Le poignard mystérieux

"Slightly Honorable" is a rather strange but enjoyable film. I say strange because it's a serious drama about crime and murder...yet the movie also has an oddly comedic bent to it.

The story begins with the Highway Commissioner dying in an auto accident on a poorly maintained road. This ironic beginning is there to acquaint the audience with the fact that there's a lot of corruption in local government. And, it's not just the Commissioner but the District Attorney as well as the publisher of the local newspaper (Edward Arnold). When once of John Webb's old lady friends is murdered, Webb (Pat O'Brian) is out to determine who did it...and he assumes Cushing and his cronies are behind it.

The film never can be taken all that seriously because it never really takes itself seriously. This isn't a complaint so much as telling you about the style...but it is a bit of a problem with the film takes a dark and unexpected turn near the end. Best see it to see what I mean. Overall, a modestly enjoyable film....nothing about it says must-see, but it will keep your attention.

Pat O'Brien and Broderick Crawford are a couple of attorneys and political enemies of Boss Edward Arnold who's grown rich on all kinds of graft. They're starting to have people listen to them until a couple of murders get pinned on O'Brien. They're on the defensive after that until those murders are solved.

Tay Garnett manages to strike the right blend of humor and drama to Slightly Honorable. O'Brien, Crawford, and Arnold do well in very familiar roles to them.

One thing that truly was annoying was juvenile Ruth Terry. She's fresh out of bobby sox and O'Brien's a man of the world. Now if she was something slinky and sexy like Lauren Bacall was with Humphrey Bogart or even sophisticated like Myrna Loy with William Powell, the attractiveness would make some sense. But she's frankly just one royal pain. I can't figure out why O'Brien would possibly be interested in her.

Still it's an interesting plot that the audience will find intriguing.

What a surprise. This film, which showcases the under-remarked comic skills of Pat O'Brien is a genuine treat which belongs right up there with "The Front Page" (with O'Brien and James Cagney) its remake "His Girl Friday" and the best of the 'Thin Man' series. Director Tay Garnett is probably best known for directing some of the better series in the early days of television ("Bonanza", "The Untouchables" "Naked City", "Rawhide")and at least two film classics ("The Postman Always Rings Twice" , "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court"). After seeing this film one can only guess that the reason his name is not as well known as that of Sturgess or Capra or even Wilder is that he moved to television at a time when that medium was seen as a real threat to the film industry and thereby encountered some resentment. How else to explain the fact that "Slightly Honorable" is not mentioned on more 'Best' lists?

O'Brien is probably more likable (and believable as a semi-romantic lead) here than in almost any of his other films. Always effective in serious dramas he reminds us of how versatile some of our greatest stars of middle period American cinema (Cagney, John Wayne, Katherine Hepburn,Clark Gable) were-switching effortlessly from drama to comedy in a way that seems to be beyond the scope of some later stars.

Much the same can be said for Ruth Terry who would own this film were it not for the strength of her co-star's performances. Terry retired before she was 45 years old. By that time she was reduced to bit parts but a look at her work here will have you shaking your head in wonder at how that happened.

A great performance from Broderick Crawford and standout supporting turns from Eve Arden and Claire Dodd (among others) crackerjack pacing and set design,snappy clever and first rate dialogue combine to make for a wonderful hilarious film that deserves a wide audience and a restoration treatment to enhance the sometimes muddy soundtrack and occasional glitch in the currently available print. Do NOT hesitate to rent this one.

By the way, contrary to IMDb's spell checking feature "dialogue" is NOT a misspelling. Look it up.

this is one of those pleasant surprises that makes buying cheap films you've never heard of before so much fun. the first thing that came to mind as this film unreeled was how much fun the dialogue was. this is the blue collar version of the thin man. what it lacks in dry humor and sly irony, from nick and nora, is made up for in sheer fun. ruth terry is terrific as pat o'brien's wannabe girl. her energy is almost manic, and o'brien plays off it perfectly as the straight man to her ditzy rambles. the rest of the cast doesn't let you down either. arnold, arden and broderick crawford play their parts without flaw. the mystery, per se, is pretty average; realizing that you must wonder why more 'average' plots don't fall into the hands of talented directors, writers and cast and go on to be really good films. my only sorrow is in the DVD i have, the alpha video version #alp4644d. if you can find another print, get it. the visuals are OK, at least i have seen much worse, but the sound track is dreadful. about half of the film i couldn't understand, and i still loved it.

Frank Presnell's first of three crime novels, "Send Another Coffin", is the basis for this film, completed the year following publication of the original, featuring flinty Ohio attorney John Webb (Pat O'Brien) with his wife Ann (Ruth Terry), the duo patterned somewhat upon Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles, although Webb is less suave than Nick and more eager to stir political pots. A corrupt state politician, Vincent Cushing (Edward Arnold), is the principal target for Webb's reforming urge, and when Cushing's mistress Alma (Claire Dodd), erstwhile flame of Webb, is murdered, nearly all of the major characters seem to have a motive, including Webb, who faces most of the heat from the homicide investigation although he perceives himself to be "slightly honorable" when compared with those about him. The work includes a strong comedic element along with its murder mystery and socially conscious themes. Vivacious Terry, with her patented energy and spirit, steals the film in what she states is her favourite role, a part for which she is promised by producer Walter Wanger and director Tay Garnett that the former night club singer/dancer will be spotlighted in a musical specialty number, and that she is, one that is perfectly woven into the screenplay, this while under personal contract to Howard Hughes who loans her to Wanger for this production. A cardinal pleasure inherent with film reviewing is discovery of works that have not received an amount of recognition that they deserve, and that is the case in this instance, for it is a piece that includes among its attributes sparkling dialogue, skillful acting and, especially, that mastery of narrative pace and rhythm that marks the best efforts from Garnett who here cunningly blends details for his established mise-en-scène within the script, as is his custom. Even without his foremost mannequin, Marlene Dietrich, Travis Banton's gowns are noteworthy and there is a strikingly illustrative score from Werner Janssen.