Absolute Quiet

Energetic, Claustrophobic, Character Driven Talk-A-Thon, this B-Movie is Fun to Watch with its Overblown Stereotypes and its Depression Era Sensibility. The Completely Inept and Decidedly Dumb Politician seems to be the Sounding Board for the Woes of the Time and the Jack and Judy (Bonnie and Clyde) Characters are also Straight out of the Headlines of the Day.

It has a lot of Slang and Snappy Appeal and is rather Entertaining and Never Lulls in its Short Running Time. An Artifact of its Day to be sure, it Holds Up because of its Cynical Nature and some Fine Character Actors.

Lionel Atwill as Always is Deliciously Diabolical, even as a Lecherous Non Villain, and Manipulates the Proceeding as the "Big Shot" and along with the other Pulpy Characters make this just Off Kilter enough to be Apart from the Usual Assembly Line Pictures that were Churned Out by the Hundreds for Entertainment Starved Depression Dwellers.

The top billed stars in Absolute Quiet are Lionel Atwill as Gerald Axton (Atwill appeared in many murder mysteries and horror films) and Irene Hervey as Laura Tait (Destry Rides Again), but the real stars here are reporter Oscar Rudd (played by Stuart Erwin) and a political bigshot played by Raymond Walburn. Two crooks on the run interfere with an airplane trying to land, but things are complicated because there are political bigshots and reporters on that airplane. Viewers will also see character actor Edwin Maxwell from His Girl Friday, Shop around the Corner, and Cecil DeMille's Cleopatra. Director George Seitz had been writing and directing in Hollywood since 1914, for the silent films. Original story by George Worts. Fun suspense thriller; most of it takes place in one room on the ground, or in the air, so it has the feel of a talkie play, but it's an entertaining film. Lionel Atwill was born in England, and Louis Hayward was was born in S. Africa and raised in England, so there are some accents going on here. Screenplay is pretty whitewashed, but it only costs about an hour and a half to watch it. I get the feeling the original script was a little more naughty...

It's a little like "Grand Hotel." Today "Grand Hotel" seems stagy and really creaks. "Absolute Quiet" is wife awake and crackles.

It's a little like "The Petrified Forest." That holds up pretty well but is very stagy. And it's a little like "Key Largo," which no one is going to fault.

Lionel Atwill is a manipulator who tries to have the husband of a woman he's attracted to crash his plane. At the same time, he will be taking care of an ex-girlfriend, an actress he has ostensibly sent to Hollywood in that same plane. Her boyfriend, Louis Hayward, a fading movie star, is also on the plane, as is the governor of the state. Atwill has it in for him.

The plane crashes at his house in the country, where he is ostensibly taking in the eponymous rest.

Add t to this mix a reporter who wants the story. (A rather pudgy looking Stuart Erwin is good in this role.) And a Bonnie and Clyde duo on the lam. Their names are Jack and Judy. Or, their name (as they were originally a vaudeville team) IS Jack and Judy.

All this, as well as a couple minor players, in one house! This doesn't come across as a formulaic programmer. It has plenty of tension. The only aspect that bothered me was Jack's slang: Over and over, instead of saying "OK," he says "Oke." Slang can really date a movie. But this one holds up very well indeed, in spite of that one small annoyance.

This minor movie is worth watching but a bit corny by modern standards. It has a funny scipt and it is well acted by its little known cast. It is kind of hard boiled and cynical. It is a send up of American politics and society of the time when the film was made, and it gives some perspective for the present day.

There's a lot going on in this one so I doubt I'll do it justice with a brief summary but I'll try. Lionel Atwill plays a businessman with a heart problem who is told to spend time at his ranch for "absolute quiet." He takes along his secretary (Irene Hervey), who is one of two women he is unsuccessfully trying to get with in the movie. While at the ranch they are taken hostage by two criminals named Jack and Judy (Wallace Ford and Bernadene Hayes). Then a plane crashes onto the ranch! The plane is carrying several people who have ties to Atwill, including ineffectual Governor Pruden (a terrific Raymond Walburn) and Atwill's former mistress (Ann Loring) with her actor boyfriend (Louis Hayward). There's also the obligatory wise-cracking reporter (Stuart Erwin). From here it becomes a variation on The Petrified Forest, where all the plane crash survivors join Atwill and Hervey as hostages of the criminal duo and the rest of the film takes places mostly in one room.

What an interesting movie. Completely far-fetched and melodramatic but fascinating nonetheless. It's helped by a great cast and ample doses of humor, intentional and unintentional. In addition to those I mentioned above, J. Carrol Naish also appears briefly as a handyman, using his trademark "is it Italian or is it Spanish" accent. Definitely an unknown treat for classic movie fans so check it out.