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This is an early entry in the comic/romantic mystery genre. Joan Blondell is bemoaning the boring existence of a hospital nurse when wham! She is commandeered by detective George Brent to help solve a murder case. It is he who, at her request gives her a title. The title is Miss Pinkerton.

It's an old mansion with creepy servants and the whole deal. A young man has died. Suicide, it's thought; but we know better. The plot is a trifle complicated but not too far-fetched. And Blondell is as (almost) always a real joy.

Brent is in it blessedly little and the supporting players all do what the need to do.

By the time MISS PINKERTON was made, Hollywood was starting to repeat themselves in their treatments of Mary Roberts Rinehart (first purveyor of the "little old lady detective" that Agatha Christie would perfect with her Miss Marple and Angela Lansbury would do to a fare thee well in her Jessica Fletcher character) and the stage based sets for their "old dark house" mysteries. From the very first shots of MISS PINKERTON, with long shadows cast on the facade of the house in question where murder is to be done (and done again?), we're back in the territory of THE BAT (aka The Spiral Staircase), Ms. Rinehart's most successful stage and film excursion.

As before, we have Ms. Rinehart's feisty "little old lady," Elizabeth Patterson as Juliet Mitchell, accompanied by a comic companion (in this case Nurse Adams played by Joan Blondell) and a host of potential suspects in her mysterious (and enormous) old house, but as film making technique has progressed in only a few years of sound (and Ms. Rinehart knew when to vary a successful template), this time we have a fun twist in casting the young comedienne as the lead and assistant to the fresh faced detective (George Brent as Inspector Patten on his "first case"), and the old lady as one of the potential suspects, thought to pass off a suicide as murder for the insurance money . . . or was it murder after all?

Blondell is at her youthful best, and the studio cast is crammed full of first class talent on their way up from C. Henry Gordon as Dr. Stuart to the briefest of shots of a young Walter Brennan as a Police Dispatcher at the beginning.

Modern action buffs may sniff that the atmospheric tale seems at times to be more about the enormous, detailed sets than the mystery itself, with unidentified characters sneaking in and up long back staircases, women screaming and the odd comic set piece (is the dog a clue?), but director Lloyd Bacon (the silent film actor turned director who had shepherded Cole Porter's 50 MILLION FRENCHMAN to the screen the year before with members of the Broadway cast but without Porter's songs and would mount the classic 42ND STREET *with* songs the next year, continuing to work into the 1950's!) keeps the action spinning for the barely hour (six minutes over) running time.

Bask in the details of life in the early depression era (before the details of life outside got too depressing) and have the good time this nicely layered film offers, seeing if you can keep the suspects and motivations straight even when murder is committed right in front of your eyes - and remember "it ain't over 'till it's over," and that isn't when it first appears!

Joan Blondell is nicknamed "Miss Pinkerton" in this 1932 film also starring George Brent and Ruth Hall. She's nicknamed Miss Pinkerton by Brent when she attempts to help solve a murder. She's actually Nurse Adams, bored with her hospital job. She's offered a chance to take care of an elderly lady who has gone into shock after finding someone dead in her house from an apparent suicide. Nurse Adams is supposed to keep an eye on things. She's thrilled.

Miss Pinkerton doesn't believe the suicide - she thinks it was murder. The house gives her plenty of ammunition to believe it. It's an old, dark with a mean-looking maid, a scary butler, the frightened patient, and the doctor who doesn't seem too stable either.

A young girl shows up (Hall). She was married to the murder victim but in love with someone else. This someone is Elliot (Donald Dillaway) who has been caught sneaking around the house. There is also a stenographer (Mary Doran). Then there is a second murder.

George Brent is the investigating detective, and he's young and unmustached here. Normally he played opposite a major leading lady. He's charming here.

Fast-moving mystery with the delightful Blondell keeping things lively. Some interesting camera work, including a gigantic shadow of a man over the house. Lots of screaming, too, as befits this kind of movie.

