Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939) User Reviews (24)

One of the first features made by Jacques Tourneur in U.S.

[IlyaMauter · 6/10 · 13 May 2003]

Nick Carter, Master Detective was the first of the two movies about a very popular fiction detective Nick Carter, which were directed by Jacques Tourneur for MGM, the other one being 1940 Phantom Raiders.

Nick Carter was created in 1886 and since the times of silent cinema had several times been chosen as a protagonist of various films made in France and United States prior to this 1939 Jacques Tourneur version. This time Nick Carter is played by Walter Pigeon in his first starring role. He is chosen to conduct an investigation in the case of industrial espionage on one of the American factories that manufactures warplanes. The film quite memorable especially because of the very remarkable plane chase sequence at the end and because of the comic relief given by Bartholomew, the Bee-man, wonderfully played by Donald Meek, a Nick Carter's partner in investigation who always appears when less expected to give help or to free a number of bees.

Overall Nick Carter, Master Detective is a quite pleasant 1930s B detective film, with its memorable moments, worth to take a look at. 6/10

nice pedigree

[blanche-2 · 5/10 · 2 June 2005]

This B movie was directed by Jacques Tourneur, who went on to direct one of my favorite films, Cat People. It also has handsome Walter Pidgeon in an early starring role. This is a 1939 film about sabotage at an aircraft plant that Carter is called in to investigate. There are many airplane sequences, lots of fog, and everyone looks suspicious. Donald Meek is on hand as loony Bartholemew, the bee man, providing the comedy.

It's fun to see people who, 15-20 years later, would be TV names: Frank Faylen of "Dobie Gillis," Milburn Stone of "Gunsmoke," Sterling Holloway, he of the unusual voice, of just about every TV show, who was also the voice of Winnie the Pooh. Henry Hull, who plays the old man in this and sported white hair, was 49 when this film was made. I took the trouble to look it up because in the 60s he was at least 150 years old. No, just in his 70s, one of those people who played old man all his life, I guess.

This is a fun movie, with its old-fashioned and poorly done process shots, a very handsome Pidgeon, and some character actors from my youth.

A great B detective movie

[krorie · 7/10 · 6 June 2005]

I totally disagree with the IMDb reviewer who panned this film. Walter Pigeon is just right as the master detective, Nick Carter. He made two more superior Nick Carter B films after this one, but then was on his way to becoming a big Hollywood star. The producers decided to can the series rather than find a suitable replacement. And the Bee man is one of the great movie characters. Donald Meek was a wonderful character actor who could play many roles and this is one of his best. He is a good comic foil for the great detective. The masterful Jacques Tourneur directs with a knowing eye. He knows exactly how to give the audience chills, excitement and mystery in an hour time slot. It was a stroke of genius for the writers to put the bee man in the Nick Carter movies. He is one of the reasons I like to watch the Nick Carter movies more than once.

Pre-War...but gearing up for...War

[LeonLouisRicci · 6/10 · 16 November 2012]

A rather good looking B-Movie that has that MGM sheen. One of the earliest Pulp Detectives, Nick Carter on screen turned out to be a rather ho-hum, if pleasant presence, although the surroundings in this film, especially the visuals, are quite impressive.

It is an interesting pre-war (but gearing up for war) entry that is heavy on parading the growing aircraft industry and "new" weapon mythological propaganda. Although Hitler was on the move at this time, America's entry in the WWII was still two years away. But, you would never know it from this movie. The villains have German accents and names like Otto.

There is some creative editing and some fine aerial work. Also, a bizarre scene of Carter using a tommy-gun while zipping around in an open cockpit that looks straight out of a Pulp Magazine cover.

Overall it is a thrilling one hour ride that is either aided or distracted (depending on your taste) by some silly Bee-Movie comedy relief.

Slick spy adventure with light touch

[csteidler · 7/10 · 11 October 2013]

Walter Pidgeon is breezy, clever and tough as master detective Nick Carter in this spies-in-the-airplane-factory adventure that contains plenty of laughs and a couple of good action scenes.

An exciting opening sequence features a pilot setting down his plane in the middle of the desert, snatching up some valuable plans, and dashing off on foot to meet his waiting cohorts. Passenger Nick Carter—on the plane incognito—races after him, rescues the plans and jumps back on the ship as the flight nurse starts up the plane and flies it away to safety. It's all pretty far-fetched but it's well staged and the actors give it plenty of zip.

