The Last Alarm

J. Farrell MacDonald reaches retirement age for the fire department. When a friend of his is killed in a fire, however, he comes out of retirement to find the pyromaniac who has been setting the deadly blazes.

It's a barebones procedural from Monogram, in which the culprit is known within the first ten minutes as he crosses paths with MacDonald's family; the clues, however, don't come together until the very end. In the meantime there is stock footage of fires, and the principals: Farrell, of course, Mary Gordon as his wife, daughter Polly Ann Young (looking just like her better-known sister, Loretta) and Warren Hull as his future son-in-law. There's nothing much in this movie that can be said to be particularly good except for the pleasure of looking at these performers.

MacDonald had entered the movies in 1911, and had quickly proven a winner. He directed Oz movies for L. Frank Baum and achieved stardom that he sustained until the coming of sound. He slipped to supporting roles, but continued acting, racking up almost 300 features, until his death in 1952 at age 77.

This film begins with a senior fireman by the name of "Jim Hadley" (J. Farrell McDonald) being honored at a banquet for his service on the last day before his retirement. Having worked in the fire department for 40 years Jim is sad to leave his friends and colleagues and somewhat bitter at being forced to retire due to his age. Still, he accepts the facts with as much grace and dignity that he can muster and tries his best to adapt to his new circumstances at home. However, he soon becomes bored at home and longing to see his old friends he ventures back to the fire station to spend some time with them. It's during this time that his friends are sent off to put out warehouse fires on multiple days leading everyone convinced that an illusive serial arsonist is at work and is endangering the lives of innocent men, women and children. Yet, because he is retired Jim doesn't quite feel it is his responsibility to investigate. That changes, however, when his best friend is killed putting out one of the fires. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an okay grade-B movie which had a basic plot and adequate acting. Admittedly, the ending was a bit unrealistic but all things considered I liked this film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Hmmm... the fact that this is one... the FIRST.. of only three films directed by William West gives us an idea of the quality of film we are about to see. Farrell MacDonald is "Jim", trying to retire from the fire department. MacDonald had been in films since the silents. Polly Young is his wife.. this was one of the last things she did. It all moves pretty slowly. Monogram Pictures. Almost like a documentary, we follow along as the insurance company and the arson squad investigate. SO much old footage of petroleum tanks burning... buildings burning. That must have been a thing at the time. Some firebug is burning things up, and Jim Hadley must figure out who it is! mehhhhhhh... its all so-so. Showing on Epix Vault channel. Not good, not bad. somewhere in-between......

Sometimes you just can't retire. We know this guy will never settle in peacefully. The plot is simplistic but it does carry us along and there is quite a good villain, even though he acts rather stupidly at times. As a matter of fact, he is so careless, it's a wonder he wasn't caught numerous times. Also, we have the carelessness of protagonist, who sees but doesn't see. We really ought to be protecting, even if we don't know where the danger lies (sort of like the guys in the Lugosi Dracula leaving the scene of a potential tack on the heroine and dinging around). There is some pretty good stock footage here, lots of fires, and a plot that, though predictable, works OK. Take a look at it if you have a chance.

Early exposition rides a fine line between light comedy and rueful drama as protagonist Jim Hadley struggles with newfound retirement; writer Al Martin could have taken it either direction if he so wished. In that story thread 'The last alarm' is perhaps a tad common; it's a little less so for the way a senior citizen is more or less centered as a lead character (relatively uncommon even in 2023), and also for the fact that this crime film that focuses on arson and pyromania rather seems to do so before the notions really began to otherwise take hold in popular culture. Moreover, given subtle but definite differences in the staged photography from Harry Neumann versus footage of blazes and firefighting, it becomes clear that the picture employs video of real-life blazes and firefighting. None of this is to say that William Beaudine's movie immediately leaps out as a unique must-see, but one can't help but ponder the particulars and think, "Huh. How about that."

In keeping with the common film-making sensibilities of the time, this isn't necessarily characterized with especial nuance. That's not to say that everything is as painfully plain as day, but there's a distinctly blunt edge to no small amount of Beaudine's direction, in instances of extra curt editing, or in performances including that of George Pembroke. The plot also generally progresses with a flat, matter-of-fact conciseness that doesn't exactly help to instill a sense of tension or suspense, and while I don't necessarily blame editor Russell F. Schoengarth himself, there are times when the proceedings cut back and forth between concurrent scenes with such casual repetition that the result is mildly off-putting. None of these are flaws so terrible as to wholly extinguish the entertainment value of the feature, yet the peculiarities do stack up and - well, they give one minor pause to reflect, "Huh. How about that."

Despite such matters, still 'The last alarm' is fairly well made overall. Where applicable the effects are well done; there are some nice little details in the scene writing that help to offset some of the duller heavy-handedness. In fact, I rather believe Martin's screenplay is probably the single best element of the production; everything is swell on paper, and some of it is just mildly deficient in execution. As far as the cast goes, some acting comes off stronger than others, and star J. Farrell MacDonald manages to fight through some of the tonal issues to give a welcome, earnest portrayal. And so on, and so on. All this is to say that this movie might not be anything majorly special - a mix of comparative novelties, comparative weaknesses, a few discrete strengths. It might not really stand out in the grand scheme of things. If you do have a chance to watch, though, it's suitably well crafted, duly entertaining and compelling, and a decent way to spend a mere one hour.