The Solitaire Man

What was it about jewel thieves in the 1930's? All the major studios seemed to thrive on them, especially in their "B" movies, one of the most delightful forays a film aptly titled "Jewel Robbery," from Warners, and starring dapper William Powell and clothes-horse Kay Francis. The sophisticate in The Solitaire Man is erudite Herbert Marshall, he of the rich, clipped English tones, a suave thief ready to give up his craft for love and move take his sweetheart, supportive Elizabeth Allen, to a manor home in respectable Devonshire.

Most films from MGM tended to be less snappy than the Warner's product, but this zippy little "B" begins on The Continent where rich folks hang out in fancy hotels, robbers sneak into lavish apartments, and there's even

a killer at work when the lights go out. This initial set up soon transfers to the interior of a small airplane (looking not unlike a large cardboard box with windows), where snappy give-and-take dialogue moves the pace along as fog closes in around the plane, the cool tones of Marshall contrasted with character actress Mary Boland, a rich, loudmouthed American from Peoria, who tosses out quips like candy while the rest of the cast quibbles about comeuppance.

This is not a film of great import, but if you are a fan of the period, it is great fun--with Boland and Marshall joined by such experts as Lionel Atwill and May Robson. On it's own merits, and not because it's a timeless classic, I'd give it an eight--It's a perfect Saturday matinée popcorn film--and there will be time for another feature, too!

"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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Jewel theft Oliver Lane (Herbert Marshall) is known as "The Solitaire Man". He's looking to retire and marry his accomplice Helen. Bob Bascom is an unstable member of the gang. He is in love with Helen and is desperate to break them up. He has stolen a famous necklace but it becomes obvious that he would be the prime suspect. Oliver has to return the necklace before it's missed but another thief happens to be there and a Scotland Yard inspector is killed.

This movie needs to start with a complex jewel heist involving all the members of the gang which would serve as a great introduction. I do like the general premise but I don't love some of the developments. There is a great mystery introduced in the middle of the film but it gets convoluted in the plane. I have issues with the performances there which saps the intensity. Once they're on the plane, I'm out.

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.