. The next day Matthews is shot to death and Robert Paige who had made some threats at him is arrested.

Douglas gets the investigation at the DA's office and Blondell keeps going on her investigation. She's from the Lucy Ricardo school of criminology and will have an awful lot of 'splaining' to do eventually.

Three years later Mary Astor and Jerome Cowan who plays a gambler in There's Always A Woman would be part of the immortal cast of The Maltese Falcon. And ironically in this film both would have the same function.

Columbia might have made more of these had its stars not been tied to other studios. But Blondell was with Warner Brothers and Douglas with MGM. The two had a good chemistry and Blondell is a hoot.

A good combination of genres is There's Always A Woman.

The Quick Pitch: Husband, who works for the DA, and wife, who is secretly running her husband's old detective agency, compete to see who can solve a murder.

As my rating indicates, I generally enjoyed There's Always a Woman. It's no Thin Man, as it's often compared and as Columbia Pictures had hoped it would be, but the movie is decent enough entertainment. The mystery may not be much, but this kind of light-hearted, who-done-it is never deep on plot. The film looks good and moves at a good pace. The direction is snappy with very little in the way downtime. Joan Blondell really shines as Sally Reardon. She's cute, funny, and sassy. She dominates the screen anytime she appears. Co-star Melvyn Douglas is good in his own right and makes a good straight man for Blondell, but he can't compete with her screen presence. There are a variety of other solid actors in the supporting cast, most notably Mary Astor, in what is pretty much the same role she played a few years later in The Maltese Falcon.

The thing that bothered me the most about There's Always a Woman was the casual depiction of spousal abuse. Maybe attitudes have changed since 1938, but I don't enjoy seeing a woman having her hair pulled or being hit by her husband. It didn't come off as funny or playful, just mean. Without those moments, I would have definitely rated There's Always a Woman higher.

6/10

My wife tells me that she liked THERE'S ALWAYS A WOMAN as much as THE THIN MAN (and its progeny). I don't put them in the same league – and chances are, you won't either – but my wife tells me that she liked that the woman (Joan Blondell) was the detective and the smart one. (The "smart" part can be debated, as it is not constant, but this film was made in the 1930s.) The cast was very good, but there is no William Powell. I don't care how many awards he won, Melvyn Douglas is no William Powell. And neither is Joan. (There is no Myrna Loy/subordinate wife character, which takes us back to why my wife liked this so.) If you are reading this review, chances are you'll like this film. It has the charm we can always find in comedies of this period, and Joan is wonderful as always. (And for THIN MAN fans, there is a period of suitable drinking.)

Comparisons with the Thin Man are inevitable. But if Bill Reardon (Douglas) can be taken as Nick Charles' slick, well-composed brother, Sally Reardon (Blondell) can only be taken as Nora Charles' rowdy, very distant cousin. It's Blondell as Blondell, sassy, madcap, and irresistible. Still, how funny you find her many pratfalls may depend on comedic taste. The humor here is much broader than the dry, sarcastic wit of Powell and Loy. Also, unlike the Charles's who work as a team, the Reardons often work at head-butting cross-purposes, even if they do get results.

Here Sally goes to work for mystery woman Lola Fraser (Astor), and ends up involved in a murder. Bill ends up working the same case but as a police detective. Seems as though he'll have to arrest Sally if she doesn't change her headstrong ways—fat chance. As a whodunit, the movie only partially succeeds since screen time is mainly taken up with Sally's shenanigans. Still, things do move along briskly, while Blondell maintains the energy level. No, they're not the understated Nick and Nora, but the movie's generally entertaining enough.

There's Always a Woman stars Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas as husband and wife, trying to solve a case, much like Myrna Loy and William Powell in the Thin Man series, with "Always a Woman" coming several years after Thin Man. William Reardon (Douglas) is deciding if he wants to stay in the private eye business, when wife Sally (Blondell) comes along and interferes in all his business. This one is a little more edgey and biting than the Thin Man; here, they have it out, and it's not alway quite the same gentle, kidding tone that Thin Man has. I wondered if this film had been written by the same team as Thin Man, but it appears it was completely different writers. Viewers will recognize Mary Astor who started in silent films, and made many films, including several with Bogart (Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific). Blondell will probably be most well known for Three on a match and Desk Set. Interesting that both of Melvyn Douglas' Oscars were for Best Supporting Roles, much later in his career.

