Mon mari conduit l'enquête

Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell just fit their roles as Joel and Garda Sloane, witty rare book dealers who dabble in detective work on the side. The book business is apparently not that good— Montgomery wishes that somebody would steal a lot of rare books so he could recover them and get the reward. Also, detective work is a lot more fun than book selling.

The plot, which gets rolling quickly, involves a Shakespeare manuscript and a Paradise Lost first edition, as well as a rival book dealer, an absent-minded client, and some family intrigue. As Russell sums up neatly at one point: "What a spot for that girl. Her father murdered and her brother and her sweetheart probably all mixed up in it." It's fairly complicated but the story moves along plenty fast enough that we don't have much time to wonder whether it makes sense.

The banter between Montgomery and Russell is the picture's main attraction, and both stars are appealing and funny. The supporting cast is also good and features such familiar faces as Reginald Owen and Ralph Morgan.

It's no masterpiece but never boring for a minute; it's certainly a solid entry in the husband-and-wife-amateur-detectives genre.

Neither ROBERT MONTGOMERY nor ROSALIND RUSSELL can do much to raise this above an average Nick and Nora type of mystery as they try to solve a crime involving a stolen Shakespearean manuscript worth a fortune. Montgomery and Russell are both adept at this sort of comedy and make an excellent pair in the leads, so different than the roles they played in NIGHT MUST FALL.

The wealthy household where the first murder takes place is full of suspects, including RALPH MORGAN, JOHN HOWARD, REGINALD OWEN, ALAN DINEHART and TOM COLLINS. SIDNEY BLACKMER does a nice job as a crooked gambling house owner.

With Montgomery and Russell as the husband and wife team, the accent is more on comedy than mystery when Ralph Morgan is found murdered near the open vault in his library. As Montgomery investigates, there are plenty of red herrings that seem to plant suspicion on every member of the household.

Despite all the A production trappings, there's no way this can be considered anything more than a mildly entertaining programmer.

Here's the story of the entertainment industry; if something works then copy it. What was working back in the 30's was The Thin Man, the very popular series with William Powell and Myrna Loy. So, every other studio including the poverty row ones cranked out clones featuring husband and wife teams solving mysteries. The best of these, in my opinion were the three films featuring book seller and part-time detective Joel Sloane and his wife Garda. Each of the three films featured a different set of actors playing the Sloanes. The first film, "Fast Company" starred Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice followed by this film with Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell. The last of the films, "Fast and Furious" had Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern. I like all three films, but this one is my favorite probably because I really like Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell, but also because the supporting cast was also good displaying the talents of Reginald Owen and Sidney Blackmer. It's also a good story and nice mystery with some great comic relief. The chemistry between Montgomery and Russell seemed genuine to me and unlike one other reviewer I thought Mongomery transitioned well between the comedy and action elements of the story. Any comparison between this film and the disappointing Lord Peter Wimsey story "Haunted Honeymoon" is way off base. Again, I like all three of the films and would recommend them to anyone who enjoys the mystery films from this era. I've watched this one many times and continue to find it funny and entertaining with each viewing. This may not match the best of the Thin Man movies, but it's far better than a couple of the weaker entries.

It's a good thing Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell were the stars of "Fast and Loose," otherwise, there would be nothing to recommend it.

They are wonderful as a sort of penniless Nick and Nora hot on the trail of a stolen Shakespearian manuscript. I found it a little hard to follow as far as who killed whom and why.

Both actors were excellent at both comedy and drama, and in fact, right before seeing this, I saw them in "Night Must Fall." What a difference! And really, it is a tribute to the talent of both that they could do such different types of films so easily.

I wish they'd had a better script to work with. This film is too long and too confusing. But if you want to see two masters at work, by all means, check it out.

During the 1930s and 40s, MGM produced many successful "Thin Man" movies starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. They were wonderful little mystery films with a very strong emphasis on humor and the banter between the two leads. Here, MGM tries to make the formula pay off again, but this time with Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in the leads. In so many ways the film was this old formula all over again, but somehow despite their best efforts the two leads just don't make it work as well as Powell and Loy--partly because the Thin Man films are so good it's hard to match them and partly because the script just isn't as good as the Thin Man scripts--it's just too complex and not all that interesting. Still, considering the Russell and Montgomery still are wonderful actors, the film pays off well enough to recommend it. I especially liked Montgomery's easy-going manner, though unfortunately the usually strong characters Russell plays aren't as evident here and she's rather over-shadowed by Montgomery.

So overall, it's not a bad little film--just don't expect the magic of Nick and Nora Charles.