Miss Pinkerton (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Nurse Adams (Joan Blondell) is growing tired and the same events happening everyday at the hospital but she gets her chance for excitement when Inspector Patten (George Brent) asks her to help with a suicide case. The nurse is brought on to care for an elderly woman who found her nephew's body after he killed himself but Patten believes it was actually murder. MISS PINKERTON, a nickname given to the nurse, is a fairly entertaining murder-mystery and just like the countless others that were released in this era. If you've seen its remake, THE NURSE'S SECRET, then you'll realize that it followed this one pretty closely but there's no question that this here is the better of the two. The main reason this one works so well is because Blondell is just so charming in her role. She manages to bring some light humor when it's needed but she can also handle the drama without a problem. Another major plus is that she's given a pre-code sequence where she's changing. Of course, by today's standards this is pretty tame but fans of the genre should at least get a smile out of it. Brent isn't all that memorable in his part as he sleepwalks through it. John Wray is fun as Hugo, a butler who is a prime suspect. Director Lloyd Bacon actually adds a little style to the picture including a very good scene where a person dies and we get a POV shot as she slips away. There are several attack sequences throughout the film and these too are well directed and staged. With that said, the 66-minute running time does drag in spots and there's no question that a bit of a stronger story would have been nice. Still, fans of the genre and Blondell should be entertained.

As far as I know, "Miss Pinkerton" is the only old-dark-house whodunit that Joan Blondell ever made (though she has played the amateur detective, as she does here, several times) (and maybe you could count "Topper Returns"). She's a joy, as always. The film employs nearly all the genre cliches (only a thunderstorm is missing), and has so many sinister characters that, as Blondell herself says to inspector George Brent, "You have arrested everyone in this cast except me!". There is so much plot to be covered in 65 minutes that you cannot afford not to pay attention or you'll be lost. If they had made another "Miss Pinkerton" film with the team of Blondell and Brent, I would watch it. **1/2 out of 4.

Nurse Joan Blondell is bored with the humdrum goings-on at the hospital where she works. So when offered a little excitement by helping the police with a murder investigation, she jumps at the chance. Pleasant old dark house mystery with a little bit of comedy added to the mix. Joan's wonderful, as she always was in the '30s. Pretty, funny, immensely likable. Very fetching in that nurse uniform. She's one of the most underrated stars of her era. She's got nice support here from George Brent in an early role and many fine character actors like Holmes Herbert and C. Henry Gordon. Also Elizabeth Patterson (Miss Trumbull from I Love Lucy) plays the old lady Blondell is assigned to take care of. Well-directed by Lloyd Bacon with some nicely-framed shots and some spooky use of wind and shadows. The film ends in such a way one might think this was the first of a series. Unfortunately, that's not the case and there were no sequels.

Another classic mystery that I watched right after I finished reading the book it was based on, so this review will be more about the comparison of the two and not another one about the story and the actors (that others has done a great job of already).

This one was probably the most faitful of these lesser known mysteries that I watched after reading the books: basically there are only two significant changes and none of those is directly related to the story itself. One of them is right in the beginning: here our heroine is a bored and somewhat ill-tempered hospital nurse who, out-of-the blue, is called to help a police investigation, while in the book she is a professional private nurse who has already worked with the police several times before (actually Miss Pinkerton was Rinehart's second book about the Ms Adams character... published 18 years after the first one, 1914's The Buckled Bag). And the second one is the quite suddenly erupting romance between her and the police detective. This part is completely missing from the book and there it is only hinted at the very end that the detective likes Ms Adams quite one bit.

But other than these minor changes (that does not really add or take anything) the story follows the book rather faithfully... which could be a god thing, but actually it turns out to be the film's only shortcoming. The book itself is a charming little one, well written, featuring loveble characters, but honestly, its story is not its strongest part. It was written in a time when mystery writers already struggled to come up with new twists and ideas and in this case it resulted is an overcomplicated story about a race after an old lady's heritage. The character's motives are not really clear even in the book and when the story is squeezed into the film's hour long running time, it becomes even more messy. The book spent some time introducing everyone, while here, besides the leads, hardly anyone has enough screentime to realy explore the charachters.

But even with its shortcomings, the movie is an entertaining little quicky, Blondell, while seems miscast at first, eventually does a good job and C. Henry Gordon is also a delight to watch. Switch your brains off, do not try to follow the story, just go along with the flow and you will be in for an hour worth of fun.

