O Portento

Before Jack Carson came along, the biggest blowhard on screen was Jack Oakie. Super Sleuth was a perfect Jack Oakie vehicle. In it he plays a blowhard actor who is a detective in films and of course he solves the crime. Somewhere in that walnut size brain of his, Oakie has gotten the idea he's the real deal.

Studio secretary Ann Sothern tries to keep him somewhat ground in reality but to no avail. He insists that he will solve a string of murders to someone who writes nasty notes to his targets. And of course show up the police who are represented by Edgar Kennedy at his slow burning best.

No mystery here as it is real obvious who is doing the deeds. But there are some funny moments in Super Sleuth.

Definitely one typical Jack Oakie film.

Great chance for moon-faced comedian Jack Oakie to mug it up for an hour or so. He's a movie detective at a Hollywood studio in what's obviously a spoof of movie sleuths so popular at the time. Never mind that his Willard Martin is a 30-watt bulb in a 60-watt world. Martin has convinced himself he's the greatest actor since Barrymore, so it's fun to watch him bumble along head held high even as his rear-end sags. Still, Oakie manages the egotistical character without making him obnoxious.

It's a slender exercise that has someone trying to kill Martin because they didn't like his last movie— what inspired motivation! Still, the screenplay should have made a mystery of the public-spirited culprit instead of tipping us off so early. That would have added an extra element of comical suspense. Anyway, the lovely Ann Sothern is a studio flack who has her hands full keeping the bumbler out of trouble, while trying to stay away from Prof. Herman's house of horrors. Maybe the best parts are the behind-the-scenes look at movie-making on a sound stage and on location. Paul Guilfoyle breaks from his usual wacky characters to play the no-nonsense movie director, of all things. The wind-up is a whirlwind slapstick through the professor's museum, making this a lively if slender glimpse of the bottom-of-the-bill, 1930's style.

Jack Oakie stars as movie star Willard Martin and Ann Sothern plays girlfriend Mary Strand, who happens to be Willard's PR rep. Willard is played like a cartoon character, and the film is humorous and hokey, light-weight comedic fare.

The basic conceit is that Willard, who plays a formidable crime solver in the movies, confuses his role with reality. He gets into a war of words with local police authorities over a recent crime, thinking he can do everything better than they. Meanwhile, a strange little man starts sending death threats to Willard.

Mary works overtime to save Willard from his oversized ego, trying to simultaneously keep her job and keep him safe.

The two stars are a joy to watch. When Oakie mugs for the camera, it fits the cartoonish theme of the film. And it feels like a parody of other film heroes, especially those who appear in the episodic cliffhangers of the day.

A crime-comedy, with Jack Oakie very personable as a movie detective who is short on brains. Famous actors are getting poison pen letters, which we learn quickly are from house-of-horrors owner Eduardo Ciannelli, whose motive seems to be revenge for bad acting. Oakie gets such a letter announcing he'll be killed, so he goes to Ciannelli, his friend, and says he knows who sent it! It's the one sending all those poison pen letters. That's the level of Oakie's intelligence (and the level of the comedy in the script). Ciannelli has lots of opportunities to kill Oakie, including with a rifle with a gunsight. The comedy comes from Oakie, his servant, Willie Best (again shamefully stereotyped), and the hapless police inspector, Edgar Kennedy. Ann Sothern seems wasted as Oakie's publicity manager.

In Hollywood, Bill Martin (Jack Oakie) plays a detective on film. He gets into a feud with the real police. Studio publicist Mary Strand (Ann Sothern) isn't happy with him either although she does really like him. He starts getting creepy fan letters from "The Poison Pen". With a killer targeting him, he and Mary go to amateur sleuth Professor Herman (Eduardo Ciannelli) for help.

Bill Martin is somewhat a self-obsessed boob. I don't hate him but I don't love him either. With a bit of well placed charms, he could be a passable romantic lead. Oakie needs some work. Sothern is doing all the work in the relationship. The hair piece is the funniest gag but it's the Lieutenant. There is still some fun to be had.