Judging by the small handful of comments posted by other reviewers for this film, I guess I wasn't supposed to like it as much as I did. I'm not even a Spencer Tracy fan, so I'll have to credit Myrna Loy for doing her part in keeping my interest going. For a film out of the mid-Thirties, I thought the story writing was a lot more intricate than expected, with enough clever twists to keep one guessing. My favorite was when Palmer (Loy) tried to ditch Ackerman (Tracy) at the hotel, and the detective turns the tables by apologizing for trying to ditch her! That kind of quick thinking on his feet got my notice throughout the picture, just like that improvised scenario at the Dabson house when Ackerman invents the marriage story to confound the rival hoods holding Dexter.
I didn't want to go for the whole romantic angle thing between Ackerman and Palmer, but there again, you have to blame Myrna Loy for the chemistry. It took the whole picture to get there, and even if a little contrived, it has a way of working to close out the picture. You know, I think I just decided that Loy is my second favorite actress of the era. My top honors go to Ann Sheridan on that score, but with a few more Loy films under my belt, I'll be glad to reconsider.
Now Dexter (Harvey Stephens), there was a real heel. He spilled to Doc Evans (William Harrigan) and Steve Arnold (Robert Gleckler) about the pearls right out of the gate. If he was half as creative as Spencer Tracy the story might have kept right on going.
Anyway, I had a reasonably good time with this little flick, and can offer a modest recommendation. Yes, both Tracy and Loy did better work in better films, but this one has enough interesting stuff going on to keep it moving. If you pay close enough attention, you can even have some fun with period details, like that little scene at the Dabson's, when the farmer knows who's calling on the phone because it was their ring!
I didn't want to go for the whole romantic angle thing between Ackerman and Palmer, but there again, you have to blame Myrna Loy for the chemistry. It took the whole picture to get there, and even if a little contrived, it has a way of working to close out the picture. You know, I think I just decided that Loy is my second favorite actress of the era. My top honors go to Ann Sheridan on that score, but with a few more Loy films under my belt, I'll be glad to reconsider.
Now Dexter (Harvey Stephens), there was a real heel. He spilled to Doc Evans (William Harrigan) and Steve Arnold (Robert Gleckler) about the pearls right out of the gate. If he was half as creative as Spencer Tracy the story might have kept right on going.
Anyway, I had a reasonably good time with this little flick, and can offer a modest recommendation. Yes, both Tracy and Loy did better work in better films, but this one has enough interesting stuff going on to keep it moving. If you pay close enough attention, you can even have some fun with period details, like that little scene at the Dabson's, when the farmer knows who's calling on the phone because it was their ring!