...specifically between Joan Blondell and George Brent. These are two players whose performances and films I generally enjoy immensely, but here the two just seem to be acting at each other rather than with each other. It's hard to describe unless you actually see it.

Blondell plays a nurse in a hospital - Nurse Adams - who is bored with hospital routine. One night she gets picked by the head nurse to be private nurse for the night to an old woman who has had a terrible shock - the old woman found the body of her nephew shortly after he had been shot with his own gun. Was it suicide? Was it murder? If it was murder, what was the motive? These are the questions surrounding the mystery of the unnatural death of Herbert Wynn. There is also the complication of Herbert Wynn's life being insured for one hundred thousand dollars payable to his aunt, and that his family - once wealthy - is now on the verge of bankruptcy and ruin. So, there is just as much a motive for making the suicide look accidental - or like a murder - as there is reason for making any murder that has occurred look like a suicide or accident. Life insurance doesn't pay out for suicide.

Enter George Brent, a police detective on the case that takes an immediate liking to Nurse Adams and dubs her "Miss Pinkerton". I could never really figure that one out, unless it has something to do with the famous Scottish detective whose name is often a pseudonym for detective. This is really an old dark house tale mixed in with elements of the Thin Man. From the old dark house side of things we have a creepy mansion with creepier inhabitants and mysterious locked rooms. From the Thin Man tradition of mysteries - which actually wasn't made for two years after this film - we have everybody shooting darting and knowing glances at everyone else and looking guilty and somewhat conspiratorial.

The rather complex plot will keep you interested, but you'll likely be disappointed with the romance and partnership end of things between Blondell and Brent. They were both capable of having tremendous chemistry with other leading ladies and men, just not with each other and certainly not in this film. Recommended, but with reservations.

As charming as Joan Blondell is, she can't save this silly script. She plays a nurse who is planted by the police in a mansion where a man has been died to find out whether it was murder. There's a lot of slinking around at night and suspicious characters, but not a whole lot of it makes any sense. I liked the camera angles and some of the shots that Lloyd Bacon gives us along the way, but when he pauses for the romance and banter between Blondell and George Brent the film suffers, because the chemistry just isn't there. Blondell was cranking out about 9 films a year during the early years of her career, and you can do much better in her filmography in 1932 alone (e.g. Union Depot or Three on a Match).

Quote: "I sometimes wonder how far you'd get if these wicked criminals didn't go around catching themselves. You know, come to think of it, you've arrested practically everyone in this cast (sic) except me."

Love mystery. Love thriller, though this is more of a mystery with splashes of comedy. Also appreciate a lot of comedy, though some styles are more to my taste than others it has to be admitted. It is always interesting when they are combined together and a lot of films do it very well indeed. Have loved a lot the work of Joan Blondell, here in a role she played very well, and Lloyd Bacon (best known for the film that transformed the musical genre '42nd Street') had a lot of talent. George Brent was more hit and miss for me.

'Miss Pinkerton' was from personal opinion one of those above average but not particularly mind-blowing kind of films, not too bad a position to be in but there was potential for it to have been much better. A lot of good things, wonderful in the case of Blondell, the production values and Bacon's direction. But also some big drawbacks, such as the over-stuffed and over-complicated plotting and lack of chemistry between Blondell and Brent (who is not at his best here in 'Miss Pinkerton').

Will start with what was good. 'Miss Pinkerton' looks great. Especially the inventive camera angles and the truly haunting use of shadow. Blondell also wears her beautiful costumes well. Bacon's direction at its best is quite masterly, what he does with the visuals is extraordinary, the film isn't dull and he does allow for some genuinely suspenseful moments. The type of role Blondell has here really suits her and she is immensely engaging in it, playing the part with keen humour, intensity, charm and easy charisma.

John Wray and Elizabeth Patterson have fun too in their roles, Bacon's direction also shines in his direction of Patterson. The script is witty and intriguing and enough of the story compels and never feels too obvious.

Did feel though that the story was problematic though. With such a lot going in a film with a quite short length, 'Miss Pinkerton' for my tastes did feel over-stuffed and with not a lot of breathing space it felt rushed and more complicated than it needed to be. The ending is abrupt and convoluted, even if it was also surprising.