Rita Johnson is fine as flight attendant, nurse, sometime pilot and possible spy named Lou. Unfortunately, her character isn't given quite enough to do after the daring plane ride, but she and Pidgeon are good together, their characters initially suspicious but eventually rather fond of each other.

Donald Meek is bizarre but irrepressible as an amateur detective who calls himself "Bartholomew the B Man." He keeps bees in his hat and follows Carter around offering theories and advice. The two exchange standard but likable enough B movie dialog: "What made you say murder?" "Because it looks like suicide."

A decent plot moves along briskly—bad guys are smuggling out top secret airplane plans—but it's really the stars who hold our interest. Walter Pidgeon is actually a lot of fun: "If I'm wrong, I'll apologize," he smirks whenever proposing a new theory.

Good, fast-paced support feature with a top cast!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 11 November 2013]

With a cast list as long as your arm, there's no denying that M-G-M's high-budget, introductory "B" casebook of Nick Carter, private detective, is either a movie you love or one you will hate. The reason for this gulf between admirers and detractors is a little actor with ultra-fussy mannerisms (topped by a penetrating voice) named Donald Meek. In fact, Meek was so popular with moviegoers that his Bee Man became a continuing character in both the sequel, Phantom Raiders and the third and final entry, Sky Murder. All three of course starred Walter Pidgeon as New York detective, Nick Carter. In this first entry, Nick is engaged to ferret out spies at an airplane factory – and highly ingenious are the methods in which spies manage to steal plans and specifications. But in addition to the spies and the Bee Man, the movie also manages to cram in a lovely if slightly suspicious heroine played here by the ultra-beautiful Rita Johnson. The support cast is full of familiar faces including Addison Richards, Henry Hull, Martin Kosleck, Frank Faylen and Sterling Holloway. And the director was none other than Jacques Tourneur, here making his second feature after graduating from M-G-M's shorts department (to which he returned briefly in 1942 and 1944). His best film, in my opinion, was Stars in My Crown (1950) – though most people would select Cat People (1942) or I Walked with a Zombie (1943) or Out of the Past (1947). He was most surprised – and pleased – when I told him that Stars in My Crown was my favorite. It turned out that Stars was his favorite too. "And it was a movie the studio had no faith in!" he told me. And yet that's what Stars was all about! Faith!

Entertaining programmer is fast moving detective yarn...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 12 November 2012]

Walter Pidgeon is cast as detective Nick Carter, whose mission is to find out who is behind plans to steal blueprints for the enemy in this pre-WWII yarn. Rita Johnson is teamed nicely as leading lady. Her presence is so welcome that it's a wonder she never had a bigger career on screen.

With a supporting cast that includes Frank Faylen, Henry Hull, Donald Meek and Stanley Ridges, it's a neat programmer that crams a lot of plot into a one hour time slot. The only sore spot is Donald Meek in his bumbling role as a bee-keeper who aids Carter. Usually a very reliable character actor, this time his role is so unlikeable, unlikely and annoying that it's more of a distraction than a help. Whatever humor is supposed to be gathered by his involvement in the plot, never quite makes its mark.

But in its brief running time, this one passes the time pleasantly enough with the handsome Pidgeon marking his time at MGM before he became a big star.

Good thing Walter Pidgeon escaped when he did

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 3 June 2005]

MGM in buying the rights to the Nick Carter stories and then making three films with the character just shows the twist of fate in some people's careers.

Walter Pidgeon was one of their second magnitude stars at that time. B picture leads and occasionally in an A film where he always lost the girl.

Louis B. Mayer must have thought a whole slew of these would have been made for Pidgeon and he would have become identified as Nick Carter on screen. But he managed to get some decent films, two back to back Best Pictures, How Green Was My Valley and Mrs. Miniver and a lifetime partnership with Greer Garson. He escaped movie oblivion then.

It's a competently executed film, but I have to agree with previous reviewers. Donald Meek as the bee man looked like he just took his zany character from You Can't Take It With You and it just didn't fit in this fast paced detective story. The film itself is barely an hour. Meek distracts from the plot. Too bad because Donald Meek is usually a fine performer.

I much prefer Walter Pidgeon as the Reverend Mr. Gruffydd or Clem Miniver or even Dr. Morbius. Good thing he escaped Nick Carter.

