Fast and Furious (1939) User Reviews (26)

The beauty pageant

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 25 August 2006]

Joel Sloane, a lawyer, is visited by a friend, Mike Stevens, who wants to borrow some money from him to invest in his boss' business that promises excellent return. Sloane, is reluctant at first, but relents because Mike seems a nice guy. Mike extends him an invitation to come to Seaside for the pageant. Little does Joel know he has already been made a judge in the competition.

As Joel arrives at the resort town with his wife Garda, things begin taking a different twist. The arrival of Eric Bartell in the scene and the murder of Mike's boss present a problem. Mike is hauled to jail for suspicion of being the one that committed the crime. There are other people around that could be involved, but Joel runs in different directions to help Mike and solve the mystery to clear his friend.

At the hotel where the Sloanes are staying there is a lion tamer who plays a trick on them in one of the best moments in the movie. Needless to say, Joel realizes who the real culprit is and unmasks the person at the end for a happy ending.

Busby Berkeley directed this light MGM comedy with his usual eye for style and movement. Best of all are Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern who played the Sloanes with elegance and fun. Others in the film are Ruth Hussey, Lee Bowman, John Miljan and Mary Beth Hughes.

The movie is a light entertainment, a product of the times. Watch it as a curiosity.

good cast keeps routine mystery going

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 29 October 2006]

Ann Sothern and Franchot Tone are a young married couple in "Fast and Furious" which also stars Allan Joslyn, Ruth Hussey, and Mary Beth Hughes. A friend hits lawyer Joel Sloane (Tone) up for a loan to finance a beauty pageant taking place at a resort and invites Sloane and wife Garda (Sothern) to come see the show. After they arrive, the boss of the operation is murdered, and Joel's friend is jailed on suspicion. It's up to Joel to stop looking at the bathing suited beauties and solve the case.

This is a routine film, rather slow, with some nice humor. Tone and Sothern are a delightful couple. This is the earliest film in which I've seen Ann Sothern, whom I remember from her TV series as a child. She's gorgeous! A real knockout. She and Tone have the charm and lightness necessary for their roles; it's a shame they couldn't have had a better script.

Though this is directed by Busby Berkeley, there are no flashy dance numbers but he does regale us with some neat camera work.

A very pleasant film.

An enjoyable B-movie with an almost A cast

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 21 January 2013]

B-movies were cheap and short films that were made to play as the lesser film at a double-feature. Many small-time studios specialized in Bs (such as Monogram and Republic) and the bigger studios also made Bs. In this case, the very respected MGM produced what seems like a B-movie in almost every way except that its stars were slightly better than you'd expect to see in a B. Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern star as a married couple who, not surprisingly, investigate crimes but are NOT professional detectives. I say 'not surprisingly' because there were plenty of B films with amateur detectives constantly showing up the police--such as Boston Blackie, Bulldog Drummond and Nancy Drew. And, like these other films, this was one of a series of such films--though NONE of the actors and actresses who played the two main roles played them in more than one film! The movie begins with Garda Sloane trying to trick her husband Joel into taking them on a vacation. Coincidentally, an old friend arrives and talks about a beauty contest going on at the SAME place where the Sloanes are headed (what are the odds?!). Once there, the Sloanes meet this friend once again but also (not surprisingly) stumble into a murder. And, like the genre, the pair begin investigating the crime and do far better than trained detectives.

The plot is about average for this sort of film--no better, no worse. However, Tone and Sothern are quite good AND the dialog is quite nice. It also helps that there is a nice sense of humor about the film--such as the wonderful dictophone scene. Overall, breezy and entertaining--but you wonder why neither Tone nor Sothern were used again for these roles.

Comfortable Time-Waster Will Make You Grin

[Sleepy-17 · 11 January 2002]

Ann Southern and Franchot Tone's genial relationship wraps itself around a mediocre murder plot which features a lot of pretty young women in bathing suits (no belly-buttons, remember, this is the 30's Post-Code). Plenty of wise-cracking, a few Stooges-level laughs involving circus lions, and one great directorial flourish from Berkely involving a traveling camera-shot during a party scene.

Breezy comedy/mystery is enjoyable programmer...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 29 November 2007]

ANN SOTHERN and FRANCHOT TONE play a husband and wife team, a book dealer and his scheming, scatterbrained wife who get involved with murder at a seaside resort. She tags along to help solve the crime, but mostly because she knows there are too many bathing beauties around that might catch his eye.