Brent also felt rather dull in his not particularly meaty part and some witty banter aside his chemistry with Blondell never fully fleshes out.

Overall, above average but not great. 6/10

Like most 'First National' B-movies, this only lasts about an hour but somehow it feels a lot longer. It drags because it's really, really boring.

The actual look of the film however is pretty good; there's some very imaginative and interesting camera work giving it an atmospheric arty look but that's the only positive thing which can be said about this. Everything else is awful.

The stupid story is the main problem; it makes no sense and you don't care. You couldn't care less who killed the victim and care certainly less about who all these dull people are who manage to both over-act and under-act at the same time. The only mystery you might be mildly curious about is who stole George Brent's personality. His blandness is incredible.

Possibly this is such a poor film because it was so rushed. It was made during the time when Warner Brothers were making several films simultaneously with the same cast and crew. There's a lot of night scenes in this so straight after filming one film during the day, everyone would drag themselves over to this set and start all again. It shows, even bubbly Joan Blondell looks like she's not slept for days. Maybe that explains George Brent - he could simply be sleep-walking?

This is a typical "old house" film.....a black-clad figure that throws gigantic shadows on the walls, a secret entrance, all the characters "creeping around", a creepy butler, and all the rest!

It's interesting that they use some of the same sets for that other fantastic "old house" film, Dr. X. (Most notably, the upstairs hall & the kitchen).

Some people would say this film is "slow moving", but that is done deliberately to increase the creepy "something-is-about- to-happen" feeling.

As an aside, it's remarkable that the actress who plays the sick old lady looks really OLD in this film, but in Bob Hope's "Cat & the Canary" (filmed almost 10 years later, as the Aunt) looks MUCH younger! She had one heck of a make-up job in THIS film!

If you love "old house" films, don't miss it!

With Joan Blondell and George Brent, this should have been a lot better and I think it's very skipable. The film starts with a totally outlandish premise. A nurse (Blondell) is a bit bored by her routine, so to help her get a bit of excitement, her boss assigns her to work with the police as a "special agent". It seems that a man was murdered and they want Blondell to look after his aunt--as she might know something about the killing. Now think about it--there is a murder and the police recruit a civilian to get in the middle of it!! Considering there's a decent chance she, too, will be killed! There's certainly more to the film than this premise, but overall it's pretty dull and wastes good actors. Heck, you don't even see Blondell and Brent interact much until towards the end of the film. Perhaps this was because both were relatively early in their careers. Regardless, there are many, many more murder mystery films with more interesting material and dialog. Worth watching if you are an old movie buff, but probably not for most tastes.

This era in filmmaking is fascinating. The evolution of the medium was in a phase of punctuation where everything was up for grabs and narrative conventions we now take for granted were formed. Watching these is like exploring the Burgess Shale, to see elements that lasted, and many that didn't.

The story here nominally has a young nurse planted in a house to solve a murder. This is a typical spooky large house, with a bedridden cranky old person. Not every suspect is locked in the house, living there, but they all are presented within the building. Some of them are caught sneaking about, but are seen from a window. There are relatives, lovers, the doctor and lawyer. Newspapermen sometimes hover. The nurse is a blond who wants excitement and finds it in a romance with the detective. As this is pre-code, we are introduced to her character as she is getting ready for bed.

Along the way are numerous narrative devices that are hard to even notice today. It just seems off, but that is because what we are watching for is different. One of these is Blondell getting grabbed in the dark by a menacing silhouette. She screams persistently, long enough for doors to be battered down. This happens three time. The plot is so complicated, it by three different men. There seems to be no reason for her to be grabbed so, other than to reference common fears of the women in the audience — and fantasy of the men?

The solution to the mystery is revealed to a gathering of the suspects. It is more complicated than usual, so much so that it does not tie up all the ends, nor completely explain what we have seen.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Nurse in white uniform Joan Blondell is bored, bored, bored at the hospital, and so she is thrilled when given an assignment to care for the rich old lady at that big spooky house. There was just a suicide in that house - or was it a murder?