NICK CARTER, MASTER DETECTIVE (Jacques Tourneur, 1939) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 10 February 2011]

Tourneur's first feature was basically a B-movie, albeit made for slick-but-superficial MGM; at a mere 60 minutes, it is eminently watchable and, given the film's modest reputation, it proves surprisingly enjoyable. Watched after the same director's CIRCLE OF DANGER (1951) and the somewhat similar ROUGH SHOOT (1953), this provides yet another connection to Fritz Lang's MAN HUNT (1941) in leading man Walter Pidgeon.

The central figure was a popular crime-fighter in print, debuting in 1886 and reportedly involved in over a 1,000 cases before transferring to a 12-year stint on the radio between 1943-55. However, only 3 films were ever made and, bafflingly, they all turned out to be based on original scripts (since such characters' exploits were, in any case, being updated to the prevalent wartime aura – for instance, the contemporaneous Sherlock Holmes series); incidentally, I just found out that the second one, PHANTOM RAIDERS (1940), was also directed by Tourneur! Anyway, the narrative here involves secret aviation plans being leaked to the enemy that climaxes in a far-fetched chase sequence involving a plane and a speeding boat.

Apart from leading lady Rita Johnson, the rather-too-jovial star is ably supported here by the likes of Henry Hull (already playing eccentric old types!), Stanley Ridges (type-cast as a villain), Martin Kosleck (ditto) and Donald Meek. The latter's hilarious characterization, of an improbably zany private eye, seems to have dropped in from another movie altogether: keeping bees as a hobby but constantly getting into the hero's hair, he even ends up deposited in the trash-can!

Nick Carter on radio

[frontrowkid2002 · 13 April 2008]

The radio version of Nick Carter Master Detective was part of the Sunday afternoon line-up of shows on old time radio. Lon Clark, as Nick, was not the hard boiled private detective that radio audiences were used to hearing. With the help of his assistant-secretary-girlfriend Patsy, he solved the cases much like Sherlock Holmes, relying more on deductive reasons than physical action. The program's long time sponsor was Old Dutch Cleanser. Airing in the early afternoon, it wet the appetites of mystery lovers who were waiting to hear the adventures of Sam Spade, the Shadow, Official Detective or Martin Kane, Private Eye, which preceded Nick Carter on another network.

Walter Pidgeon as 'The Thin Man'

[HotToastyRag · 4/10 · 25 June 2020]

Were you not a fan of William Powell in the Thin Man series? If you thought Nick Charles should have been played by someone else, check out Walter Pidgeon in Nick Carter, Master Detective. He could have easily teamed up with Myrna Loy and solved mysteries, and it's no coincidence that this movie was released shortly after the first The Thin Man.

Pidge is called in on a case about secret airplane blueprints getting smuggled out of a factory. Who's the sneak, and how are they getting the information out when the security is so tight? Rita Johnson is an on-site nurse, whom Pidge both suspects and flirts with. Henry Hull, made up to be a decrepit old fogie, costars as the inventor of the airplane. He's very protective over his material, but not even he is removed from suspicion. Donald Meek is an amateur sleuth who wants nothing more than to become Pidge's sidekick. He tags along even when he's not wanted, and it's pretty funny.

This isn't really a great movie; it's only for die-hard Walter Pidgeon fans. You might not find many other movies where he gets to run around chasing bad guys, flying an airplane, and even pulling out a Tommy gun when he gets tired of using his fists. If that sounds like fun, check out this very obscure flick. If you'd rather pass, you won't be missing out on a big classic.

Good movie, with the leads trying their best to be the Nick/Nora of spy capers

[Bodhy72-2 · 9/10 · 21 July 2005]

Very Entertaining-----Walter Pigeon was charming as the lead and Rita Johnson was excellent as his leading lady. The plot is a bit sophomoric, but the leads make this an A film. Although some of the humor is lost with the beeman, the movie is rather fast paced, albeit short-length with a rather abrupt ending. The special effects are rather good for that time, and the line, " If I am wrong, I will apologize" serves as a great tagline for Pigeon's Carter. Ultimately you watch a film like this for the chemistry of its two main stars, and this film delivers. Walter Pigeon and Rita Johnson are no William Powell and Myrna Loy, but they are perfectly matched for each other and cover some of the plot holes amicably. This is a great movie to see on AMC or TNT one late night.

