Lady in Scarlet

Rating:
Summary: The only thing missing is Asta
Review: THE LADY IN SCARLET stars Reginald Denny as playboy slash private eye Oliver Keith and Patricia Farr as girl Friday slash Saturday night fallback Ella Carey. The dvd jacket blurb coyly calls this a "thriller reminiscent of THE THIN MAN." They're being much too modest. For all the filching the makers of this movie did they might have well called it The Purloined Leitmotif. It's probably a coincidence that Barbara Stanwyck's THE WOMAN IN RED was released shortly before THE LADY IN SCARLET. It would be terrible if audiences got the two confused. Well, as the old saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery -- but just try telling that to a copyright lawyer.
Still, you have to hand it to them. The film makers were able to write what would have been a decent first draft for a real Thin Man movie, find credible stand-ins for William Powell and Myrna Loy, and deliver it to theaters in less than a year.
Old man Albert Sayres and young and beautiful trophy wife Julia are a bit on the outs. Antiques dealer Sayres is jealous of any man who looks at his bride, and goes as far as hiring a private eye to tail her and catch her in a comprising situation. Sayres is murdered before Denny's Keith has had a chance to down his third cocktail. Being an old friend of Julia Sayres, he is soon in the middle of the investigation. What follows is an effective little plot involving a disputed will, a clutch of believable suspects and some delightfully unexpected light comedic moments.
To its advantage, THE LADY IN SCARLET also appropriated THE THIN MAN'S relaxed, wise-cracking ambiance. Oliver's and Ella's repartee may lack the charm and sparkle of Nick and Nora's banterings, but that's probably the fault of an inferior script and a rushed production schedule. It's a pleasure to see one of these old Poverty Row products and not feel like the actors are auditioning for the part of cigar store indians.
If you're a fan of the Thin Man series and are in the mood of a variation on the theme, THE LADY IN SCARLET is your ticket.

Rating:
Summary: The only thing missing is Asta
Review: THE LADY IN SCARLET stars Reginald Denny as playboy slash private eye Oliver Keith and Patricia Farr as girl Friday slash Saturday night fallback Ella Carey. The dvd jacket blurb coyly calls this a "thriller reminiscent of THE THIN MAN." They're being much too modest. For all the filching the makers of this movie did they might have well called it The Purloined Leitmotif. It's probably a coincidence that Barbara Stanwyck's THE WOMAN IN RED was released shortly before THE LADY IN SCARLET. It would be terrible if audiences got the two confused. Well, as the old saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery -- but just try telling that to a copyright lawyer.
Still, you have to hand it to them. The film makers were able to write what would have been a decent first draft for a real Thin Man movie, find credible stand-ins for William Powell and Myrna Loy, and deliver it to theaters in less than a year.
Old man Albert Sayres and young and beautiful trophy wife Julia are a bit on the outs. Antiques dealer Sayres is jealous of any man who looks at his bride, and goes as far as hiring a private eye to tail her and catch her in a comprising situation. Sayres is murdered before Denny's Keith has had a chance to down his third cocktail. Being an old friend of Julia Sayres, he is soon in the middle of the investigation. What follows is an effective little plot involving a disputed will, a clutch of believable suspects and some delightfully unexpected light comedic moments.
To its advantage, THE LADY IN SCARLET also appropriated THE THIN MAN'S relaxed, wise-cracking ambiance. Oliver's and Ella's repartee may lack the charm and sparkle of Nick and Nora's banterings, but that's probably the fault of an inferior script and a rushed production schedule. It's a pleasure to see one of these old Poverty Row products and not feel like the actors are auditioning for the part of cigar store indians.
If you're a fan of the Thin Man series and are in the mood of a variation on the theme, THE LADY IN SCARLET is your ticket.