Blondell reports for duty and is quickly pulled aside by handsome young police detective George Brent, who urges her to keep her eyes open for suspicious characters - he wants her to be his deputy. Am I a copper now?, she wants to know. You're Miss Pinkerton, Brent announces. They giggle a bit and set off to investigate.

The flirting between Blondell and Brent is kind of fun if maybe a little too cute. The rest of the picture is mainly a lot of people sneaking around in the dark, often being followed by other people also sneaking around in the dark. The suspects include the usual - the family doctor, the lawyer, the butler, a pair of young lovers.

The plot really has no great surprises but there are some suspenseful moments, and Blondell's enthusiastic performance is easy to watch.

One great scene: The picture opens with a quick expository bit in which a newspaper editor (played by a very young Lyle Talbot) takes the details of the recent death-at-the-mansion over the phone and repeats them for our benefit as he jots them down. In about ten seconds, we are given an entire back story needed to follow the plot from here. Talk about efficient scene setting!

There is quite a good whodunnit at the heart of this film, complete with red herrings and surprise plot twists. Unfortunately for some reason, the mystery is mostly unravelled in the background The film begins with a suspicious death occurring at a creepy old mansion. One of the potential witnesses/suspects in the mansion has collapsed and requires a nurse. The handsome young detective investigating the death (George Brent) is hoping that his first official case will turn out to be a murder. To investigate, he decides on the improbable tactic of deputizing whoever the hospital sends to the house.

This is a Joan Blondell vehicle, so everything happens from the perspective of Blondell as Nurse Adams. Living at the hospital, she is bored and craves some excitement. However, once she is inside the creepy old dark house, she starts to change her mind. Instead of becoming Nancy Drew, her character becomes a "girl in peril", which is normally a supporting role to give the hero someone to protect. A cast of suspects troop in and out of the house, causing Nurse Adams to repeatedly scream and faint. In fact, her greatest peril is probably from the floorboards. To be fair, her meagre efforts at detection are probably what one could reasonably expect from a randomly chosen individual asked to spy on a houseful of strangers.

A common trope of detective fiction is the overzealous but always wrong policeman who adds some urgency to finding the correct answers quickly. In this case, as no other police have speaking parts in the film, Brent's character, Inspector Patten, takes on this duty. So now he is in what should be a supporting role too.

I watched this film mainly for Joan Blondell who I always enjoy, although she usually shows more spunk. She and George Brent have real chemistry which makes their scenes together a treat. There was potential here to make the two a crime-solving couple, especially since they were given a better than average mystery to puzzle out. Instead, their 'supporting character' shortcomings meant neither was able to deduce the answers. The mystery was left to solve itself.

Not to overlook the obvious effort that went into this, nor the skills of the professionals involved ... Things happen, people react, but it's mostly relying on atmosphere it doesn't actually have. Pacing is brisk and a few shots feature some interesting lighting effects, but as a whole it doesn't really add up. Many people don't seem quite right for their roles (including the principals); the overall effect is one of being under-rehearsed though competently shot. Still, if you're a fan of George Brent or Joan Blondell, it could've been worse.

5.5 rounded up to 6.

The Best Thing that can be said about this Pre-Code "Old Dark House" Mystery is that the Print is Pristine. It Looks Smooth and Shiny, the Contrast is Excellent and it is just well, Swell.

The Opening has Joan Blondell as the Title Character Stripping to Her Undies and a bit of Inner Thigh (a post code no-no) with Stockings is Exposed and there is some Talk with a Youngster about Visiting Her Boyfriend's Bedroom. That' the Extent of the "Forbidden Hollywood" Stuff.

But this one is Played Very Light Anyway and it is Virtually Impossible to Keep it all Straight as there is so much Talk and so many Suspects that the Mystery gets Less Mysterious and More Confusing as Things Move Along.

The Sets are Creepy Enough and some of the Characters Moving in and out of Suspicion are also Nutty, and there are Shadows Galore to Up the Spooky Level, with some Screams and Lurkers about. Worth a Watch, and take the Challenge to Decipher the Plot and Characters.

Early on in this pre-Code murder mystery the gorgeous Joan Blondell laments the monotony of her existence as a nurse and asks how it can be relieved; promptly answering her own question as far as the audience is concerned by immediately shedding her uniform and slipping down to her scanties.