Excellent production values and cast, but still rather humdrum

[Paularoc · 6/10 · 28 June 2013]

Based on the popular Nick Carter pulp stories, this detective B movie should have been a real winner with Walter Pidgeon as Carter and a host of excellent character actors. But instead it's only average. The movie takes place a couple of years before America entered WWII and involves a plot to steal blueprints for a new aircraft design by foreign spies from an unnamed country (duh, maybe Germany?). There is an attempt to bring humor to the film with the role of Mr. Bartholomew, the master beekeeper played by Donald Meek. While the character is occasionally amusing, he is just as often irritating. What was nice was the Rita Johnson role of the stewardess/nurse who actually helps Carter in his investigation. While this is good enough that it makes one want to see the other two entries in the Nick Carter series, it is not in the top tier of B detective movie series entries.

Stuffy detective movie.

[wkozak221 · 3/10 · 11 September 2020]

I like Walter Pidgeon to a certain extent. Fairly good film. The mystery, story and cast are decent. The action moves along nicely. However, what really bugs is some of the dialogue. In one section Carter disrespects a slew of fictional detectives. Snob! Ironically I met 2 main cast members of the radio show at a convention. They acted the same way. They really didn't mingle with fans. Snobs!

Tourner Master Chronographer

[edgeplayer · 7/10 · 18 November 2014]

This film comes much earlier than Out of the Past but both show keen detailing for their times' social, political and gender realities. Excellent depiction and good camera-work of industrial security and espionage of the day. After the opening action sequences, during which Walter Pigeon's Nick Carter establishes himself with the audience, we're treated to a series of well executed short scenes of 1939 high-tech. Technology shown as integral to the future/the coming war. Transitional image of women--on the one hand Rita Johnson's character flies an airplane in an emergency and we see the looks of pleasure on her face as she experiences her own competency. But when she lands the plane, "of course," she's overwhelmed and faints (we don't see this, we're just told). A few years before Rosie the Riveter.

A B film--these films were the television of the day--but just like T.V. today, up to 20% of them were well worth watching. And not always because of their plots, paranoid fantasies full of plot holes that they are. Some are actually interesting cultural windows onto the recent past. This is one.

If I'm wrong I'll apologize

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 16 November 2012]

***SPOILERS*** First and best of the trio of Nick Carter Detective movies directed by film noir pioneer Jacques Tourneur of "Cat People" & "Leopard Man" fame. With the handsome NY detective Walter Pidgeon as the witty and hard hitting Nick Carter in the leading role. Sent undercover to the Radex Airplane Plant Nick as aeronautical engineer Robert Chambers is hired to find out who's sneaking out blueprints of the company's most secretive aircraft that will revolutionize the airplane industry: It can actually fly!

As Nick soon finds out there's a major spy ring in operation, from the usual unnamed country, at the plant that's paying off a number of the workers there to do it's bidding by sneaking out important blue prints of this new aircraft that the nutty inventor John A. Keller,Henry Hull, has come up with. A plane that can fly circles around anything,in airplanes, that's now flying up there in the wild blue yonder. There's also pretty flight attendant and part pilot Lou Farnsby, Rita Johnson, who soon takes a shine to the handsome Nick that in the end leads to something far more serious: Being held hostage by the spies to keep Nick and the local police from apprehending them. Nick soon gets help from the Bee-Man Bartholomew, Donald Meek, who's unorthodox detective tactics, that at first Nick is totally opposed to, that in the end breaks the mysterious spy case wide open.

***SPOILERS***This all leads to a spectacular car plane and boat chase by Nick and the local police and FBI agents to prevent the spies who are holding Lou hostage from escaping justice by reaching neutral Mexican waters. The highlight of the movie is the plane used in the movie that Nick, who recently got his flying incense, is in control off. By Nick not only behind the controls but at the same time using a tommy-gun to shoot it out with the fleeing spies on the high seas! Something that I think that hasn't been done before or after in films since!

If he's wrong, he'll apologize.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 29 September 2016]

Nick Carter was an extremely popular character in literature, that also spawned a successful radio series that ran about a dozen years. However, the so-called master detective never had much of a film career in the U.S., as only three Nick Carter movies ever got made (and they were based on original stories). Produced by MGM, they were definitely B movies, but were enjoyable enough.

This is the first in the series, with Canadian born Walter Pidgeon cast as the dapper and intelligent sleuth. Here he is called into service when industrial espionage becomes a major problem at the Radex Aircraft Company; he poses as an executive with the organization. He finds no shortage of dubious individuals, and takes the time to fall in love with lovely and appealing nurse / stewardess Lou Farnsby (Rita Johnson).

