Having Wonderful Crime

I've said on a number of places at IMDb that the real popularizers of the male buddy film were James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. They made a number of great successes for Warner Brothers in the previous decade. O'Brien left Warners in 1941 and unfortunately Having Wonderful Crime is a failed attempt to recapture the magic.

I think this film would have been a whole lot better with James Cagney in the part George Murphy played. It was a good screwball comedy, but Murphy just ain't Cagney. Playing off Pat O'Brien the lines Murphy delivers just don't have the same flair.

But as another viewer remarked, Carole Landis in the best 1940s fashions is a lovely sight to behold. What a tragic end to a beautiful and talented player was soon to befall Carole.

She's reason enough to watch this.

This is based on a novel by Craig Rice, who wrote several very funny mysteries involving the three main characters. (Rice also scripted a couple of the Falcon movies.) This movie is reasonably true to the spirit of the novels, though would have been better if Rice was more directly involved in its writing. Malone has featured in a few other movies, but Helene and Jake Justus (who were in all but one of the Malone novels) are oddly absent in the other movies. There was also a radio series and a TV series. A few months after this movie was released, Rice was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, the first mystery writer to be so honored.

Having Wonderful Crime (1945)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Pretty good comedy-mystery from RKO has a lawyer (Pat O'Brien) and his two wacky, newlywed friends (George Murphy, Carole Landis) having fun solving various crimes. This time out they're investigating a magician (George Zucco) who disappeared during his act and might have been murdered due to a previous job. This RKO flick features a pretty good cast and they're certainly the main reason to watch this thing. The majority of the film goes for laughs and it gets quite a few of them thanks in large part to the chemistry of the cast. O'Brien has the perfect sense of humor for this type of film as he always plays it straight but at the same time he has no problem looking silly if he has to. His more serious nature works perfectly well with both Murphy and Landis who are more over the top. The three stars fit their roles nicely and have no trouble mixing up all the comedy bits. Horror fans will enjoy seeing Zucco in his brief part but they'll also get to see Lenore Aubert from ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN and Gloria Holden from DRACULA'S DAUGHTER. Aubert gets to go over the top as well especially during some bizarre crying scenes and I'm really not sure if these scenes were meant to be serious or if she was just horrid at crying. At just 70-minutes the film goes by extremely quick and director Sutherland does a fine job at keeping everything moving. The screenplay goes for a lot of dry wit and fast laughs and it's able to get most of them but there are several scenes with people either falling into a lake or pools and I must admit that I grew tired of these falls. Inside a hotel is where a lot of the mystery happens and most of it involves a trunk that keeps disappearing and this leads to some decent laughs as does O'Brien's character who is constantly chasing women.

I've seen this film twice and think that's it's a very charming and humorous detective flick. The way that Pat O'Brien and Carole Landis play off of each other is great. It really holds up considering that it was made in 1945. I really thoroughly enjoyed it on each viewing and will watch it again whenever it comes on. I agree with one of the other commentators... Landis is a hottie!!

My only regret is that they didn't make any more with these characters. They could've done so much more! If you like the "Thin Man" movies with William Powell and Myrna Loy then you'll enjoy this one also! Take a chance... WATCH IT! :-)

I am watching this right now on TCM. Newlyweds Jake and Helen Justis (George Murphy and Carole Landis) are on their honeymoon when they see a musician being stuffed into a trunk. They decide to find out what's going on and enlist their lawyer friend Mike Malone (Pat O'Brien) to come along. The clues lead them to a resort hotel where all sorts of slapstick highjinks take place. The physical comedy bits are reminiscent of The Ritz Brothers. George Murphy, with his huge grin, looks like a combination of The Joker and Howdy Doody. Pat O'Brien always wound up as second banana. Carole Landis really brings a lot of energy to her role and seems to enjoy the light comedy. She is always worth watching. Other familiar faces in this movie are George Zucco, Richard Martin, (Tim Holt's B-western sidekick), Lenore Aubert, Gloria Holden (Dracula's Daughter), and Wee Willie Davis. And be sure to watch at about 43 minutes into the movie for a brief view of blonde Chili Williams. She was known as "The Polka Dot Girl." Chili received over 100,000 fan letters after a photo of her wearing a polka dot bikini appeared in Life Magazine. She got a movie contract and appeared in a few films, always clad in a polka dot outfit. And she is definitely wearing polka dots in her brief appearance here. Not an overly good movie but not real bad either. Watch it to see Carole Landis.