Here's the problem with There's Always a Woman: Melvyn Douglas. I'm not really a fan of his in general, even though I have liked him in a couple of films, like The Gorgeous Hussy. In this film, as in many others when he's cast as a romantic lead, he's got an angry chip on his shoulder that isn't anywhere near as charming as he thinks it is. The running joke of the film is his banter with his wife Joan Blondell. They repeatedly dis each other and threaten to wring each other's necks, but Melvyn seems like he actually means it. He seems so grumpy and hateful, that at any minute, I expected him to strangle Joan and for the film to turn into a different type of murder mystery.

This movie tries to be a knock-off of the Sam Spade movies, with a husband and wife detective agency taking on a client's tearful plea to follow her unfaithful husband-and then the unfaithful husband winds up dead. Mary Astor stars as the tearful client, an audition for her role in The Maltese Falcon. The mystery portion of the film isn't very interesting, and the patter between Melvyn and Joan is just painful. Save yourself two hours and watch something else.

Caught this today on TCM - lots of fun. characters and snappy dialog borrow heavily from the 'Thin Man' series, only husband Douglas works as a lawman, and wife Joan is the wannabee 'private eye' (with all the right hunches). Blondell is very charming and lovably wacky, but proves that blonds CAN compete in the 1930's (Hollywood) world of sleuthing. Hilarious results come from Douglas attempting to keep wifey under wraps in latter portions of film while he tries 'to break the case wide open'.

Also, earlier, the couple return home from a romantic night out, but Joan's great expectations for intimacy appear to get dashed (---: witty scene, but tastefully portrayed ..

8 / 10

The plot of this comedy murder mystery isn't anything particularly special or original and sillier than it should be to for it to be credible but nevertheless it's still thoroughly entertaining.

It's one of those films which when you notice it's coming to an end, you wish it would keep carrying on. It does help of course if you like Joan Blondell and since that surely includes everyone in the world except for six members of one isolated tribe deep in the Amazon you'll enjoy this. She is as brilliant in this as she's ever been and even in a 'post pre-code' negligee she's jaw-droppingly stunning. Her character is however a little too ditzy. As an aspiring detective, her character is not that easy to believe.

According to her autobiography, Joan Blondell really enjoyed making this in Columbia's more relaxed atmosphere away her now hated Warner Brothers. You can sense her renewed enthusiasm and feel the electricity in her performance. She really brings what could have been a formulaic and forgettable feature to life.

Another small fly in the ointment is Melvyn Douglas' character. His relationship with his 'wife' seems a bit too snarky and aggressive at times. He's not really that likeable so the enjoyment of this film relies completely on the shoulders of Miss Blondell so if you're not a fan of her (perhaps you're a Nazi?) then maybe this isn't for you?

Yes, there's the usual crosstalk 'witty' exchanges you'd expect from a movie dating from this period, and it all looks slickly produced, but Melvyn Douglas seems genuinely sour throughout as the husband who jokes about divorce and abusing his wife, and Joan Blondell's endless breezy mugging begins to irritate when there's little in the way of substance to the plot. You wouldn't want to be stuck in a lift with either of these two for very long.

You can predict the entire movie just a couple of minutes from the off, and then it's just a matter of sitting it out while it plays out for two long, self indulgent hours of one predictable scene after the other. It's hard to imagine these two solving much of anything let alone a murder case.

Bill Reardon (Melvyn Douglas) is a struggling private detective. His wife Sally (Joan Blondell) had push him into quitting a well paying investigating job in the DA office. He goes off to get his old job back. Famous socialite Lola Fraser comes in looking to hire an investigator and Sally promptly takes the job pretending to be an investigator. She starts investigating behind her husband's back which gets complicated when the DA office gets involved in a murder case.

The one and only issue I have is Bill's constant physical fake-outs against his wife. He keeps pretending to hit her and missing by the barest margin. He even throws something at her. It's another era and it's supposed to be funny. It's like Ralph Kramden. It hasn't aged well. Otherwise, the combative rapid-fire banter is fun.

"There's Always a Woman" is a comedy crime and romance film that stars Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas. They made three films together, but they don't have the "chemistry" that makes for great comedy. Douglas had it with all his other leading ladies in comedies, but Blondell seemed to be hit and miss on that score.

In this film, Blondell's Sally Reardon is more silly than funny. In one long scene, she is being interrogated for many hours by the police. She is all sparkly and chipper with big grins while they are all rundown and exhausted. That sort of silliness doesn't quite register as comedy to most. Her role is like that throughout the film - she overacts and has a persona of a solo role. Husband Bill Reardon (Douglas) and all rest of the cast are just along for the ride.

The irony is that Blondell has very few of the witty lines. Most of the clever dialog comes from Douglas and others. It's because of a significant amount of funny dialog that I give this film six stars. Without that, it would probably bore most movie fans.

