Miracles for Sale (1939)

Beautiful, moving film.

A different way of telling a story

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

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Just the whole set-up alone seems ridiculously unbelievable, even if it is set up to be light-hearted entertainment in "The Thin Man" mold of complex situations. The world of mind reading and prophecy dominates the background of murder, set up by the light-hearted banter of mind reader Robert Young, paired with the beautiful Florence Rice, an almost forgotten leading lady of MGM's golden age, overshadowed by Garbo, Shearer, Crawford, MacDonald and Loy, seemingly second string among those legends. She possesses light charm and a witty demeanor, yet lacks in the glamorous mystery of MGM's more famous leading ladies. By now one of MGM's longest leading men, Young benefited from the ability to provide both comedy and drama in his teamings with practically every available leading lady at the studio where the make stars were practically all interchangeable.In support, a huge cast of character actors add amusement in contrast with the outlandish plot. Of them, Frank Craven (very funny as Young's acerbic father, Gloria Holden as an obviously phony psychic (reunited with director Tod Browning from "Dracula's Daughter"), and Henry Hull as one of the more obvious suspects. Rather rushed together as part of MGM's B unit, this has the typical MGM gloss but too many convoluted moments to really be a success. At least in the twists and turns of "The Thin Man" movies, the humor and droll observations of Nick and Nora mixed well with the elements of surprise. The only surprise that exists here is that the script wasn't sent back for necessary improvements.

The first time I ever saw Florence Rice, that I know of, was in Four Girls in White. I fell in love with her immediately! Don't let one of the other reviews fool you, Florence was a talented hard working actress with a natural appeal, the girl next door type. She also had a comedy streak in her. She and Robert Young create some real "magic" in Miracles for Sale. (pun intended)Tod Browning brings his directorial good sense to the proceedings. Miracles for Sale is a delightful slice of a bygone era.Sometimes being born privileged is a drawback. Was Florence the victim of petty Hollywood jealousies keeping her from being the huge star that she showed promise of being? Forty seven movies in ten years, OK they weren't all epics but she worked with some pretty heavy hitters. Perhaps in this day of DVD/VHS and our fascination with nostalgia, Florence Rice can be re-born into the STAR she should have been.

Tod Browning's final feature length film is a dandy. It seems someone is killing off New York City's prestidigitators, and one of them, Mike Morgan (Robert Young) wants to know why; plus he may be the next victim. As Red Buttons used to say, "Strange things are happening." Murder victims disappear; murder victims reappear as apparitions. Never fear. Police Inspector Marty Gavigan (Cliff Clark) is hot on the case with his at times able assistant Detective Quinn (William Demarest).A mysterious blond, Judy Barclay (Florence Rice), dashes from a taxi cab seeking sanctuary in Mike Morgan's abode of tricks and treats. Who is after her? Why is she interested in Mike Morgan? What is her relationship to the other magicians of New York City? The plot thickens as one by one some of the questions are answered, but not all until the very end. Mike Morgan is a topnotch magician who doesn't believe in the hocus-pocus of fake mediums out to scam innocent citizens. Yet so much is cloudy and mysterious he and the Inspector contact spiritualist Madame Rapport (Gloria Holden). Even though rapport with her is lacking, they hope to flush out the killer and uncover the motive behind the crimes.With Tod Browning's circus background, the magic tricks and other special effects sequences are given an authentic presentation. Given the technological limitations of the day, some of the feats of magic shown are amazing. Another positive note, all the ethereal occurrences are explained through reasoning by Mike Morgan.Robert Young shines in the lead role. Later, he became typecast twice. First as the perfect father, Jim Anderson, in "Father Knows Best" and then as everybody's perfect family doctor, "Marcus Welby, M.D." Many of the present generation don't realize that he had a long, successful screen career previous to his TV roles. He made many good movies, in particular the noir thrillers "They Won't Believe Me," and "The Second Woman." Florence Rice too turns in a fine performance. She failed to survive the 1930's because critics claimed she was in films as a result of her father's (Grantland Rice) influence. That's a pity since she showed so much promise.For some reason, mystery movies of the 1930's required a dumb detective, most of whom acted so stupid that they became annoying rather than funny. This time around the supposed nitwit turns out to be the great character actor William Demarest. As always, he really can deliver the laughs.The prestidigitator Tauro is played by Harold Minjir who usually overacts in his many supporting film appearances. This time, maybe because Tod Browning keeps him in check, he turns in an effective performance.And, oh, yes, look for Charles Lane the indefatigable as the Fleetwood Apartments desk clerk, still alive at 101 and still available for work.

I am no scholar of Tod Browning. Therefore, it's not clear to me why his career seems to have ended so early and with this movie. It's a mystery, with a bit of comedy and quite a bit of romance. Robert Young is excellent in the lead role, and he is not an actor I ever liked much. The supporting cast is superb. The spooky looking Gloria Holden is especially effective, though listed way down in the credits.This man directed Dracula, a very famous movie, and Freaks, a unique and endlessly fascinating movie. Why did his career end within the same decade as those two? This is, despite its name leads, a programmer. The late 1930s and the 1940s were filled with hybrids like this. Not much of a swan song, I'd say.