The Solitaire Man

"The Solitaire Man" is an undistinguished early talkie murder mystery from MGM about a jewel thief.

Herbert Marshall (1890-1966) plays the head of a gang that specializes in stealing gems. Marshall made dozens of films in the 30s and 40s, best known for "The Letter" (1929 and 1940), "Trouble in Paradise" (1932), 'Foreign Correspondent" (1940) and "Duel in the Sun" (1956).

The great Lionel Atwill plays a detective. Atwill is best remembered for his iconic role as the Inspector in "Son of Frankenstein" (1939). Between 1918 and 1946 he made 75 films, mostly horror (e.g., "The Man Who Reclaimed His Head", "Mystery of the Wax Museum", "Murders in the Zoo") and went on to play Sherlock Holmes' arch enemy, Moriarty, in "Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon" (1943) and for my money, he was the best Moriarty. This film certainly is one of his lesser works.

May Robson (1858-1942) plays a member of the gang. She was everyone's favorite granny, a part she played in films like "Irene" (1940), "They Made Me a Criminal" (1939), and "A Star is Born" (1937). She was nominated for an Oscar for "Lady for a Day" (1934). Robson is subdued in this film and her fans will want to look elsewhere.

Beautiful Elizabeth Allen (1910-90) plays Marshall's love interest and a gang member. She was popular in the 30s – "Tale of Two Cities" (1935), "David Copperfield" (1935) – playing British subjects.

Jack Conway (1887-1952) directs. Conway was a prolific director (over 100 films) who started out as an actor but decided directing was for him when he was asked to wrestle a lion. He directed MGM's first talkie in 1928 ("Alias Jimmy Valentine") and worked on "Birth of a Nation" (1915) as a second director. Conway was particularly good working with long films (e.g., "Viva Villa", "A Tale of Two Cities", "Northwest Passage") and with films featuring women (e.g., "But the Flesh is Weak", "Lady of the Tropics"). His work here is rather ordinary, perhaps due to the sets which make the film more like a play.

The NY Times said - "It is a feature which might justly be termed an amusing melodrama, for when persons are slain here the effect is invariably more humorous than tragic."

1933 was a good year for films. Box office hits were Mae West's "I'm no Angel" and "She Done Him Wrong", the star studded "Dinner at Eight", Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell in "42nd Street", "King Kong", and Garbo in "Queen Christina". The Oscar winners were "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (Actor), "Morning Glory" (Actress) and "Cavalcade" (Picture). Other notable films released that year included the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup", Laurel and Hardy's classic "Sons of the Desert", and "The Invisible Man". Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made their film duo debut in "Flying Down to Rio". FWIW – 1933 was the year that Walt Disney referred to the gold statue as an "Oscar" when he won it for "The Three Little Pigs".

For films about Jewel thieves, among the best are Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" (1955), "The Pink Panther" (1963), "Thief" (1981), and "A Fish Called Wanda" (1988).

The Solitaire Man, like The Amateur Cracksman in "Raffles", or the Sparrow in "Twin Husbands," is a thief. Like many thieves who've been successful, he was getting out of the game.

Oliver Lane (Herbert Marshall) was the Solitaire Man and he had a small crew: Mrs. Vail (May Robson), Helen Heming (Elizabeth Allan), and Robert Bascom (Ralph Forbes). The gang was experiencing turmoil because Robert was in love with Helen who was in love with Oliver. Fortunately, this wasn't the principal part of the plot. That would've been the last thing I wanted to watch, but it was important.

Robert, who was a young upstart, put everyone in hot water when he stole a necklace. Oliver decided that putting it back was the safest and best course of action. When he went to place the necklace back where it belonged, someone else entered the dark room too. When a Scotland Yard officer entered the room he was shot and killed which made everything exponentially worse.

Oliver and crew scheduled a flight the very next day to Devonshire. On the plane they encountered a man claiming to be a Scotland Yard inspector, Inspector Wallace (Lionel Atwill), and he knew that Oliver was the Solitaire Man.

These are the kind of wrinkles I enjoy: a time crucial situation. I just watched "The Silk Express" in which a train had to get to New York in a certain amount of time. The main character was going to have to solve the murder that happened on the train before it reached New York if he was to have his silk offloaded on time.

In "The Solitaire Man" Oliver and his entire crew had until they reached England to figure out who killed the cop or Oliver would go down for the murder. It was compelling theater. There were a couple of lights out scenes in there which are a bit comical, but besides that it was a solid plot and script.

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This is one of those little MGM quickies that is unfairly overlooked by both film fans and historians. Without giving anything away, the plot involves a jewel theft and murder, with the suspects aboard a plane flying from France to England. There are several plot twists before and after the plane lands. It may not be hard to guess who the villain really is, but the film maintains a good level of suspense and is well acted. It's not without a major goof, at one point in the film Lionel Atwill calls Herbert Marshall "Wallace", the name of Atwill's character. How MGM let that get by is a mystery. This film is a good example of what could be done on a limited budget.

A gang of British jewel thieves & charlatans - possibly including THE SOLITAIRE MAN himself - endure a tumultuous plane trip from Paris to London with a cunning inspector from Scotland Yard.

Unfortunately obscure, this is a very enjoyable little crime caper film which deserves to be rediscovered. The plot is a bit dense, but the real attractions of the movie derive from the interaction of its ensemble cast of six sterling performers, especially when all are enclosed in the confined space of the airplane cabin.

In a role that compares nicely with his classic performance in TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932), Herbert Marshall is suave and sophisticated as an international man of mystery. Gifted with one of the Century's finest speaking voices, he puts a polish on his character that's irresistibly intriguing. Especially exciting is his violent interaction with Lionel Atwill, adding yet another portrait to his cinematic gallery as the Inspector. It is great fun to watch & hear these two superb actors go at one another in a war of words.

Lovely Elizabeth Allan shows spunk as the romantic interest, while the picture boasts two of the era's finest character actresses - grandmotherly May Robson as a hard-boiled old dame, and Mary Boland as a loudmouthed banker's wife from Peoria. (Robson's remarks about Devonshire cows & Boland's suggestion for getting rid of a body at 2,000' are both priceless.) Further down the cast list is the always reliable Ralph Forbes, an excellent actor who should have become a major star, playing a young shell-shocked socialite.

Lucile Gleason & Robert McWade enliven the opening scenes as a rich American couple in Monte Carlo who have more money than sense. Movie mavens will recognize chubby Harry Holman in the uncredited role of Boland's henpecked husband Elmer.

THE SOLITAIRE MAN from 1933 is a B picture, but because it was made at MGM, it's really a B+. The studio used these Bs as a training ground for their up and coming young stars and even more established character actors.

Herbert Marshall is Oliver, who heads up a family of con artists, except they're not related. His "son" steals a necklace that Oliver attempts to return because he knows the young man would be the first person they would suspect.

While he is in the home, a burglar enters, and a policeman sees him. The second burglar kills the policeman, and Oliver is a witness. However, he can't see the murderer. Realizing things will get mighty hot, he and his crew try to leave the country by plane. During the flight, much is revealed.

Mary Boland and May Robson also appear in this film, and they're great. Boland plays a mouthy, wealthy American, and May Robson, as a cultured society woman. matches her excellence.

Herbert Marshall's elegant type of leading man has gone out of style, but he handled his role very well.

See it for Boland and Robson.