Among the suspects are LEE BOWMAN, RUTH HUSSEY, MARY BETH HUGHES and ALLYN JOSLYN, with FRANK ORTH and some tame lions providing some unusual comedy relief. Miss Hussey is the surprise here, playing the sort of "heavy" role as a villainess that she seldom ever essayed in other films. Mary Beth Hughes does her usual blonde beauty routine and Allyn Joslyn is the best character actor in the cast.

With the accent on comedy, it's not difficult for FRANCHOT TONE and ANN SOTHERN to carry the leads with effortless charm.

Probably passed the time pleasantly as the second feature on a double bill, but hasn't dated as badly as some other comedy/mysteries of this sort have. Busby Berkeley is the unlikely director.

Lots of Classic Action in 1939

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 30 November 2007]

Enjoyed the great acting by a veteran actor named Franchot Tone, (Joel Sloane) and his wife Garda Sloane, (Ann Southern) who have a business dealing with rare books in New York City and decided to take a vacation. Mike Stevens, ( Lee Bowman) is a good friend of Joel and asks him for five thousand dollars to invest in a beauty contest and he also offered him a position as a judge. Joel makes this deal with Mike and his wife Gara goes with him, however, Gara is very unhappy about her husband being around all these beautiful bathing suit gals in the contest. There is plenty of laughs and plenty of action as well as a murder. I was quite surprised at what a great film this is from 1939 and I loved watching this film from beginning to end.

Nice and fun

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 29 May 2015]

When Busby Berkeley moved from Warner Brothers to MGM he wanted to be directing straight dramatic items as well as musicals. MGM obliged him with this Fast And Furious which in its 70 minute running time lives up to its name.

Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern play a married lawyer and wife who works as secretary and they look as playful and hip as Nick and Nora Charles. In fact Tone is asked to be a judge at an oceanside beauty pageant (Atlantic City in all but name) and sees this as a dream vacation. He throws an investment into the pageant and their friend Lee Bowman throws a lot more.

Which is in danger of being lost when it comes to their attention that the organizer John Miljan is going skip with the pageant money without wife Ruth Hussey and with contestant Mary Beth Hughes. In fact Bowman confronts Miljan who winds up shot to death and Bowman looking good for it.

That's when Tone goes to work to clear his friend Bowman. I have to confess I had it wrong in terms of the eventual murderer and that's when I like a mystery.

It's a B film from MGM, but their product would be a big budget item at Monogram or PRC. Tone and Sothern register well as a fun married couple. They have two good scenes, a harrowing one when they are in an elevator shaft and nearly crushed and a rather extended encounter with lion tamer Frank Orth and his 3 lions who are staying at the hotel. They must have one liberal guest policy.

Fast And Furious is the pace of the film and a fun film it is.

More emphasis on comedy than on mystery

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 15 September 2011]

The third and final film in the "Joel & Garda Sloane" series is also the most comedy-orientated one. The mystery itself is not introduced until the middle of the picture, and although it's not a bad one, it's also not that hard to figure out sometime before it is "officially" solved, if you think back to the formula of all three movies: the Sloanes get involved because the most obvious suspect, who gets arrested, happens to be their close friend, but the killer is always the person who is never even considered under suspicion. Luckily, the comedy is served well by the cast, particularly by Ann Sothern, who is both witty and sexy ("Don't you want to examine me? I have some very nice symptoms!"). Of the 3 Gardas, she is the most comedically gifted one. I give this film **1/2 out of 4 stars like I did with the two others in this brief series; none of them are great shakes, but all of them are pleasant and often funny.

The last of the series is the best.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 7 September 2015]

Replaced yet again, the mystery solving married couple are now being played by Franchot Tone and Ann Southern. Reminding me a lot of Gene Raymond, Sothern's often partner in a series of RKO comedies, Tone is more amusing than Robert Montgomery, while in spots, Southern seems to be emulating Rosalind Russell in an attempt to keep the character consistent. In this entry, they are out of town where Tone is a beauty pageant judge, and of course, there is a murder to interrupt the festivities. Tone overhears an argument between two women over the same man, so when that man is murdered, both of them are at the top of his suspect list. Dander follows, culminating in a scene under a stage where Southern and Tone deal with the stage descending and threatening to crush them. Allyn Joslyn plays a reporter friend of theirs who is also a suspect, while Ruth Hussey plays a particularly ill-tempered female. Faster moving than the other two "Fast" entries, this is the one that I will most likely watch again and recommend to others, even if it still has that element of predictability and nothing new in the many "Thin Man" rip-offs, of which there were many.

