PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

The Spanish Cape Mystery 1935

The Spanish Cape Mystery is a 1935 mystery based on the 1935 Ellery Queen novel of the same name. While Ellery Queen is detective in the series as well as the writer of the novels, it's really Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee behind the scenes. The Wikipedia tells me that those nom de plumes are the professional names of the pair. You can read more about that at the EQ page.

It was the 9th book in the EQ series and the first to be adapted to film. I haven't read too many of the EQ novels, didn't take to them when I was younger, read 3 or 4 in the last 20 years and enjoyed them. Albert DeMond wrote the screenplay and Lewis D Collins directed. Both men started their careers in the 20s and worked until the 50s and 60s. I haven't seen a lot of their work but what I have has been fine.

Donald Cook plays Ellery Queen, Berton Churchill plays Judge Macklin, Guy Usher plays Inspector Queen and Helen Twelvetrees plays Stella Godfrey. Ellery and the Judge are heading off for a couple of months in the California sun. They've rented a house in the small community of Spanish Cape. They are surprised to find Stella tied up in the place when they open the door. We aren't, we'd seen her kidnapped along with her Uncle. The kidnapper knocked out the Uncle, tied her to a chair, then carted off the Uncle. She's turns out to be Ellery's romantic interest.

Ellery and the Judge take her home only to find there's been a murder. Some guy called Marco got strangled by wire in his bathing trunks. The police detective is an old school guy, all bluster, little action. He nearly arrests half the household. Ellery puts his noggin to cogitation and sure enough he's got the crook dead to rights.

Enjoyable, nothing too special, good cast, both main and supporting. I like the sense of humor. I thought it was worth a look and that's after seeing it some years ago. You can check it out at this YouTube upload. You might like it too.

Friday Night Movies 787

A hat trick of Hal Roach comedies packed into one DVD from VCI. They specialize in classic films and those are of interest to me.

Turnabout is the 1940 adaptation of Thorne Smith's 1931 novel of the same name.The screenplay was by Mickell Novack, Berne Giler and John McClain, with additional dialog by Rian James, the director was Hal Roach. Sadly, Thorne Smith died in 1934, at age 42, but he did leave a nice bunch of novels. This film is the first of his novels being adapted to film, it was followed by the first two Topper films and last was the adaptation of The Passionate Witch for René Clair's 1942 film I Married A Witch. The film and the stage play of Bell, Book And Candle were the inspirations for the TV show Bewitched.

I first encountered Thorne Smith in the 70s, I used to read out of the humor section a lot back then, and over the years read all of his dozen novels except Dream's End. That was one of two serious novels, the other was an entertaining mystery called Did She Fall?, the rest were all comedies like Turnabout. He had some short stories and poetry published in the teens but it wasn't until 1926 when he had his first novel published. That was Topper and it was a pretty good success. That was followed by Dream's End in 1927 and The Stray Lamb in 1929. That last book was about a guy who changes into random animals for comedic effect. There's a good element of fantasy found in his work. In The Nightlife Of The Gods Roman gods come back to life in 1930s New York. They like the bars, carousing and NYC. Most of the characters in the books like a lot of the drink.

In Turnabout John Hubbard and Carole Landis are a couple, he's head of an advertising firm and she's a society wife. A statue in their bedroom, tired of their complaining, grants them their bedtime wish. The couple were telling each other that they could do their partner's jobs without any problems. They go to sleep agreeing they wished they could change places.

Next morning they're in each other's bodies, there's some adaptation to that, especially once they try to go out and about. John's body goes to work with Carole's mind, that really gets everyone thinking, "Has he gone nuts?" Carole has the same sort of trouble but at home and shopping with the other partner's wives.

That's the main cast, John and Carole in the middle, Adolphe Menjou and Mary Astor on the right, with William Gargan and Joyce Compton on the left. They  play the other two advertising agency heads and their wives.

Donald Meek, Marjorie Main and Yolande Donlan play John and Carole's servants. Plenty of characters to bounce around, there's also a great Dane and a bear cub in the apartment. Not all the jokes hit home but most of them do quite well. I have a few laughs out loud and I've seen the film 3 or 4 times now. This set upgraded the crappy copy I had recorded from Turner Classic Movies some time back.

Road Show is a 1941 film based on the 1934 Eric Hatch novel of the same name. Eric also wrote My Man Godfrey and a bunch of novel, none of which I've read. The screenplay is by Arnold Belgard, Harry Langdon and Mickell Novack. Hall Roach is the director.

