Private Detective 62

Long before he directed Casablanca, Mildred Pierce and The Adventures of Robin Hood (among other brilliant films) Michael Curtiz took a hand in putting together this little Depression gem about shady detective work, women with money to spare, and a budding romance. The always puckishly sophisticated William Powell appears to have a great deal of fun playing what appears to be a shady detective—but one with an integrity and a great charm for women.

In this zippy little pre-code gem, Powell is hired to put a wealthy female gambler in jeopardy so that her considerable winnings can be taken back by the speakeasy where she gambles; can you guess what happens when the two meet? The woman is played by the engagingly attractive but underused Margaret Lindsay, and she's an apt foil for Powell's machinations (Lindsay has never looked better than she does in this film, and one wonders why she never moved into more major films).

This is another Warner Brother's quickie, a highly entertaining, fast-moving (67 minutes!) "B" film loaded with familiar character actors like Hobart Cavanaugh and Irving Bacon and even Toby Wing, whose wide-smile and sexy persona impresses immediately in a five second appearance as one of Powell's willing conquests. There's even a pre-code drug addict named "Whitey" referred to as a "hophead" into "snow," the sort of drug reference which, as a result of the new code, would completely disappear from films for twenty years after 1934; drugs didn't make a major appearance again until Sinatra's Oscar-nominated performance in The Man With The Golden Arm in 1956.

This is not a great film by any means, but a perfect Saturday matinée popcorn movie, an excellent example of a studio film that was no longer made after 1950.

The film begins with William Powell being convicted in a French court of espionage and he is deported back to America. However, the French reconsider and plan on returning him to France when Powell jumps overboard and swims for shore in New York. Once there, he has a devil of a time finding work since it is during the Depression and since his reputation was ruined over the conviction. Eventually, he does land on his feet when he partners up with a two-bit private detective with very questionable morals. Through Powell's business acumen and skills as a detective, the agency is able to grow and prosper. Unfortunately, his partner is even more shady and corrupt than he imagined--leading to a dandy climax.

Over the years I have become a real fan of the films of William Powell--mostly because he was able to make his performances look so natural and relaxed. In this film, you have a somewhat ordinary plot that comes to life thanks to Powell. This mystery-action film isn't much like his later THIN MAN films, though it is still pretty exciting and well worth a look.

Donald Free (William Powell) gets arrested for stealing French government papers and deported back to America. The French tries to detain him again but he manages to escape. He has nothing left in the world. He partners up with foolish, corrupt private detective Dan Hogan and they start working for gangster Tony Bandor. Bandor's gambling den keeps losing to society lady Janet Reynolds (Margaret Lindsay) and it's up to $45k. Hogan happens to be half-partner with Bandor in gambling. Hogan assigns Free to get material on Reynolds without telling him the truth.

This is a fine William Powell flick. He's a dashing leading man for this type of film. I don't really get the French start to the movie. I don't think it adds anything great. If they're adding a whole prequel to the story, they should make it more exciting. Margaret Lindsay is perfectly nice but she's no Myrna Loy. This is all fine but it doesn't reaches for the next level.

Once again, the Turner Classic Movies network scores a touchdown for hard-core fans of William Powell !! This film is a depression-era gem and because it features Powell as a good guy who's not above conniving, it works beautifully.

The subtext of the movie -- the ritzy society dame who has an amazing knack for winning at roulette -- fully supports the context, which is what does a smart gentleman do when he's down on his luck ? In this film, Powell acts the part with panache and enthusiasm. He's not too good to take on the kind of almost-X-rated detective work that made "private eyes" synonymous with cads and bounders ....

But his character draws the line at fleecing the society diva played by Margaret Lindsay. In some ways this entertaining "detective fiction" steps way outside the usual social norms, and for that alone it gets a seven out of ten. Powell is amazingly charming in this film, and given the context of his employment, it is a bit of a fantasy scenario.

Like some other films of this specific time period, the fictional treatment of "New York swells" who gamble and win or lose what were then truly fabulous sums of money, was surely part of the appeal to the aforementioned "fantasy." People who were lucky to gross $ 2000 in a year's time, in that time, would have been, perhaps, a bit scandalized by seeing a privileged social butterfly knocking down the "house" for $ 50,000 at the roulette table !! But it made the otherwise fantastic notions of the film ever-so-much more believable.

Powell really sparkles in this movie. He's so very suave and urbane and yet just a little bit of bitterness comes through in the way he uses the dialog his character is given. Almost every time I have seen the whole of a Powell performance from this era, I come away somewhat astounded at the fluid nature of his talent.

"My Man Godfrey" remains my favorite film, of course, in the Powell repertoire but this detective story is both quirky and fantastic and ultimately believable just because Powell carries it all the way through. And yea, the final sequence where he's sprinting up stairs to embrace the lovely socialite -- who proposed marriage to him !! -- is very clever and pleasing. This is a great Powell vehicle and to see it without commercials on TCM was a real pleasure.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one which was even better due to the stellar presence of William Powell. Apart from the fact that he adds immeasurably to any film he's in, this one has an especially good plot with no lulls in the narrative. Here he is part con man, part ladies man and part quick-witted private eye., just the type of part Powell excels in.

The film sports an excellent director in Michael Curtiz (10 years before "Casablanca"), who gets a lot of mileage out of a supporting cast of proven Hollywood veterans. The script is first class and the screenplay has enough twists and surprises to satisfy even the most jaded movie-goer. I also added an extra star for William Powell's presence because he never disappoints.

8/10 - the website no longer prints my start rating.