Generally fast if not quite furious

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 22 July 2020]

Really liked the first film in the 'Fast...' film series from the late 30s, comprising of three films starting with 'Fast Company' and finishing with 'Fast and Furious'. Moderately liked if not loved the next film 'Fast and Loose', which had a better female lead and better leads chemistry but the plot wasn't as focused. So hopes were understandably reasonably high for 'Fast and Furious', again with changes to the cast and directed by Busby Berkeley in a relatively atypical film for him.

'Fast and Furious' is a decent time passer and not too bad a way to finish a film series that is not bad at all. There are inevitable but slightly unfair comparisons to 'The Thin Man' films, for reasons described in my review for 'Fast and Loose', but these three films don't fare too unfavourably and fare quite well on their own terms (especially 'Fast Company'). 'Fast and Furious' doesn't disappoint too much, it's not a great film in my view but it entertains enough and is above average at least. Of the three films though, it's perhaps the weakest.

There is a lot to like here. It is slickly and attractively made, not lavish or too fancy but there isn't a cheapness about it and it doesn't look rushed. Berkeley's direction is more subdued to usual, not his usual elaborate and dazzling visual extravaganzas that made the musicals choreographed by him so memorable and the complete opposite to that but he didn't seem uninterested or ill at ease with the material. The music is not quite William Axt level, who excelled in the previous two films, but has some nice atmosphere without being too heavy or too serious.

Script has some nice wit and snap and doesn't seem muddled, again like 'Fast and Loose' the comedy does fare better than the mystery and much of it amuses. The story is easier to follow than that for 'Fast and Loose' and generally compels, enough of it being lively. Franchot Tone is charming and suave and has a likeable chemistry with the not as subtle but "still giving it everything she's got" Ann Sothern. The supporting cast are all strong, Ruth Hussey and hilarious Frank Orth (as one of the most entertaining characters) coming off strongest.

Again, the mystery could have been a little better with more surprises and suspense. It's easier to follow here and with less of an overlong feel but there is a routine feel at times. The pace is generally solid but the film does have dull stretches, with the early portions taking a little long to find its rhythm, and more energy and tension wouldn't have gone amiss.

Like before, there could have been fewer characters and not all of them seemed necessary.

In conclusion, not great but nice enough. 6/10

slow and sluggish

[mossgrymk · 4/10 · 24 June 2021]

One of your less inspired "Thin Man" ripoffs. And Busby B, minus a theatre stage, directs at an almost Delbert Mann like pace. C minus.

Talents of Mary Beth Hughes noticed by rival studios

[doctordave866 · 10/10 · 27 May 2016]

This was the movie that Fox Executives really took notice of the talent and beauty of Mary Beth Hughes and signed her to a contract shortly after "Fast and Furious" was released.

She stands out in this well done film.

Her talent and beauty were not enough to make her a big star in Hollywood although she appeared in over 50 films.

Mary Beth started doing stage and nightclub appearances quite early in her career (1943) and this took up a lot of her time. She appeared literally coast to coast for over 25 years.

This was one of the reasons experts feel kept her from major stardom in films.

Her role as beauty contestant Jerry Lawrence portrays her as a hard-boiled blonde, a role which she would repeat many times.

Summary: Fast and Furious really highlights the talented Ann Sothern and Franchot Tone and they make a great husband and wife team!

Slick comedy/mystery from MGM

[Paularoc · 6/10 · 4 April 2015]

Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern star as Joel and Garda Sloane in this slick, lighthearted murder mystery. Joel loans his good friend Mike (Lee Bowman) $5,000 to invest in a beauty pageant. Mike invites Joel to the pageant and enlists him as a judge. When the pageant's producer is murdered and the police are convinced that Mike did it, Joel and Garda decide to investigate in order to clear Mike. It's all a bit of a lark since no one really liked the murder victim. As to be expected, Tone and Sothern did a good job with their banter and comedic flair. However, Sothern's Garda's excessive jealousy of Joel's casual attention to the bevy of beauties quickly becomes boring and somewhat annoying. The bit about the lion tamer (Frank Orth) and his two lions is far fetched but quite funny. This is an entertaining and enjoyable movie and is recommended.

