Displaying items by tag: Earle C Kenton

GRAND EXIT

US, 1935, 68 minutes, Black-and-white.

Edmund Lowe, Anne Sothern, Onslow Stevens.

Directed by Earle C.Kenton.

A star vehicle for Edmund Lowe, very popular in the 20s, 30s and 40s. He often plays a smart gentleman type – and that is the case here, New York City, the desperate situation with the arson attacks on quite a number of prominent buildings, factories. And the target is the insurance company.

Lowe is Fletcher, dapper suit and tie, hat, aristocratic manner, self-confident, previously dismissed by the insurance company but, at the meeting, desperate to have him back. He is assisted by his friend played by Onslow Stevens. And, at the various scenes of arson, a young woman, Adrienne, played by  Anne Sothern.

In such a short film, it often seems that Fletcher is not doing any particular work at all – but, the screenplay gives him all kinds of insights, picking up clues, working out how the fires started, some quite ingeniously, but then falling in love with the young woman who eventually comes under suspicion, as does his good friend who is also falling for the young woman.

Quite some complications at the end, the young woman being arrested and sent to a mental institution, Fletcher putting on an act to get himself interned – with the knowledge that there is a paint shop in the prison a good centre for an arson attempt. And, this happens, the revelation being that the victim of the insurance company had not committed suicide, was alive, setting the fires in revenge.

Typical of the brief supporting thrillers and mysteries of the mid 1930s.

GUILTY AS HELL

UK, 1932, 79 minutes, Black-and-white.

Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, Richard Arlen, Adrienne Ames, Henry Stephenson, Ralph Ince, Elizabeth Patterson.

Directed by Earl C.Kenton.

The film opens with a murder, the murderer clearly seen, setting up a framing situation, covering all his tracks, including timing, witnesses, and the turning on of the radio. For film buffs, having seen British actor, very dignified, Henry Stephenson in so many films, it is quite a shock to see him as the murderer, a respectable surgeon, vengeance on his wife who is having an affair.

We are also introduced to the main detective, played in his usual bluff, humorous style by Victor McLaglen, three years later to win an Oscar for The Informer. And, he is matched by the cheeky, lackadaisical journalist, played by Edmund Lowe. While there is a serious investigation, even leading up to a potential execution, there is a lot of banter and repartee between these two characters, especially where women are concerned as well as professional jealousies and comparisons.

The accused man is played by popular heartthrob of the time, Richard Arlen. There are other popular supporting actors of the time, especially Elizabeth Patterson as the neighbour.

The accused man discovers the lover’s body, leaves his fingerprints on the door, a piece of evidence from his watch in the woman’s hand. Investigations lead to a nightclub, the witness of the manager of the club and his wife, the involvement of the accused man’s sister who tries to cover for him but, the audience has seen that, by accident, the journalist had given a taxi to her and her brother was not with her.

Trial, sentence, imprisonment, the night of execution, the evidence against the accused, the journalist, for the sake of the sister, trying to find evidence, phone calls to the governor, the disappearance of the owner of the club, his being shot and wounded by the detective, his wife calling in the doctor who then kills the witness saying that his wound was too severe.

Ultimately, the unmasking, the habit of the surgeon to chew gum, his doing so in the detective’s office – but it was poisoned. Suicide. Mystery solved. Execution stopped. The journalist’s discovery that the sister was actually engaged. So, jovial banter again and rivalry between the journalist and the detective. (Lowe and McLaglen had appeared in similar buddy vein in the 1926 What Price Glory!.)