The Fat Man

A dentist preparing to give a big speech at a conference makes the mistake of opening his door late one evening. Next thing he has been coshed and papped out of a fifteenth story window. Why? Well the rather easily pleased police conclude he succumbed to a fit of nerves, took some calming pills and... His long-term nursing assistant "Pat" (Julie London) doesn't buy that, though. She smells a rat and seeks out the help of the eponymous, renowned, investigator (J. Scott Smart). Can he put down his cutlery long enough to help her find out why she is being followed, what has happened both to her missing ex-con boyfriend "Roy" (Rock Hudson) and to $500,000 in stolen loot? In many ways this reminded me of a "Charlie Chan" mystery only here it's "Bill" (Clinton Sundberg) who takes the place of "No. 2 son" as the useful factotum who helps his boss to a conclusion in a circus. It takes just a bit too long to get going - a snappy start rather settles down a bit too much, but Smart does enough to keep the mystery rolling along with language that we'd never be allowed to use in a film nowadays. Sometimes I wonder how Rock Hudson ever achieved stardom. He was easy enough on the eye, but versatile he certainly wasn't! Watchable but you won't remember it.

The odd subtexts for this film are probably what has buried it. 1. It is based on a popular radio show that sold itself as "created by Dashiell Hammett." Actually the nickname "Fate Man" was that of Gutman, one of the baddies in the Maltese Falco; the character of the radio "Fat Man" was developed out of the otherwise nameless Hammett character "The Continental Op," hero of the Dain Curse and Red Harvest. But in 1951, when this film was about to be released, Hammett was getting sent to prison for thumbing his nose at the McCarthy-era 'House UnAmerican Activities Committee' witchhunters, so his name doesn't appear in the credits (at least not the copy I've seen). 2. With reference to Hammett removed, the character is redefined; while the character remains a tough private eye, he now has acquired a gourmand's taste for good cooking - an obvious reference to the popular Nero Wolfe Character - as well as a shadow of Wolfe's sidekick, Archie Goodwin. 3. This is an early film with Rock Hudson, and it is clear where he was intending to go with his career - a Montgomery Clift without the angst - but just as clearly he decided to change directions - too bad, he's actually quite good in this. 4. This is William Castle before he decided to throw himself wholeheartedly into gimmicky horror movies, and it reminds us that he could be a very capable director when he wanted to be. 5. That the a lead baddie is played by legendary clown Emmett Kelly probably doesn't mean much today, but it's certainly worth a footnote for those interested in the history of clowns.

The story, dialog and acting are all solid; the camera-work, lighting and design are nothing special but certainly competent. The pacing is pretty good. The film keeps its suspense up and provides enough twists to be a real detective mystery. Overall a satisfying mystery from the era when such could still be made.

When I was growing up, pre-television, we used to listen to many radio shows. One of these was The Fat Man, starring J. Scott Smart. This, as with some other radio shows, was made into a movie. The casting of Smart in the title role was good, since he looked the part and the sound was identical to the radio program.

In virtually every radio show, Bradford Runyan is hired to solve a crime; the film carries on the tradition. However, the radio program lasted for only a half hour, and even though there was a "time compression" effect, there was time to do significantly more in the film. As an example, Runyan asks a lady to dance, and when she accepts, he acquits himself well. That could never have worked on the radio program, to be sure.

For those of us who remember the program, there's a lot of nostalgia in the film. For those who never heard the show (such as my wife), it's still okay, but probably not as valued.

I recently caught this film, and inspire of its ...slightly above middle-range rating, I decided to watch it.

After all, it's an early Rock Hudson film,but, for me, the real clincher was it had a rare film appearance by the incomparable Ms Julie London.

I'm too young to have experienced the age of radio (but, I did grow up listening, nightly, to CBS Radio Myster Theater to understand just how great it could be), and an eclectic group of actors, as well as directed by Mr William Castle made this too intriguing to not give a chance.

I'm very happy I did.

The story's a classic, 'whodunnit', and it's got all the 'bells and whistles' of a really good noir film (aside from inky-black scenes shot in various locations), including a couple of character actors who should be familiar to most - if not by name, nor appearances, but, by their singular voices, and mannerisms (Messers William Castle,and Marvin Kaplan, as the 'fat man's' assistant, bill, and as 'pinkie', an uncredited role as a delivery truck assistant/brother-in-law).

I never knew Mr Castle had made any noir films, a d after enjoying this one, I really wish he had, because, he knows how to use his abilities in this genre, and have them work to their fullest.

This is a real hidden gem!

The Fat Man opens with the murder of a dentist. We spend a good chunk of the next hour wondering not so much who did it, as why. It's a fairly straightforward plot, but one with many threads and characters, including a clown, some dental records, a just-released convict who comes into some money and then disappears, and a police detective who—unusually for private eye movies—is open, cooperative, and even intelligent!

J. Scott Smart looks comfortable in the role of Brad Runyan, aka the Fat Man. Familiar faces fill the rest of the cast, including Jayne Meadows in a good serious role as the dentist's nurse; Jerome Cowan as the helpful if bemused policeman; Clinton Sundberg as a kind of goofball assistant; and an eager-looking young Rock Hudson as the con and Julie London as his sometime girlfriend.

The Fat Man was apparently a radio detective making a jump to movies that didn't take; not having any familiarity with the radio program, I can only say that this portly detective is considerably more physically active than the obvious comparison: whereas Nero Wolfe rarely emerges from his brownstone on 35th Street, Brad Runyan thinks nothing of hopping a flight to California, risking life and limb in a shootout, or even dancing in a nightclub. (He does, however, share Wolfe's passion for fine food.) To put it another way—Smart as Runyan is easily closer akin to William Conrad as Cannon than Conrad as Wolfe.

The film as a whole offers bits of humor, some action, and a pretty fair mystery with quite a well done climactic scene. If they had indeed turned this into a series, I would seek out the other entries; however, I'm afraid 1951 was not the right time to start a detective series—at least, not one for the big screen.