Poor man's Thin Man

[gbill-74877 · 4/10 · 15 August 2019]

Kind of like a poor man's Thin Man film, one with a beauty contest, lions, and Ann Sothern and Franchot Tone substituted in for Myrna Loy and William Powell. Those are big shoes to fill but the pair are not without their own charms, with the banter and teasing flowing naturally early on and Sothern slipping in lines like "Don't you want to examine me? I have some very nice symptoms." Unfortunately, the script undermines them and the film ends up pretty lacking. Before the murder we see the husband's wandering eyes regularly on the young women in bathing suits, with director Busby Berkeley trying to spice things up as best he can under the Production Code. There is a playfulness to it but it gets a little tired as Sothern repeatedly has to reign him in. After the murder the story around the investigation lacks focus and isn't well executed. Perhaps knowing how thin the story was, the filmmakers toss a few lions into the action. Weirdly, they don't help either (go figure). It's really kind of too bad as I thought Sothern and Tone showed promise together. I haven't seen the others in the MGM trilogy (Fast Company, and Fast and Loose), but I guess it shows how tough it can be to make something as good as the Thin Man films.

Strong cast carries lightweight murder mystery

[csteidler · 7/10 · 17 June 2016]

A shady character named Bartell (John Miljan) is shot dead in a locked room. Several suspects have good motives. His business associate (Lee Bowman) was closest to the crime but we know he didn't do it. Can a pair of rare book dealers on vacation track down the murderer?

Ann Sothern and Franchot Tone make a pretty good team as Garda and Joel Sloane, amateur sleuths who take a summer break from the book business to visit Seaside City. A beauty contest happens to be in town—and Joel finds himself signed up as a judge while hoping that somehow Garda won't find out.

The plot is nothing special but it keeps us guessing and moves fast. The cast is quite good, especially Ruth Hussey as a girlfriend who's no fool. Allyn Joslyn is also fine as a newspaperman covering the beauty pageant and talking up the contestants. ("Why, the last girl I took an interest in has already married two millionaire husbands, and she's only 22. You can do the same.")

Sothern and Tone excel at delivering the kind of light banter that adds nothing to the plot but is the real appeal of this kind of picture. For example, Sothern's complaint that Tone's investigation includes too many beauty contestants:

Sothern: Don't you ever find a middle-aged, unattractive suspect?

Tone: They're just facts in the case, I don't see them as girls....A detective's first thought must be of his case.

Sothern: It's that second thought that worries me.

Busby Berkeley directed this modest production. It's a far cry from his big musical extravaganzas, but there is one scene that looks like his style—it's the hectic pageant rehearsal featuring a flamboyant director ordering around contestants, telling them how to walk, and barking instructions like "You mothers get out of the way." I had to wonder—does this pageant director bear any resemblance to BB directing a musical?

An entertaining B movie spruced up with some MGM gloss.

****** Good Fun

[GManfred · 19 May 2020]

Engaging fluff which must have been a second feature back in Hollywood's Golden Age. Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern are the principals in a comedy/ mystery with a dizzy plot. The couple go on a semi-vacation to what must be Atlantic City. Tone is to be a judge at a beauty contest but the promoter is murdered during the festivities. Lots of snappy dialogue and plot twists in this good-natured story, directed by none other than Busby Berkley.

Tone and Sothern work well together to make the picture work and with able support from Lee Bowman and Ruth Hussey. Harmless fun from this better-than-average 'B" picture that strives to be an "A".

6/10 - Website no longer prints my star rating.

Number three in the series -- and third best is right!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 30 October 2013]

M-G-M's final entry in the 3-picture "Joel Sloane and Garda" series, stars Franchot Tone and a none-too-flatteringly-photographed Ann Sothern as the Sloanes, joined by Ruth Hussey, Lee Bowman and Allyn Joslyn. Taking a holiday from rare books, the Sloanes get themselves involved in a bathing beauty contest. The scenery is certainly nice, but Franchot Tone's harassed husband and Ann Sothern's frumpish wife, although eager, don't look intelligent enough to play rare book dealers, let alone crime solvers. Fortunately, books are definitely NOT on the agenda here in this final installment. Yes, director Busby Berkeley has a fine time exploring the support beauties, but the murder plot and the thrills are, to say the least, disappointingly contrived. I also found it irritating that Tone and Sothern occasionally refer to events that happened to the characters when they were played by Douglas and Rice or Montgomery and Russell – especially as both the Douglas/Rice and Montgomery/Russell teams were so much more charismatic and convincing, they make Tone and Sothern look like half-baked amateurs! Available on an excellent Warner Archive DVD.

