THE HAT BOX MYSTERY

Allen Jenkins, Virginia Sale, Pamela Blake, Tom Neal

THE HAT BOX MYSTERY (1947). Director: Lambert Hillyer.

Russ Ashton (Tom Neal of Detour) isn't doing too well as a private investigator, but he has an assistant-fiancee named Susan (Pamela Blake of Highway 13) and another associate named 'Harvard" (Allen Jenkins). The three of them are kept in hamburgers by Harvard's restaurant-owning girlfriend, Veronica (Virginia Sale of Those We Love), who also loans Russ money to go to Washington on a case. Meanwhile Susan takes an assignment herself, to photograph a straying wife as she exits a building for her husband (Leonard Penn) to use in a divorce case. The husband supposedly conceals a camera in a hat box for Susan to use, but she winds up shooting the woman for real -- as it's actually a gun that is hidden in the hat box! Susan finds herself in pretty hot water with the police, while the "husband" disappears ... The Hat Box Mystery is mediocre filler with a mystery that poses no threat to Agatha Christie but it does benefit from the enthusiastic playing of the main quartet of actors -- Sale is especially appealing in this.

Verdict: At least it's only 44 minutes long! **.

THOSE WE LOVE

Mary Astor and Kenneth MacKenna

THOSE WE LOVE (1932). Director: Robert Florey.

"It isn't wise to love anything so much that to lose it almost kills you."

Struggling novelist Freddie Williston (Kenneth MacKenna) meets May (Mary Astor) in the crowd during the Armistice Day celebration, and discovers that she's just bought a copy of his book. Before long they are married and a child is on the way, along with a string of bestsellers. Had Those We Love looked at the life of an unsuccessful or fair-to-middling author it might have had more dramatic heft, but once Freddie becomes a rich and famous author, the only complication that can be thrown into the couple's lives comes in the form of Valerie (Lilyan Tashman), a married vamp who has set her cap for Freddie. May jumps to conclusions about Val's relationship with her husband, and inadvertently makes matters worse. Will this family survive this crisis, and will Valerie go on her merry way? Those We Love manages to be entertaining because of the cast. Mary Astor is as wonderful as ever, while MacKenna has charm to spare. Tommy Conlon [The Sign of the Cross] is swell as their son, Ricky, who might be as wise as both of his parents. Virginia Sale [Lovin' the Ladies] scores as the maid Bertha, as does Tashman [One Heavenly Night] as the lynx-like (if not terribly beautiful) man-stealer, Valerie. From the first Freddie seems more interested in making money than in crafting lasting literature, so one can imagine his books are as superficial as he is. Those We Love misses virtually every opportunity to say anything about the writing life, the publishing business, or the creative process, and was adapted from a Broadway play. Florey directed The Beast with Five Fingers and many, many others.

Verdict: Fairly creaky, but the acting puts it over. **1/2.

LOVIN' THE LADIES

Rita La Roy vamps Richard Dix

LOVIN' THE LADIES (1930). Director: Melville W. Brown.

Useless rich popinjay Jimmy Farnsworth (Jimmy Kearns) has such a cynical attitude that he thinks he can take any two people and get them engaged to each other in a week or so, and love has nothing to do with it. For his experiment he chooses an electrician named Peter (Richard Dix) and a somewhat plain and haughty woman named Betty (Renee Macready). Unfortunately, Peter falls for Joan (Lois Wilson), whom Jimmy hopes to marry, while in the film's funniest scene Jimmy is vamped by the highly aggressive Louise (Rita La Roy). Dix [Seven Keys to Baldpate] has about as much sex appeal as Ernest Borgnine, but he gives a good performance. Another cast stand out, after La Roy, is Virginia Sale as the saucy maid, Marie. This old drawing room comedy is fairly creaky and only intermittently amusing.

Verdict: Horny La Roy is a riot. **.