But she soon gets enough excitement to last her a lifetime when sent to tend to a wealthy woman whose nephew has just been shot dead under suspicious circumstances (we see a remarkably realistic-looking police photograph of the corpse at one point).

Based on a novel by Mary Roberts Rinehart, there's an awful lot of talk, and new characters keep showing up making the story harder to follow without making things any more interesting (the final denouement was so complicated and so laboriously explained verbally that I've already forgotten whodunit despite having seen it only a couple of hours ago).

Director Lloyd Bacon and cameraman Barney McGill go out of their way to compensate for the general lack of action by including a lot of creeping about in the shadows and by smothering Jack Okey's magnificent Old Dark House set in eye-boggling compositions juggling weird camera angles and deep focus. John Wray as Hugo the butler is so relentlessly photographed on the tilt throughout the film to make him look sinister (not to mention constantly exchanging shifty glances with housekeeper Blanche Friderici) that we know he can't possibly be guilty; while Elizabeth Patterson as the matriarch on her deathbed looks dramatically different from anything else I've ever seen her in.

The most remarkable single shot in the entire film is probably one of Blondell and George Brent sliding out of focus and into darkness as seen from the point of view of a character whose life is slipping away; although throughout the whole film the frequent close ups of Blondell are always more than enough to revive interest if things start to flag.

"Miss Pinkerton" is billed as a comedy, mystery and thriller. If one can get by the whinny character that Joan Blondell plays in the first scenes, there is a half-baked mystery. But this film seems to be shot in the rudimentary means carried over from the silent film era. That is, before the use of haunting black and white with shadows became an art form later for some directors. The acting for the most part is definitely silent film stuff - with the exaggerated facial expressions, the long holds, and the stilted acting that of old was meant for the imaginations of the audience to catch up.

As to comedy, what little there is hardly qualifies this film as such. And the main reason there's much mystery at all is because the screenplay is so choppy with diversions here and there, that it's hard to follow any semblance of solving a crime. The setting is an old house - a mansion type with stairs to the upstairs coming right down into the middle of the kitchen as well as in the main part of the house and who knows where all else.

George Brent is Police Inspector Patten and he provides a touch of humor. But Blondell's Nurse Adams isn't convincing as a nurse. But she does a good job screaming a few times. The suspenseful ending isn't expected, but then this plot is so screwed up with the screenplay that none of it makes much sense.

The use of shadows was a clever device in those old films, but some uses here were completely contrived and couldn't have been possible. One example is when is Nurse Adams is in the kitchen preparing a hot water bottle and a shadow passes on the wall from outside the window. But it's night time and there would have to be a light outside for something to block. But the light is inside, in the kitchen where she is, and when she looks out the window it's dark and the light from the house shines on a pair of long underwear or a nightgown hanging on a clothes line.

The film was based on a novel by Mary Rinehart. One hopes that reading the story made more sense. Unless one enjoys the styles of silent movies, and goofy shadows popping across walls, lots of screaming, and plots riddled with holes, it would be best to skip this film. Here's the one almost funny line. Nurse Adams, "You're a great detective. I sometimes wonder how far you'd get if all these wicked criminals didn't go around catching themselves."

Miss Pinkerton has Joan Blondell cast as a nurse who is sent out on assignment to take care of bedridden Elizabeth Patterson. Her nephew and last of her once wealthy family has just killed himself and the cops headed by George Brent are on the scene. Or did he kill himself? Brent suspects murder.

Since he kind of likes Blondell at first sight Brent departs from normal investigative procedure. He has Blondell not only taking care of Patterson, but he wants her to keep her eyes and ears open for anything incriminating. Despite the coroner Brent thinks murder was done.

Turns out murder was done and it's done again and on this Blondell may even have had a hand. Of course it was murder and it was a rather complicated scheme where the victim was in on it but was double- crossed by accomplices. There is in fact some money still left and enough to kill for.

Joan Blondell's effervescent personality and quick wit is on full blast for Miss Pinkerton. It's a somewhat lame story, but watching her covers over a lot of the faults.