An early American credit for the celebrated Jacques Tourneur ("Cat People", "Out of the Past"), this has some well executed action sequences, and impressive aerial photography. It also goes a little too heavy on the comedy relief, with Donald Meek stealing the show as Bartholomew, a bee keeper who aggressively tries to sell Carter on the value of his services. While not exceptional in any way, it *is* fun, with Pidgeon making for a likable Carter. He's ably supported by a roster of top character actors such as Henry Hull, Stanley Ridges, Addison Richards, Henry Victor, Milburn Stone, Martin Kosleck, Frank Faylen, Sterling Holloway, and Wally Maher.

Followed by "Phantom Raiders" and "Sky Murder".

Six out of 10.

Band-aid approach

[dbdumonteil · 21 October 2007]

That was Jacques Tourneur' second American film after a short stint in France,where,in the wake of his father Maurice ,he produced some shorts and feature films including the funny "Toto" (1933).

It's right to say that Tourneur's career really began with classic "Cat people" ."Nick Carter" is not much more than an episode of an imaginary miniseries.It features spying,hostage-taking and a comic relief (not that much comic anyway) provided by a second sleuth.Best scenes are to be found at the beginning (the eventful flight) and at the end (the chase between a boat and a plane).The rest is never really exciting and does not predate Tourneur's great works.

This B-movie has a lot of bees!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 16 September 2020]

Despite the term 'B-movie' often being used to describe a bad or super-cheap film, this isn't exactly what a B was. During the 1930s and 40s and even into the 50s, local theaters usually had double-features where you got to see two films instead of just one. But studios weren't about to make two expensive films and lump them together on the marquee...so they began making Bs. A B-movie was usually between 55-65 minutes in length, featured second or third-rate actors and were rushed into production with second-string directors. But this wasn't exactly the truth with all of these movies. While the so-called 'Poverty Row Studios' did have minuscule budgets, major studios like MGM, Warner Brothers and RKO (among others) also made tons of Bs. Sometimes these larger studios used A-level actors and directors in these cheaper films...such as in "Nick Carter, Master Detective"...with Walter Pidgen and directed by Jacques Tourneur. It was NOT a cheapie but a reasonably well executed film not a craptastic film by a fly-by-night outfit...and it ran at 59 minutes...the perfect length for a B.

In this first of three Nick Carter films from MGM, he battles evil spies who are trying to steal plans for American military aircraft. In fact, as he's flying to meet with the head of a production company, his plane narrowly avoids falling prey to armed bandits bent on stealing blueprints of the aircraft! And soon, bodies start piling up...murdered by these unknown thugs!

It's not surprising this sort of plot was made... after all, WWII just began a few months prior to the movie being released. But like nearly all the American films of the day, the enemy in the films like this one (and there were plenty) were NEVER mentioned!! Obviously the audience thought that these enemy agents were fascists...but no mention of Germany, Italy nor Japan occurred in the films because the studio heads were mostly cowards and didn't want to hurt film sales in these countries. Plus, Congress passed an unconstitutional law which mandated the nation AND film studios would be neutral. Only Warner Brothers violated this law with "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" (also 1939).

So is this B-movie any good? Yes. In fact, it's the best of the three films in this MGM series starring Pidgeon and his sidekick, Bartholomew (Donald Meek). In fact, Meek is probably the best thing about this movie, though the plot is also quite good. Entertaining...I wish MGM had made more than just three of these films!

Detective Nick Carter goes after aviation spies

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 14 November 2020]

At just under one hour running time, "Nick Carter, Master Detective" most likely was a second film of a double-feature showing. The major studios into the 1950s would sometimes bill double feature shows when a main feature film was relatively short - something in the neighborhood of under 75 minutes. Then they would run a second short film of lesser quality or billing with it. These were shorter films of 45 to 60 minutes, often serial mysteries, Westerns or comedies.

These films sometimes had major stars of the studios. Walter Pidgeon had been around for some time but had played mostly supporting roles with different studios. Since joining MGM in 1937, he was cast in a variety of roles, some supporting with major films, and others in lead roles., Here he is in the first of a series of short mystery features, Others like this would become very popular as full-length feature films into the 1940s. They included series of Boston Blackie, Philo Vance and Thin Man mysteries.

Here, Pidgeon's Carter goes undercover at an airplane development and manufacturing plant to try to discover and capture a foreign government ring that has been stealing plans for the latest powerful aircraft. Donald Meek plays Bartholomew, a would-be super sleuth who happens to be a bee-keeper. This is a strange little insertion in the story, all played for humor. Rita Johnson plays Lou Farnsby, Stanley Ridges plays Doctor Frankton and Henry Hull is John Keller.