third and last

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 4 August 2019]

Joel and Garda Sloane are a married couple and rare book dealers. Once in awhile, they also solve crimes. His friend Mike Stevens asks for a $5000 loan to ensure his promotion. It's to be used for a beauty pageant. The couple decides to leave the sweltering city for the seaside resort holding the pageant. She's not happy that he gets roped into being a judge. He is told that the promoter Eric Bartell has been withdrawing every deposit immediately in cash. When Bartell turns up murdered, Mike is arrested.

This franchise could never work for two reasons. Being rare book dealers do not provide an easy way into murder and mayhem. The bigger issue is the lack of consistency in the cast. It serves no purpose to have different actors in these two important roles in each of the movies. The basic requirement is their chemistry and they need to rebuild it back up in every new movie. It's hard to do. Ann Sothern does a fine job with her fast talking and Franchot Tone is perfectly acceptable. The fact that the movie struggles to keep them together only adds to the problem. It does not serve them well whenever the couple is split apart in their investigations. They should be together from the start to the finish. Under an elevator is also a strange place to store furniture.

husband and wife team must solve a murder

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 8 August 2017]

Busby Berkeley did direct films during the 1930s and 1940s, but he's probably best known for his eye-popping camera angles, synchronized dancing, and row upon row of dance and song numbers. Husband and wife Joel and Garda go on vacation, and somehow Joel ends up as judge for the beauty pageant (...?). Strange enough plot... but the fake accents we hear from the contestants are even more strange. There's a subplot where the pageant runners are planning to run off with the dough, so that's going on too. Ann Sothern and Franchot Tone star in this silly fluff from MGM. It's so goofy that a cop from their hometown follows them on vacation. This one goes all around the mulberry bush... even using the cliché where the chief of police tells Joel he'll get locked up if he interferes any more. Sothern over-acts, stomps around, and yells all her lines. She had been in the biz for years now, so she should know better. There ARE some fun, old timer folks from vaudeville in here, like the "Captain" with his lions, but the plot is just silly. Historically, i guess it's interesting to see one of the films directed by Berkeley himself. Unfortunately, we don't get to see a big fancy dance number in this one. Wikipedia claims he was married six times, but we only see four spice listed in IMDb....

The eye candy makes the film worthy of a watch

[Ed-Shullivan · 5/10 · 8 May 2020]

1939 was in all probability the very best year of any year in the last 100 years of film releases so to be fair, Fast and Furious had a huge hill to climb to receive any recognition when it was originally released in such a stellar year of film making and film releases. Having said that there was a somewhat similar lovable on screen chemistry between actors Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern as there was between the great Katharine Hepburn, and Cary Grant.

It is a relatively fast paced, fast talking Ozzie and Harriet style film with actor Franchot Tone getting himself into some deep doo doo with his wife Ann Sothern by financing a beauty contest under the guise of taking a much needed summer break vacation during a heat wave.

The story gets a bit tiring around the half way mark with the husband and wife banter but then the eye candy of the bathing beauties provides a deserved distraction not only for financier husband Joel Sloane but for us the audience.

it's a cute film that I was happy to watch. The mid range rating of a 5 out of 10 IMDB rating is because it was nothing special either.

Bathing Beauties and Busby Berkeley...Wrapped in a Nick and Nora-esque Package...what is not to love?

