edgeplayer
This film comes much earlier than Out of the Past but both show keen detailing for their times' social, political and gender realities. Excellent depiction and good camera-work of industrial security and espionage of the day. After the opening action sequences, during which Walter Pigeon's Nick Carter establishes himself with the audience, we're treated to a series of well executed short scenes of 1939 high-tech. Technology shown as integral to the future/the coming war. Transitional image of women--on the one hand Rita Johnson's character flies an airplane in an emergency and we see the looks of pleasure on her face as she experiences her own competency. But when she lands the plane, "of course," she's overwhelmed and faints (we don't see this, we're just told). A few years before Rosie the Riveter.A B film--these films were the television of the day--but just like T.V. today, up to 20% of them were well worth watching. And not always because of their plots, paranoid fantasies full of plot holes that they are. Some are actually interesting cultural windows onto the recent past. This is one.
JohnHowardReid
With a cast list as long as your arm, there's no denying that M-G-M's high-budget, introductory "B" casebook of Nick Carter, private detective, is either a movie you love or one you will hate. The reason for this gulf between admirers and detractors is a little actor with ultra-fussy mannerisms (topped by a penetrating voice) named Donald Meek. In fact, Meek was so popular with moviegoers that his Bee Man became a continuing character in both the sequel, Phantom Raiders and the third and final entry, Sky Murder. All three of course starred Walter Pidgeon as New York detective, Nick Carter. In this first entry, Nick is engaged to ferret out spies at an airplane factory – and highly ingenious are the methods in which spies manage to steal plans and specifications. But in addition to the spies and the Bee Man, the movie also manages to cram in a lovely if slightly suspicious heroine played here by the ultra-beautiful Rita Johnson. The support cast is full of familiar faces including Addison Richards, Henry Hull, Martin Kosleck, Frank Faylen and Sterling Holloway. And the director was none other than Jacques Tourneur, here making his second feature after graduating from M-G-M's shorts department (to which he returned briefly in 1942 and 1944). His best film, in my opinion, was Stars in My Crown (1950) – though most people would select Cat People (1942) or I Walked with a Zombie (1943) or Out of the Past (1947). He was most surprised – and pleased – when I told him that Stars in My Crown was my favorite. It turned out that Stars was his favorite too. "And it was a movie the studio had no faith in!" he told me. And yet that's what Stars was all about! Faith!
MARIO GAUCI
Tourneur's first feature was basically a B-movie, albeit made for slick-but-superficial MGM; at a mere 60 minutes, it is eminently watchable and, given the film's modest reputation, it proves surprisingly enjoyable. Watched after the same director's CIRCLE OF DANGER (1951) and the somewhat similar ROUGH SHOOT (1953), this provides yet another connection to Fritz Lang's MAN HUNT (1941) in leading man Walter Pidgeon.The central figure was a popular crime-fighter in print, debuting in 1886 and reportedly involved in over a 1,000 cases before transferring to a 12-year stint on the radio between 1943-55. However, only 3 films were ever made and, bafflingly, they all turned out to be based on original scripts (since such characters' exploits were, in any case, being updated to the prevalent wartime aura – for instance, the contemporaneous Sherlock Holmes series); incidentally, I just found out that the second one, PHANTOM RAIDERS (1940), was also directed by Tourneur! Anyway, the narrative here involves secret aviation plans being leaked to the enemy that climaxes in a far-fetched chase sequence involving a plane and a speeding boat.Apart from leading lady Rita Johnson, the rather-too-jovial star is ably supported here by the likes of Henry Hull (already playing eccentric old types!), Stanley Ridges (type-cast as a villain), Martin Kosleck (ditto) and Donald Meek. The latter's hilarious characterization, of an improbably zany private eye, seems to have dropped in from another movie altogether: keeping bees as a hobby but constantly getting into the hero's hair, he even ends up deposited in the trash-can!
bkoganbing
MGM in buying the rights to the Nick Carter stories and then making three films with the character just shows the twist of fate in some people's careers.Walter Pidgeon was one of their second magnitude stars at that time. B picture leads and occasionally in an A film where he always lost the girl. Louis B. Mayer must have thought a whole slew of these would have been made for Pidgeon and he would have become identified as Nick Carter on screen. But he managed to get some decent films, two back to back Best Pictures, How Green Was My Valley and Mrs. Miniver and a lifetime partnership with Greer Garson. He escaped movie oblivion then.It's a competently executed film, but I have to agree with previous reviewers. Donald Meek as the bee man looked like he just took his zany character from You Can't Take It With You and it just didn't fit in this fast paced detective story. The film itself is barely an hour. Meek distracts from the plot. Too bad because Donald Meek is usually a fine performer.I much prefer Walter Pidgeon as the Reverend Mr. Gruffydd or Clem Miniver or even Dr. Morbius. Good thing he escaped Nick Carter.
AD
