Il mistero del signor X

Modern directors who don't know how to make a movie in less than two hours could take a lesson from this fast-paced 84 minute thriller, shot in 1934. The tale centers on a killer who uses a cane-sword to skewer policemen, warning Scotland Yard of each murder before it occurs. Unfortunately, jewel thief Robert Montgomery happens to be heisting a diamond just as another bobby is slain -- and becomes the principal suspect. The only way he can clear his name is to catch the maniac, pausing from time to time to dally with Elizabeth Allan as the police commissioner's fetching daughter. As the mystery moves crisply along, there are no long tracking shots, lingering looks at people's faces or endless glimpses of scenery. Instead, Montgomery's bonhomie, Allan's saucy appeal, a clever, amusing script and tight editing make Mr. X a pleasure to watch.

Some pictures I can watch again-and-again. This is one.

Set in London, it is a romantic, mystery thriller (with comedy elements). It is also a fascinating window on a world now seventy-five years removed. Its pace, plot, acting, and dialog are all excellent.

Robert Montgomery is most charming as a gentleman thief. Elizabeth Allan is exquisitely lovely as his romantic interest. She's somewhat reminiscent of Paula Prentice in looks and manner, and comes across as intelligent, vivacious, wholesome, natural, and honest. (Yum!) Also, Forrester Harvey, as Montgomery's Cockney cab driver stooge, does an excellent turn as comedy relief.

What really sets this movie apart from others, however, is the absolutely amazing chemistry and timing between Montgomery and Allan. I find it a joy to replay their scenes over-and-over to watch the many nuances that occur. It really is a great shame that they never again worked together.

Finally, the villain himself appears to be the evil twin (in dress and features) of the contemporary pulp-magazine hero "The Shadow." Could this just be a coincidence? Naa! I don't think so.

This is Robert Montgomery's film all the way. This fine American Actor/Director is at his best and obviously has a lot of fun as he plays a second story man who just happens to steal a valuable diamond at the same time a policeman is murdered by a deranged killer. The killing takes place on the sidewalk just below where Montgomery has made his heist and, as the film unfolds, Scotland Yard comes to the erroneous conclusion that the theft and the murder have been committed by the same person. This leaves Montgomery in a precarious position and he realizes that to keep from being blamed for the murder he will have to bring the killer to justice by his own wiles. He is working on all of this while, at the same time, romancing the daughter of the head of Scotland Yard. There is plenty of good old fashioned suspense in this film to satisfy any mystery fan. There are also several light moments as we watch the romance between the jewel thief and the daughter of the Scotland Yard chief unfold. Lewis Stone, perhaps remembered best as Judge Hardy in that venerable series does a great job as another high Scotland Yard official who is suspicious of Montgomery from the start and plays a bit of a cat and mouse game with the thief. The ending is very satisfying as all matters are tied-up neatly. Enjoy...........

Robert Montgomery is a gentleman jewel thief and in the films of the 1930s this would make him the hero...of sorts. However, his career is in jeopardy due to a serial killer named 'Mr. X'. You see, X has been killing and taunting police for some time and when one of Montgomery's burglaries happens to occur at the same place a copper is killed by X, the police now suspect that X and the gentleman thief are one in the same--which clearly are not. So, it's up to Montgomery to do what he can to help the police capture X--then, and only then, can they possibly sell the huge diamond. Things get complicated when the daughter of the police inspector on the case falls for Montgomery. By the end of the film, it's a life and death struggle between X and Montgomery--and guess who wins! In many ways, this film plays a lot like a Saint or Falcon outing, though with a higher quality budget. The overall product is enjoyable light entertainment--the sort they really haven't made in over 60 years.

By the way, couldn't you also see William Powell in the role Montgomery played? They both seemed to have a real knack for these sort of parts.

Robert Montgomery, always the class act, gets to do more here than MGM normally let him in the very early years of his career when they too often typecast him as a wealthy playboy. I always enjoyed him in those roles, but he was capable of so much more.

Someone is going about killing London policemen with a long sword in the absence of any other crime. Enter Robert Montgomery as the unlucky cracksman Nicholas Revel. He is unlucky because he steals a beautiful diamond at virtually the same time and place that one of the policemen is killed. The police unfortunately deduce that the cop killer, "Mr. X", is also the diamond thief and figure when they find the diamond and its thief they'll find Mr. X.

In yet another plot thread the daughter of police commissioner Fresham is engaged to a young man, Sir Christopher 'Chris' Marche, who is prone to nocturnal drunken adventures. During one of these benders he scuffles with a policeman minutes before Mr. X kills that policeman. With the young man's scarf clutched in the dead policeman's hands, Sir Christopher is instantly a suspect.

These threads intersect when Revel, a man with a profound conscience for a jewel thief and apparently better investigative instincts than the police, decides he cannot let Sir Christopher be blamed for a crime that he believes he did not commit. He has a theory on how to catch the real cop killer - and thus get himself off the hook too - but he needs to talk to police commissioner Fresham and tell him his theory. Knowing the commissioner will probably be at Sir Christopher's hearing, Revel concocts a plan to falsely vouch for Sir Christopher the night of the killing, and thus be able to simultaneously free Sir Christopher from suspicion and enter into conversation with the commissioner.

Some of this plan works out for Revel - and some of it doesn't. All in all it's a very interesting crime drama/romance from the 1930's. Lewis Stone as police superintendent Conner is also excellent here as usual, as he wages a passive-aggressive battle of wits with Revel. You see, Conner is on to Revel from the first time they meet and Revel realizes this. The film has a very satisfying precode ending, but not the kind you would normally think of when you mention precode.

Also, let me correct one common mistake. The leading lady here is Elizabeth Allan, a fine British film actress, not Elizabeth Allen the stage actress and wife of Robert Montgomery at the time this film was made.