[cgvsluis · 7/10 · 27 September 2020]

Fast and Furious is my second favorite in the MGM "Fast" trilogy based on a novel written by Marco Page (a pseudonym for Harry Kurnitz). The three films are about a husband and wife who are rare book dealers turned detectives with witty banter reminiscent of the Thin Man's Nick and Nora. Each of the three films recast our leading couple while keeping them in the same slightly shabby office set. This film's Joel and Garda are played by Franchot Tone and Ann Southern. I have never been a big Tone fan, but surprisingly he didn't ruin the film for me...in fact he comes in as my second favorite Joel. He had wonderful and surprisingly believable chemistry with Ann Southern, who was my favorite in the role of Garda. This film may actually have the wittiest dialogue of the three films...with my favorite line being, "Sure, Suicide...shot himself in the back, threw away the gun, unlocked the door, and laid down and died" and Joel's quip to Garda "don't let anyone in without the password. And the password is (then he kisses her)". In this the third and final film, Joel and Garda find themselves trying to help yet another innocent friend who has been falsely accused of murder...although unlike the other three this storyline doesn't involve books of any kind, strangely it involves bathing beauties which our amazing and surprising director, Busby Berkeley shows off in his usual flare...including an under water scene that involves Garda biting Joel...don't worry he deserved it! Another fun and light hearted mystery that is not quite up to Nick and Nora standards...but still with a view. Did I mention the bathing beauties? Oh! And there are Lions!

Powell and Loy - Game, Set and Match

[lotekguy-1 · 5/10 · 16 June 2021]

Hoping to coattail on, or compete with, the successful comic murder mystery antics of Nick and Norah Charles, other studios tried to fit other couples into the mold. None came close. This effort is particularly emblematic of how hard it was to make the magic elsewhere. This series tried three sets of stars in the characters of the Sloanes in two years (1938-39), starting four years after The Thin Man" set the pace. Nobody came close to catching up.

This is a typically frenetic, periodically amusing, bit of fluff. It's reasonably entertaining, especially if you haven't seen The Masters of the genre.

A change of cast and return to some humor for the Sloanes

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 7 September 2021]

Well, with another change of cast, this third installment ends the three-part MGM comedy mysteries with Joel and Garda Sloane. And, after a dismal script sans any humor in the second film ("Fast and Loose" also of 1939), this one puts some comedy back in the script.

"Fast and Furious" stars Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern as the sleuthing Sloanes. Some other things have changed - the rare book dealership that the Sloanes own hardly plays in this one at all. I wondered how many stories one could squeeze out of that occupation to build mysteries around.

Some other aspects of the Sloanes have changed - apparently they are no longer living from check to check, but have a nest egg in the bank. So, Joel can loan his friend, Mike Stevens, $5,000 to put into a show. This film has the Sloanes going to the seashore for a holiday and surprise - they run smack dab into the very show that Mike was investing in - a beauty contest.

Well, needless to say, Garda isn't too happy about it, and there's all sorts of skullduggery going on, with a couple murders, before Joel solves the crimes. This isn't on the level of the first of the series, but it's at least a comedy with humor. Here are the best lines in this film.

Joel Sloane, "In college, we voted Mike the man most likely to succeed. He was class valedictorian too." Garda Sloane, "What were you - class bum?"

Garda, "Darling, try to restrain the beast in you. For a minute I thought you were whinnying." Joel, "Did you see those shameless bathing suits? I was shocked." Garda, "Yeah, you looked it."

Garda, "Don't you ever find a middle-aged unattractive suspect?" Joel, "They're just facts in the case to me, Garda. I don't see them as girls. A detective's first thought must be of his case." Garda, "It's that second thought that worries me."

Joel, "You haven't got a horse whip on you?" Garda, "I couldn't get one - all the stores are closed. Ah, ha. You're a crazy, reckless idiot, but you're mine."

Goofy murder "mystery"

[hemisphere65-1 · 4/10 · 1 July 2021]

Tone and Sothern seemed comfortable working together, but the script/story is weak. The main plot is fine, but the lion stuff is tedious. Why is that imbecile there and even in an 1939, there is no chance of lions being allowed in a resort. I know it's a movie, but that stupidity had no reason to exist.

I don't think the writers ever spoke to an actual police officer or detective before writing the scenes involving police work.

Not too good, but harmless fun.

Not fast nor furious, but who cares?

[guswhovian · 6/10 · 15 May 2020]

Booksellers Joel (Franchot Tone) and Garda (Ann Sothern) take a vacation to Seaside City, but get involved in a murder when the promoter of a beauty pageant is found killed.

I watched this just because I like Franchot Tone, and was pleasantly surprised. Ann Sothern was much less annoying then she was in Lady Be Good. The mystery is neat, and there's a excellent scene where our heroes are almost crushed by the stage lift. It's definitely an offbeat film for director Busby Berkeley.

Good fun. First time viewing. 3/5