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.
Review of Fast and Furious
Fast and Furious
(1939)
Number three in the series -- and third best is right!
30 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers