Slightly Honorable (1939)

Boring

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Director: TAY GARNETT. Screenplay: Ken Englund. Adapted by John Hunter Lay and Robert Tallmen from the 1939 novel Send Another Coffin by Frank G. Presnell. Photography: Merritt Gerstad. Film editors: Otho Lovering, Dorothy Spencer. Music composed and directed by Werner Janssen. Song, "We've Got Love" (Terry) by George R. Browne (lyrics) and Jules Styne (music). Art directors: Alexander Golitzen and Richard Irvine. Set decorators: Julie Heron. Costumes designed by Travis Banton. Sound: Fred Lau. Producers: Tay Garnett, Walter Wanger. Copyright 26 January 1944 by Walter Wanger. Released through United Artists: 22 December 1939 (U.S.A.), 15 May 1940 (New York opening at Loew's State), 15 April 1940 (U.K.), 5 April 1940 (Australia). 85 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Goodtime girl (Claire Dodd) is murdered in her luxury pent-house. A bizarre range of fast-talking, clam-baking suspects include sugar daddy Edward Arnold, ex-husband Doug Dumbrille, good friend Pat O'Brien, jealous teenager Ruth Terry, and gangster Bernard Nedell.COMMENT: In his autobiography, Garnett states that he was most unhappy with the way this movie was edited. The quick cuts and dissolves were not part of his original plan. Personally, I like the fast pace. I don't think anyone else will complain either, especially as the sound on the otherwise 7/10 Alpha Video is somewhat muffled and you miss a third of the dialogue anyway. What we have here is a screwball mystery thriller with some very noirish overtones. Production values, as we might expect from producer Walter Wanger are excellent. I really love all the super Travis Banton costumes that vivacious Ruth Terry (in her first starring role) models throughout.

Macroscopically, this movie is surprisingly entertaining, with crackling dialogue and charming performances by O'Brien and Crawford. Under closer scrutiny, the plot really doesn't hold up, nor do a number of character's motivations, but O'Brien's effortless cool covers a multitude of sins and the THIN MAN comparisons are apt. Overall, an underrated old-fashioned big ensemble good time the way they used to craft them back in the 40s. This isn't as good as Garnett's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE and you won't gain much insight into the human condition or require a handkerchief, but you will laugh and you will be amused. One of the highlights from a 50 - pack of public domain crime dramas called "50 Dark Crimes" currently available for super cheap (how I discovered it), and like that inexpensive offering, worth far more than the price of admission.

What a surprise. This film, which showcases the under-remarked comic skills of Pat O'Brien is a genuine treat which belongs right up there with "The Front Page" (with O'Brien and James Cagney) its remake "His Girl Friday" and the best of the 'Thin Man' series. Director Tay Garnett is probably best known for directing some of the better series in the early days of television ("Bonanza", "The Untouchables" "Naked City", "Rawhide")and at least two film classics ("The Postman Always Rings Twice" , "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court"). After seeing this film one can only guess that the reason his name is not as well known as that of Sturgess or Capra or even Wilder is that he moved to television at a time when that medium was seen as a real threat to the film industry and thereby encountered some resentment. How else to explain the fact that "Slightly Honorable" is not mentioned on more 'Best' lists?O'Brien is probably more likable (and believable as a semi-romantic lead) here than in almost any of his other films. Always effective in serious dramas he reminds us of how versatile some of our greatest stars of middle period American cinema (Cagney, John Wayne, Katherine Hepburn,Clark Gable) were-switching effortlessly from drama to comedy in a way that seems to be beyond the scope of some later stars.Much the same can be said for Ruth Terry who would own this film were it not for the strength of her co-star's performances. Terry retired before she was 45 years old. By that time she was reduced to bit parts but a look at her work here will have you shaking your head in wonder at how that happened.A great performance from Broderick Crawford and standout supporting turns from Eve Arden and Claire Dodd (among others) crackerjack pacing and set design,snappy clever and first rate dialogue combine to make for a wonderful hilarious film that deserves a wide audience and a restoration treatment to enhance the sometimes muddy soundtrack and occasional glitch in the currently available print. Do NOT hesitate to rent this one.By the way, contrary to IMDb's spell checking feature "dialogue" is NOT a misspelling. Look it up.

Frank Presnell's first of three crime novels, "Send Another Coffin", is the basis for this film, completed the year following publication of the original, featuring flinty Ohio attorney John Webb (Pat O'Brien) with his wife Ann (Ruth Terry), the duo patterned somewhat upon Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles, although Webb is less suave than Nick and more eager to stir political pots. A corrupt state politician, Vincent Cushing (Edward Arnold), is the principal target for Webb's reforming urge, and when Cushing's mistress Alma (Claire Dodd), erstwhile flame of Webb, is murdered, nearly all of the major characters seem to have a motive, including Webb, who faces most of the heat from the homicide investigation although he perceives himself to be "slightly honorable" when compared with those about him. The work includes a strong comedic element along with its murder mystery and socially conscious themes. Vivacious Terry, with her patented energy and spirit, steals the film in what she states is her favourite role, a part for which she is promised by producer Walter Wanger and director Tay Garnett that the former night club singer/dancer will be spotlighted in a musical specialty number, and that she is, one that is perfectly woven into the screenplay, this while under personal contract to Howard Hughes who loans her to Wanger for this production. A cardinal pleasure inherent with film reviewing is discovery of works that have not received an amount of recognition that they deserve, and that is the case in this instance, for it is a piece that includes among its attributes sparkling dialogue, skillful acting and, especially, that mastery of narrative pace and rhythm that marks the best efforts from Garnett who here cunningly blends details for his established mise-en-scène within the script, as is his custom. Even without his foremost mannequin, Marlene Dietrich, Travis Banton's gowns are noteworthy and there is a strikingly illustrative score from Werner Janssen.