Most of the movie takes place in a small travelling circus. John Hubbard plays a rich guy who winds up in a sanitarium after faking a nervous breakdown. He escapes with Adolphe Menjou on a raft. They hook up with Carole Landis and her traveling show. Patsy Kelly and Willie Best add some comedy to the proceedings and The Charioteers add a few songs. John and Carole have a series of scraps with the law and some ruffians. There's plenty of gags and some of them made me laugh out loud. Things work out well for most everyone by the end of the movie. I'd certainly watch it again.

The Housekeeper's Daughter is a 1939 mystery that was adapted from the 1938 novel of the same name by Donald Henderson Clarke. Rian James and Gordon Douglas wrote the screenplay with the uncredited help of Jack Jevne and Claude Martin. Hal Roach is once again the director.

John Hubbard is in this picture too, that him with co-star Joan Bennett. She's a gangster's moll, Marc Lawrence plays the gangster, she helps him work his crimes but she's tired of the life and leaves to go home to mother. John Hubbard plays a archeologist who lives with his parents in a big old mansion, the same house where Joan's mother is the housekeeper.

That's Joan and Peggy Wood playing Joan's mother. Joan's gangster pal is involved with the murder of a showgirl, he didn't kill her, he just dumped her body off a houseboat into the river. A sad mentally challenged guy, played by George E Stone, did the killing, he didn't mean to, he meant the poisoned coffee for Marc. John would like to be a reporter and he talks newspaper editor Donald Meek into an assignment, Donald  hooks John up with veteran mooch reporter Adolphe Menjou and his sidekick photographer William Gargan while they go off to investigate the showgirl's murder. At the police station George confesses to the police but they don't believe he did it and send him home. Instead he tags along with John and Adolphe while they hit the bars. John gets George's story from him while drunk and turns it into the paper. He passes out at home without knowing what storm he's created in the gangster's life.

That's George E Stone on the left, the guy in the middle is a 26 year old Victor Mature making his screen debut as the gangster Lefty. He's holding a cup of George's poisoned coffee. They both know know Joan from her gangster life.  Marc and his guys show up and take over the house. George makes some coffee and Adolphe and William shoot fire works at the crooks from the roof. The remaining ones are caught when the police show up.

All ends well enough. I got a kick out of it, I'd be happy to watch it again sometime in the future.

The Riverside Murder 1935

The Riverside Murder is a 1935 British crime film that was based on Les Six Hommes Morts by Stanislas-André Steeman. Selwyn Jepson wrote the screenplay and Albert Parker directed. I picked up a used copy of the DVD when I saw it had Alastair Sim on the cover. It's his first film role and while it's not a lead part, he's got a fair bit of screen time. He plays Sergeant Mac McKay, a bit dim but eager, and he works for Inspector Winton, who's played by Basil Sydney.

Basil had a fairly long career, his first role was back in 1920 and the last 44 years later. You might recognize him from the 1950 film Treasure Island where he played Captain Smollet. He was also in The Hands Of Orlac, the 1948 Hamlet and The 3 Worlds Of Gulliver. I am more interested in his 1959 appearance on The Flying Doctor. It's my holy grail of TV shows. I sure would love to see it again.

Inspector Winton is usually a good bit ahead of Sergeant McKay and there's often a bit of a laugh that goes long with that. They're investigating the death of a rich guy, part of a group of 5 financiers, soon after a second man is murdered. There's plenty of talking as the detectives dig into the lives of the people involved. It was fairly enjoyable and had plenty of fun bits. You can see a copy on YouTube.

The Ghost Goes West 1935

The Ghost Goes West is about a haunted castle that's moved from Scotland to Florida. It came out in 1935 and director René Clair co-wrote the thing with Eric Keown, Geoffrey Kerr and Robert E Sherwood. Robert Donat plays Murdoch Glourie, he owns the haunted castle, and Donald Glourie, the ghost of his long dead ancestor. Robert is joined in the cast by Jean Parker, Eugene Pallette, Elsa Lanchester, Terry Thomas and more I didn't know.

Eugene plays a rich American and Jean plays his daughter. She talks him into buying the haunted castle. They move the whole thing to Florida and the ghost goes with them. Donald had died as a coward and he can't find rest until he gets a descendant of the Clan MacClaggan to admit that 1 Glourie is worth 50 MacClaggans. It takes a while to work that out and there's plenty of yelling and running about.

The movie was voted the best British film of 1936 and it was the 13th most popular box office hit in the 1935-6 season. I enjoyed it, there are some fun bits and a few good jokes with a bit of romance that's hardly bothersome. You can test drive it in the link in the title above.

