The Solitaire Man (1933)

Too much of everything

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I normally wouldn't bother saying bad things about a 1933 movie, heck talkies were just getting started. But despite what other reviewers are saying, this movie is really bad. Even Herbert Marshall, an impeccable actor, can't save this thing. Elizabeth Allen is also terrible, but she went on to do better stuff.First, it's based on a stage play... and it shows. Lots of standing around talking. Lots and lots. Then it has some of those 30's themes where the woman loves one man, who won't tell her he loves her too, while stringing along some other poor fellow. All three in evening dress and talking, talking, talking.When Lionel Atwill shows up and they all board the plane it gets even worse. The plot is crazy with people posing as Scotland yard inspectors one minute, and as a crook the next.The only interesting thing about this movie are the airport scenes and the giant biplane these folks board to cross the channel. Super wide-bodied if you believe the set, with parachutes for every passenger and windows and doors you can open in flight. In fact about three times the passengers open the door and peer out for long seconds after someone has jumped out (or they think he has). This is at night, in the clouds, over the channel, so I don't think there would be much to see.Other than the plane itself, there's just nothing interesting here.

THE SOLITAIRE MAN is a superb example of how MGM was head and shoulders above the other studios during this era - quite obviously a "B" movie, barely running an hour, it nevertheless boasts superior actors (several of them major film names) and an elegant polish that most other studios wouldn't have bothered with for a programmer.Herbert Marshall stars as the leader of a small "family" of con artists, when a faux son steals a priceless necklace Marshall attempts to return it, knowing the protégé would be the obvious suspect when it is noticed missing. While he is in the home attempting to put the jewels back in the safe, another burglar breaks into the home and was spotted by a patrolling policeman. The second burglar kills the inspector which Marshall witnesses but can't see the murderer. Later as he attempts to flee the country with his accomplishes on a small plane, secrets and double-crosses are revealed during the long flight.This comic crime-mystery is mainly worthwhile for the sole chance to see two of the 1930's greatest character actresses, Mary Boland and May Robson, together in the same film. These ladies, with Edna May Oliver, were the queen bees of character players of the era along with superstar Marie Dressler. Miss Boland is second-billed but doesn't show up until the film is almost half over, she quickly earns her star billing with a delicious turn as a brassy rich American who finds herself in unusual circumstances. Miss Boland is hilarious as always but here voicing her role in a boorish unsophisticated loud drawl rather than her normal dizzy musical tones. It's a superb characterization and she is matched by that wonderful septuagenarian May Robson as a presumably cultured society woman who is pretty blunt and earthy herself.Jack Conway, one of MGM's major directors, does a fine job here with this limited material and when the second half-hour is almost completely set inside a small airplane passengers area it's scarcely noticed given the fine direction and acting. The entire cast is quite good and it's intriguing to see Marshall, Miss Robson, and Elizabeth Allen - all British or Australian - not cast as Americans as they usually were in Hollywood films. This little film is fairly predictable in it's denouement but with a fine cast, sharp direction, and some good wisecracks, it's well worth your time.

This is one of those little MGM quickies that is unfairly overlooked by both film fans and historians. Without giving anything away, the plot involves a jewel theft and murder, with the suspects aboard a plane flying from France to England. There are several plot twists before and after the plane lands. It may not be hard to guess who the villain really is, but the film maintains a good level of suspense and is well acted. It's not without a major goof, at one point in the film Lionel Atwill calls Herbert Marshall "Wallace", the name of Atwill's character. How MGM let that get by is a mystery. This film is a good example of what could be done on a limited budget.

Just what I wanted to see: a stage play masquerading as a movie. It's one of those few times in which you forget the entire content of the film just minutes after watching. Most of us get into movies to be visually and emotionally stimulated, but this MGM cheapie fails on both fronts, at times even daring the viewer to stay awake with its endless dialogue and overblown theatrics. A caper plot about a stolen necklace on an airplane could and should have been better than the nonsensical soap opera mechanics on display here. The old hags were not only rude and insulting, but they practically beg the viewer for a well placed slap across the mouth. Given the technical limitations of 1933, the plane set where most of the film takes place looks like a kindergarten stage with a few random chairs spread around for good measure. Thankfully, this wretched excrement of old cinema remains unreleased on video; those that get TCM may have to suffer a terrible ordeal, though.