I was so taken with the chemistry between Powell and Arthur that I barely followed the plot, which was OK but had some holes. Horse-racing jockey dies, mystery ensues, involving gangs and money. The murder instrument and method were not very realistic, reminiscent of the James Bond scene with the tarantula. Sorry, but I'd guess movie audiences even back then were too sophisticated to fall for that.
So, I was mainly just queuing up for their scenes together, which was most of them. Their dialog was so witty and sharp, her endearing and wily attempts to show her affection and recapture his love were so real, and his feeble attempts to off her advances when it was obvious he loved her back, made it that much more enjoyable. There was real affection afoot between those two, and the movie cameras that separated them from us could not hope to hide it.
I rate their chemistry much higher than that between Powell and Loy in The Thin Man series. It really sparkled. The rest of the movie could have been the corniest thing going (and at times, it was), but it wouldn't have mattered. And because of these two, this movie had me not wanting to miss a minute.
Altogether, Powell and Arthur had 5 collaborations, two in 1929, two in 1930, and this one in 1936. We were robbed in that this medium was not seized upon and repeated. It's a shame we couldn't be treated to more of these.
So, I was mainly just queuing up for their scenes together, which was most of them. Their dialog was so witty and sharp, her endearing and wily attempts to show her affection and recapture his love were so real, and his feeble attempts to off her advances when it was obvious he loved her back, made it that much more enjoyable. There was real affection afoot between those two, and the movie cameras that separated them from us could not hope to hide it.
I rate their chemistry much higher than that between Powell and Loy in The Thin Man series. It really sparkled. The rest of the movie could have been the corniest thing going (and at times, it was), but it wouldn't have mattered. And because of these two, this movie had me not wanting to miss a minute.
Altogether, Powell and Arthur had 5 collaborations, two in 1929, two in 1930, and this one in 1936. We were robbed in that this medium was not seized upon and repeated. It's a shame we couldn't be treated to more of these.