Someone At The Door 1936

Someone At The Door is a 1936 British comedy thriller that's based on the play of the same name by Campbell Christie and his wife Dorothy Christie. Campbell worked with Jack Davis Jr and Marjorie Deans on the screenplay, Herbert Brenon did all the directing by himself.

A broke brother and sister move back into their childhood home. The country manor house is rundown and unbeknownst to them the location of some stolen loot. The brother and sister hatch a plan to fake her murder with him taking the blame. She'd show up in court and he'd go free. Of course that kind of stupid plan goes awry. The jewel thieves show up looking to get at their loot.

There's a fair bit of activity, a few jokes, and a fairly decent cast. It was enjoyable and something I would watch again.

Dandy Dick 1935

Dandy Dick is a 1935 Will Hay film. Will worked on the adaption of Sir Arthur Pinero's play of the same name with Frank Miller, Clifford Grey and director William Beaudine. Will plays a vicar that needs to come up with a £1000 to fix the church steeple. He bets on Dandy Dick at 10-1. There's plenty of farce and slapstick with lots of yelling. It kept me entertained to the end but I like Will Hay and the like.

Bank Holiday 1938

Bank Holiday is a 1938 British comedy drama that's also known as Three On A Weekend. Oddly, it's not part of The British Film series but part of The Rank Collection. Rank DVDs have been turning up on Hamilton Books for the last several months, usually under 6 smackaroonies. That's often a bit cheaper than the British DVD and you don't need a special player to play the DVD. 

The original story is by Hans Wilhelm and Rodney Ackland, the scenario is by Rodney Ackland and Roger Burford, the director is Carol Reed. It's Carol's fifth credited feature, he followed it with Penny Paradise which I watched, and enjoyed, the middle of last year. In 1940 Carol would direct Night Train To Munich. I enjoyed that. I'm guessing Carol is better known for the 1949 film The Third Man, or the 1962 Mutiny On The Bounty. Most of his other films aren't ones I've seen, they have a tendency to be more dramas than crime films or comedies. I'd rather watch the later two genres.

Bank Holiday follows people as they travel to the seaside for vacation. There's a family, a nurse and her boyfriend taking a holiday in a hotel, and a couple of ladies looking for romance. There's ups and downs, most of the stories work out well in the end. It could use a few more gags, there's some heavy drama woven in there, but I got to the end credits OK. I'd even guess I'd watch it again.

The Gang's All Here 1939

The Gang's All Here is the 1939 sequel to Smash And Grab. Ralph Spense wrote the screenplay and Thornton Freeland directed. It's got Jack Buchanan back as John Forrest, insurance investigator. He's just about to retire when a juicy case comes along to pull him back. His wife, now played by Googie Withers, gets right in there and helps with the investigation. Edward Everett Horton plays Jack's comical butler, he helps too. Edward has been a favorite of mine since I was a teenager. Otto Kruger and Jack La Rue are the villains. It's not quite as much fun as the first film but it was still entertaining. Glad to have picked them up. They'll get watched again.

Smash And Grab 1937

Smash And Grab is a 1937 British film that came out in the US as Larceny Street. Jack Buchanan wrote the scenario, Tim Whelan wrote the story and directed, Ralph Spence wrote the screenplay.

Jack plays John Forrest, an insurance investigator, Elsie Randolph plays his wife Alice. She's right in the thick of it, going undercover into the middle of the murdering robber's barbershop as a manicurist. The robber's MO is to break a jewelry store window and run off with the jewels. One of the robbers is a hard headed guy and he kills their cheating partner in crime. It's pretty much some lighthearted fun with a bit of detecting. It breezes along and I had a laugh or two. There's a sequel that's next to watch.

Aren't Men Beasts 1937

Aren't Men Beasts is a 1937 comedy film from Britain. It shares a disc in that 2 movie set to the right. I watched Banana Ridge the other day. This has the same two main leads, Robertson Hare and Alfred Drayton, but as different characters. It's another romantic farce based on a play, Vernon Sylvaine wrote Aren't Men Beasts for the stage, Marjorie Deans and William Freshman wrote the screenplay, Graham Cuts directed. Graham had directed the 1932 Arthur Wontner film The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case but I haven't seen any of his other works. I have a copy of his 1933 film Three Men In A Boat but who knows when I'll get to that. I enjoyed AMB and would watch it again. Here's a video of Sid James interviewing Robertson Hare.