DAMAGED LIVES

Charlotte Merriam and Lyman Williams

DAMAGED LIVES (1933). Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.

Donald Bradley Jr. (Lyman Williams) is the somewhat haughty son of a shipping magnate and is destined for great things. One night he goes off to a club for a business appointment with Nat (Harry Myers) and winds up bedding the other man's date, Elise (Charlotte Merriam of Night Nurse). Donald confesses his indiscretion to his forgiving fiancee, Joan (Diane Sinclair), and the two are married. Then Donald gets an urgent call from Elise, who tells him she has learned she's "infected" and he might be as well. Some time later Donald and his pregnant wife get rather alarming news from their doctor (Murray Kinnell of The Public Enemy) ... Damaged Lives, a cautionary tale about venereal disease, is not a camp classic like Reefer Madness, but is a serious and rather good drama that builds to a powerful conclusion. Although such diseases as syphilis are certainly no longer talked about like AIDS, they could ruin lives, and if untreated, lead to extremely serious complications, although it's unlikely someone could get infected from, say, a pipe, as the doctor suggests. If the film is taken as a study of the challenges to a young couple's marriage, including infidelity and illness, it works quite well, and there are unexpected developments. Williams and Sinclair are far from perfect, but they play with conviction and strong emotion, and the other actors, especially Charlotte Merriam, are also notable. Williams plays with a sensitivity that doesn't quite disguise a certain hardness underneath, but this is not the kind of movie to build a career on and he never had another starring part; Sinclair did not fare well, either. Classical music is used quite appropriately in the final sequence. Jason Robards Sr. [The Woman Condemned] plays Bill, another doctor and a friend of the Bradleys.

Verdict: Surprisingly effective and frank. ***.

THINK FAST, MR. MOTO

Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto

THINK FAST, MR. MOTO (1937). Director: Norman Foster.

"Half of the world spends its time laughing at the other half -- and both are fools." -- Mr. Moto.

"Strange people, these Americans." -- ditto.

On a liner heading for China, a mysterious Japanese man named Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) encounters a pleasant young fellow named Bob Hitchings (Thomas Beck), whose father owns the steamship company. Bob falls hard for another mysterious person, Gloria (Virginia Field), who is employed as a singer at the International Club in Shanghai. Gloria's employer, Nicolas Marloff (Sig Ruman) is up to some skulduggery and Mr. Moto seems to have an uncertain role in this. Is he good guy or bad? Although Think Fast, Mr. Moto, the first of the Mr. Moto films, has a workable script and a fast pace, its primarily the performances that put it over, with Lorre superb as the importer who dabbles in detective work as a sideline, especially where his own concerns are involved. Thomas Beck is quite appealing as Bob, and Virginia Field [Repeat Performance] offers another of her expert portrayals as the mystery woman who has, perhaps, gotten herself in too deep. John Rogers scores as ship's steward, Carson, who may be hiding a shiv under his likable exterior, and there are nice turns from J. Carrol Naish as an assassin; Murray Kinnell as a business associate of Bob's father; and Lotus Long [Mr. Wong in Chinatown] as a hotel switchboard operator who helps Moto and is nearly killed for her troubles. Thomas Beck and Murray Kinnell both appeared in Charlie Chan in Paris.

Verdict: Good, snappy introduction to the Mr. Moto series. ***.

CHARLIE CHAN IN PARIS

CHARLIE CHAN IN PARIS (1935). Director: Lewis Seller.

Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) comes to Paris to investigate some counterfeit bank bonds when his associate, the Apache dancer Nardi (Dorothy Appleby), is murdered at the end of her act. Then Yvette (Mary Brian of Manhattan Tower), the fiancee of Chan's handsome young friend Victor (Thomas Beck of Every Saturday Night) gets in trouble when she goes to get some compromising letters from a former boyfriend, Henri Latouche (Murray Kinnell), who is also murdered. Chan now has at least two murders to solve, with the help of Inspector Renard (Minor Watson) and his irrepressible son Lee (Keye Luke). A weird old beggar goes around causing mayhem, and there's a scene in the Paris sewers. The cast is good, and Erik Rhodes is especially memorable as the ever-amusing artist Max Corday. The best scene has Corday assuming Chan can't speak English well and asking him if he wants a "little dlinky," after which Chan makes clear that he speaks English quite well, thank you. Kinnell often appeared in Charlie Chan movies in a variety of roles. This was the first appearance of Keye Luke as Lee Chan.

Verdict: Acceptable if minor Charlie Chan mystery. **1/2.

CHARLIE CHAN IN LONDON

Drue Leyton, Warner Oland and Ray Milland

CHARLIE CHAN IN LONDON (1934). Director: Eugene Ford.

Pamela Gray (Drue Leyton) is convinced that her brother, Paul (uncredited), is innocent of the murder of an inventor named Hamilton, but his appeal has been denied and he is facing execution. Although Pamela's fiance, Neil (Ray Milland), Paul's lawyer, doesn't believe in his client's innocence, Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) isn't so sure. He has only a couple of days to prove the man's innocence and save his life. Then there's a "suicide" of one of the suspects, and an attempt is made on Chan's life ... Among the suspects are the horse groom Lake (John Rogers); grumpy, uncooperative Major Jardine (George Barraud); Phillips, the butler (Murray Kinnell); Geoffrey Richmond (Alan Mowbray); and his girlfriend, Lady Mary (Mona Barrie), among others. Detective Sergeant Thacker is played by E. E. Clive. Considering the circumstances, Charlie Chan in London should have been a lot more suspenseful than it is, but the actors, Oland included, are more than competent and the movie is watchable. The ending is charming.

Verdict: Chan capably treading water. **1/2.