Here are some favorite lines form the film. For more funny dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page on the movie. Miss Jacobs, "I, I don't mind anything, but your husband shouldn't have called me that name." Sally Reardon; "What'd you call her, Bill?" Bill Reardon, "I didn't call her any name." Miss Jacobs, "You did too. You called me a stenographer and I'm a private secretary."

Bill Reardon, "Listen, I gave her a week's salary. Why the extra $5?" Sally Reardon, "$10... for being here six months without flirting with you." Bill, "Oh, yeah. Lady, you've been robbed." Sally, "Why that little.... Well that settles it. From now on I'm your secretary."

Waiter, "Your wife?" Bill Reardon, "You wanna make anything out of it?"

Sally Reardon, "Are you angry at something, Bill?" Bill Reardon, "Me? Noooo. What have I to be angry about?" Sally, "Well, I don't know. You just look like you're ready to sock somebody in the jaw." Bill, "Oh, no. I got over that an hour ago. Now I'm looking for an ax.

Sally Reardon, "I think it's silly getting mad at a waiter."

Sally Reardon, having fallen back in her chair at the nightclub, "Well, why don't ya pick me up, ya big lummox?" Bill Reardon, "I picked you up once - now look at me."

Sally Reardon, "I thought I married a gentleman." Bill Reardon, "Well, live and learn."

Melvyn Douglas is a flop as a private detective. He announces he is going back to work as District Attorney Thurston Hall's top investigator. Wife Joan Blondell vows to make a sucess of the business. As soon as Douglas leaves to get his old job back, in walks Mary Astor. She thinks her husband is cheating on her with an old girlfriend and hires the Reardon Agency's top investigator. Miss Blondell takes the money. Corpses follow.

It's a pretty good attempt at doing a Thin Man sort of movie with two performers who are not high-functioning alcoholics. There's terrific chemistry between the leads, some risque gags for the depths of the ode era, and a generally screwball attitude to things under the direction of Alexander Hall. Nothing can make me say that Tom Dugan is amusing as the dumb detective, but the cast includes Jerome Cowan, Pierre Watkins, and about three seconds of Rita Hayworth. The powers-that-be wanted to make a series of it, but Miss Blondell wasn't on board, so the next time Virginia Bruce was married to Douglas.

This movie was supposed to be the first of a series of movies with JOAN BLONDELL and MELVYN DOUGLAS playing the same man and wife parts, but BLONDELL opted out and another actress took her place. It isn't any mystery to me why she opted out. I found the husband part played by DOUGLAS to be rude, I could actually say in parts he behaved like a pig. I don't know. Perhaps men treated their wives in a different manner way back then that was condoned by the general public, but I was shocked. I mean, I know they probably wanted a different tack then the Nick & Nora approach (William Powell & Myrna Loy), but this just didn't work for me. I've always really, really enjoyed all of the roles Melvyn Douglas played. He's always seemed to play a "frisky" sort of fellow, but always a gentleman. In Mr. Blanding Dream House you actually wished he was your friend, too. But I had a different feeling towards him after watching this movie. It's any wonder BLONDELL didn't want to resurrect the role again.

I'm sure Lucille Ball borrowed her comedy genius of from Joan Blondell. The housewife that's bored and wants to be with her husband for his exciting career and gets her nose in his business. Constantly she sets him up, and turns out she needs her husband as much as he needs her, and her husband protects her from herself.

Douglas style of comedy is rather rough/ macho, but is often imitated by Desi Arnaz, and other macho characters throughout TV history.

Lucille Ball is hardly the only one to imitate Joan's comedy style. Fran Drescher is the most modern one I can think of.

Worth watching! 5*****

Well, this movie is certainly a pale imitation of The Thin Man series. I admit to a few laugh out loud moments (watching Sally exhaust her interrogators was a great scene) but the interaction between the husband and wife duo here, Sally and Bill, wasn't nearly as rewarding as watching The Thin Man's Nick and Nora. Bill's constant exclamations that he wanted to murder Sally seemed more bitter than humorous and his constant threats of physical violence (with Sally retreating in fear and cowering like an abused puppy) manage to be both boring and offensive at the same time. Some of the lines are great but there's no warmth here, so it falls flat. Even the great kiss in final scene of the movie involves Sally and Bill pulling each other's hair. Watching Nick and Nora's witty repartee and loving lampooning of each other is a joy because you see warmth between the characters and the characters seem to respect each other (Nora doesn't cower) and they have class and joie de vivre. Sadly, Sally and Bill just seem like a couple of boring, bitter, cranks.