Michael_Elliott Case of the Curious Bride, The (1935) *** (out of 4) Michael Curtiz directs this second film in the Perry Mason series with Warren William returning to the role. This time out a new bride (Margaret Lindsay) goes to Perry asking about advice on her new marriage. The woman's first husband was reported dead four years earlier but after her new marriage she began receiving blackmail notes from him. After she visits Mason the old husband turns up dead and she becomes the main suspect. This is a highly entertaining little mystery that's a notch above most films in its genre due to Curtiz and his great direction. He keeps the film moving along at a very fast pace and William is more energetic than the first film. Lindsay does a good job in her role and Allen Jenkins steals the film with his nice comedy. Errol Flynn plays the dead husband in the film but for the most part we only see him as the corpse except for a few scenes at the end. From that to Captain Blood in a year isn't too bad.

classicsoncall I never thought about the history of Perry Mason prior to the classic TV series starring Raymond Burr, so catching this on TCM today was a nice treat. The character is handled in a much lighter vein than Burr's portrayal, and I got the feeling that Warren William would also have made a good Nick Charles in the 'Thin Man' series if William Powell hadn't been tapped for that role. One of the neat things about "The Case of the Curious Bride" is that William is given a suitably sophisticated and glib character to parry with in the form of Coroner Wilbur Strong, nicely portrayed by Olin Howland. Of course, there's the comic relief character as well (Allen Jenkins as Spudsy Drake), a mainstay in mystery series of the era, along with a secretary (Claire Dodd as Della Street) who's not so secretly pining for his attention. If one isn't paying attention, this Perry Mason looks more like he might have been a detective solving the case instead of a lawyer defending his client.The story itself is a little baffling in that we're asked to believe that a man who's been missing and presumed dead for four years (Holy cow - that's Errol Flynn!) has suddenly turned up to blackmail his former wife who's remarried. Not only that, but he had done it before! I had to wonder what kind of guy has that kind of time on his hands in order to pull off a stunt like that. The entire movie is used to set up the payoff in the finale as Mason maneuvers suspect Carl Montaine (Donald Woods) into describing the accidental death of Gregory Moxley (Flynn). In that regard, the picture resembles a Charlie Chan flick, in which the Oriental detective describes how he came to his conclusion about a murder suspect, only with this story the resolution comes from the suspect himself.Come to think of it, the movie had as many suspects as a typical Chan film too. Not only was there Carl Montaine as a late entry, but his new wife Rhoda (Margaret Lindsay), along with the Pender siblings Oscar (Warren Hymer) and sister Doris (Wini Shaw). It got a little confusing after a while, I'm glad Mason was able to keep things sorted out.Best advice given by Mason to suspect Rhoda Montaine - "Say nothing, and plenty of it!" You know, I liked that. Then there was that crying jag between Mason and sidekick Spudsy over the teargas gambit - pretty hilarious to see Mason break character like that. One of the best though was that great sight gag early in the story - a 'Welcome' mat on the way into the city morgue - Gotta love it!

cinema_universe Of all the "Perry Mason" films of the 1930's (there were six films, produced from 1934 to 1937), this one has to be the best. -- At least, it's MY favorite.Warren William, who played Mason in more of these films than anyone else, elevates this short murder mystery from programmer to an 'almost-A' feature.Claire Dodd, as Della Street, is little more than window dressing, as were all of the "Della's" in these early Warners' Perry Mason films. Allen Jenkins gives one of his standard (but good) blustery performances as Mason's side-kick, Paul Drake (called "Spuds" Drake in this film, and a complete opposite of TV's dapper Paul Drake, played by William Hopper). The best supporting role was that of Olin Howard as the coroner, who is also Perry's good buddy, and frequent dining partner. The veteran character actress, Margaret Lindsay is the "Curious Bride" of the title.The real surprise (the first time I saw this) was seeing Errol Flynn doing a "bit" part in a flashback sequence at the end of the film. Flynn has a non-speaking part as Margaret Lindsay's first husband. This flashback scene is narrated by the Curious Bride's current husband, played by Donald Woods (who would later play Perry Mason in another of these Warner Brothers efforts, though not anywhere as entertainingly as Warren William).The use of soft-focus fades for every scene change, at first seems to help move the story, but can also be a bit irritating.-- Overall though, this is a well photographed film, --both the nicely composed interiors, and the outdoor urban location shots of 1935 San Francisco (although the Mason stories are mostly based in L.A.).Directed by Michael Curtiz, this swift-moving murder mystery has the feel of many of Curtiz's bigger-budgeted Warner films, and is easily the best of the Mason series. At the same time, it is not too unlike the other 5 Mason films that Warners produced.Unfortunately, Warren William could not play Mason in all of these films, but overlooking that fact, all six of the Warners "Perry Mason" films, including "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop", "The Case of the Velvet Claws," and "The Case of the Lucky Legs" are very faithful to the source material, and all are entertainingly done.By the way-- because all of these films were adapted from original Earl Stanley Gardner stories, all of these titles showed up in the 1950's, produced as episodes in Raymond Burr's "Perry Mason" TV series. It's very interesting to see the different treatment these stories were given on TV. --D.--

Svengali-2001 The man who played Captain Blood in 1935, plays a corpse in what, 1935. How can this be? If Kevin Costner made a great corpse in the Big Chill (and still is a great corpse) then Errol Flynn's cameo as a corpse has got Kevin beat hands down. Really this is a great little film and the reason why the films of the thirties and forties beat the ones of the nineties. These blokes knew how to crackle and the dames knew how to fizz. I'd give my eye teeth to see the many films that the studios have allowed to disappear or be destroyed because I bet there are lots of gems like this one. Warren William is so different from Raymond Burr, but in his tragically short life he brought some great entertainment. Add another 10 stars for Allen Jenkins. Terrific all round flick.