The cast all are okay, and the story is somewhat interesting. But, as with many other lesser films, this one suffers from a poor screenplay, probably weak directing and terrible editing. The film is very choppy with very weak continuity between scenes. The technical faults are enough to bother one watching the film, so it may not hold the attention of many viewers these days. But the cast earns it the six stars.

One brief scene in the film makes one wonder just how sharp Nick Carter really is. He's supposed to be very alert and sharp in noticing details. Yet, when he goes to phone in the hotel room after telling Bartholomew (the bee man) to leave, he doesn't notice that Bartholomew goes into the closet instead of out the door that is close to the phone. So, after he phones, Nick goes out the door and closes it exposing Bartholomew who had crept back into the room to listen in on his phone call.

some balance puzzle

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 19 September 2020]

Inventor John Keller boards a plane with designs for a revolutionary new aircraft. Detective Nick Carter joins the passengers at the last minute. There is an attempt at stealing the designs when the pilot lands at a predetermined spot with waiting gunmen. Carter manages to escape with stewardess Lou Farnsby piloting the plane.

That is one racist balance puzzle. I've never heard of Nick Carter before. He's a long running character in print. He seems like a well-dressed confident private detective but nothing really stands out about his character. This is a story of espionage which fits the real world as it plunges into war. It's breezy. There's no mystery to solve which detective stories should have. Mostly, this feels like a perfunctory thriller with a bit of action. The most impressive scene is probably seeing inside a plane factory.

Could of been Good, if the Bee-man wasn't in it or the Wacky Humor.

[yarborough · 14 July 2003]

Nick Carter- Master Detective tries way to hard to make a B film into an A film. The director uses countless tricky film techniques and camera angles to make the film a classic. The result: Failure!!! Nick Carter good of been one hell of a film without that stuff and the stupid humor that was featured in the film, especially that stupid, annoying Bee-man. He was a total joke and very irritating to watch anytime the old guy's face appeared on screen. It would probably of been better if a child tagged along instead of the annoying old geezer. If the film did without the humor and the Bee-man, the result: Entertaining!!! Nick Carter is noooo Charlie Chan and doesn't have the skill or mind like he does. He's also kind of a bore and sometimes very cardboard like. To sum it all up, at times entertaining but with the humor and old dude the film just isn't that masterful. Charlie Chan kicks Nick Carter's ass anytime, anyplace, anywhere. *1/2 out of ****.

If I'm wrong, I will apologise!

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 15 November 2023]

Blueprints of revolutionary aircraft are being leaked from the Radex plant by foreign agents and sold to the highest bidder. Working under cover, Nick Carter is soon on the trail of the industrial spies but his investigations lead to abduction and murder ...

Walter Pigeon makes a sharp yet untrusting detective as Nick Carter in this efficiently made thriller that has a busy plot, good suspense and some thrills and a zany Bartholomew who wants to be Nick's sidekick, and demonstrates his detecting and shadowing skills. He's a really entertaining character and actually more useful than just adding comic distraction. There's a rousing plane vs ship battle at the end.

OK detective movie.

[filmbaker · 12 November 2023]

I tried reading the reviews for this one to see if they had anything interesting to say, but they largely all stink. Here's how they basically go: "Nick Carter was a famous character who got a radio show and three movies in America. Pigeon plays a good Carter, Meek plays a good Bartholomew. Cool action sequences. Overall fun, 6/10." It actually pissed me off. TELL ME something about the movie instead of some base trivia that has nothing to do with the movie's quality and besides two actors.

So here we go: the plot has some interesting progression, but there's only so much detail that can go into an hour-long movie, especially since much of the movie is either about an action scene with a plane or about some beekeeper doing half of our main character's job in a humorous way. As far as the acting goes, while Pigeon certainly does a good job with the role, this Nick Carter guy is such a stereotypical crime detective that there's really no reason to watch this movie. On top of that, the only other character who gets any real development is Bartholomew, and he honestly feels smarter than our detective. On top of that, his humorous output is like a bad mix of showoffy sidekick and Gollum-knockoff.

Despite some good action scenes, there's very little character development here, which means that the movie's case rarely feels personal or human like it has in some of the best mystery movies ever, like Vertigo or The Third Man, or even modern movies like Seven. So the all-and-all is that this entire case feels like just another episode of an OK modern-day crime show like Law and Order. And while my score may stay the same as many other reviews for this movie, I hope I provided more insight.