Exposed

I appreciaed "Exposed" because it dared to have a female private detective. While a few films of the 30s and 40s featured lady AMATEUR detectives (females who decide on a whim to investigate crimes--such as Torchy Blaine), I cannot recall a single one that featured a professional private eye that was a woman. For me, this novelty made the film worth seeing...even though it's a genre that is often jam-packed with cliches and sameness.

Belinda (Adele Mara) is a private eye who is approached by a rich guy. He wants her to trail his son and see what he's up to...though naturally the story goes in all sorts of unexpected directions...such as when this client ends up dead. In the end, in a very bad and very cliched final scene, Belinda gathers all the suspects in one room and essentially pulls the answer out of her...um...thin air.

The basic idea was good. The acting was good. And, although folks might think the character Chicago (Bob Steele) was ridiculous, the actor who played him was an amazing fighter and really could have done a lot of the physical stunts you see him do in the film. Unlike many movie cowboys (and Steele mostly was famous for starring in low budget cowboy pics), he was more the real deal--and could pack a strong punch. In the film, the fight scenes with him are brutal and realistic...5'5" and all. The problem for me was simply the script. It was a giant cliche at the end and was just lazy...and in the process it really missed the chance to be something really special.

Adele Mara is a P.I. who charges $75 a day plus expenses. This pays for an assistant (William Haade) a secretary and a pretty classy office and cute wardrobe. When client Russel Hicks is murdered, police inspector Robert Armstrong shows up; he's her father. Suspicion falls on a bunch of people around the murdered man, which Miss Mara solves by talking to apparently random strangers.

It's directed at a good clip by George Blair -- Miss Mara talks fast -- but this Republic mystery moves along too fast for anything to make much sense, with its hints of THE BIG SLEEP and screwball comedy bunched together.

This was one of those Republic films in which the parts are definitely greater than the whole. It is watchable one time for * Nice location shots all over Los Angeles. * An impressive half-timbered Turdoresque mansion. * A stunningly beautiful oak tree outside the mansion with charisma supreme. * Nice cars. * Fine stunt fighting. * Robert Armstrong. And that's it.

The smart mouthed female detective is grating. The murder arouses no emotion beyond a gasp and a whimper from good-hearted Mary Gordon as a servant. The magnetism between the two young leads is null and void. The stunt fight is lengthy and satisfying, in the true-blue Republic manner. Robert Armstrong is delightful as the good-natured Homicide Detective. And the tree....

Ah, the tree. My husband and i actually re-ran the scene in which the tree first appeared, just to freeze-frame it. What a beautiful tree. I am being completely unironic. The director obviously liked the tree enough that it was given a brief reprise just before the boring all-the-suspects-are-assembled-in-the-drawing-room scene.

The actors who made this film are likely all dead by now. I hope the tree is still living. It was stout and strong in 1947. I wish it well.

Exposed (1947)

** (out of 4)

Yet another cheap and bland "B" picture from Republic. This time out smart alack P.I. Belinda Prentice (Adele Maria) is hired by a rich father to do some snooping on his son who recently moved out of his house. Soon the father is murdered and Belinda must try to work around the family to get clues as well as her inspector father (Robert Armstrong). If you must watch every murder-mystery that was released during this era then I'd recommend this to you but all others should certainly avoid as there's very little to recommend here. I would love to say that the screenplay was horrid and the entire investigation was just poorly written but I wouldn't say that in good faith. The film is so blandly directed that it's hard to really care about the investigation and it's not even fun trying to figure out who the killer was. The movie gets off to a rather silly start as our "hero" is held up only to use her brains to get out of it. The problem is that I didn't believe she was smart for a single second. To make matters worse is that her "catch" is that she has a smart and sassy mouth, which grows very tiresome very quickly. It doesn't help when you're suppose to be rooting for someone yet you can't stand her. To be fair, Maria is pretty good in the role as you can tell she's giving it her all but the screenplay simply makes her character unlikeable. It's always fun seeing Armstrong even if, again, the screenplay doesn't do much for him. The supporting cast includes Lorna Gray, Mark Roberts and cult favorite Bob Steele playing a gangster-like character named Chicago. EXPOSED runs an hour but you'll be running out of patience around the twenty-minute mark and sadly things never really pick up. This isn't a horrible movie by any standards but there's simply no life or energy and in the end there's really no point in watching it.

Female PI Belinda Prentice is hired by a rich businessman to check up on his son who has been withdrawing unexplained sums of money. But before she can get started, her employer is found murdered.

I suppose the most remarkable thing about Exposed is how totally unremarkable the whole thing is. There's really not much to talk about. The mystery is never properly fleshed out and there is no last minute surprise during the denouement - things typical of a good mystery. And for a film with a short 59 minute runtime, it sure does drag. I suppose the most exciting thing that happens is a prolonged fistfight, but it ends up lasting so long it feels like padding. I admit I did enjoy the first 10 or so minutes. The set-up had promise. But once the body is discovered, it's all downhill from there.

The beautiful Adele Mara plays Belinda Prentice. She's okay in the role, but never seems natural in her delivery. I suppose I should see more of her work before I pass judgement. Co-stars include Mark Roberts and Robert Armstrong.

3/10