The Patient in Room 18

"The Patient in Room 18" is a murder mystery and comedy that was about the best Warner Brothers could do to try to copy MGM's successful Thin Man series. Patric Knowles is funny as Lance O'Leary. And, while Ann Sheridan is good as nurse Sara Keate, neither of them were a match for William Powell and Myrna Loy in the Thin Man series.

Still, Knowles and Sheridan carry this film and keep it from collapsing altogether. Their comedy, interspersed with some sleuthing is the best part. Otherwise, this very muddled screenplay might turn off most viewers early on. The various doctors, women, and affairs and would-be affairs, are enough to turn one off. They may not be developed or portrayed enough to be red herrings, but there sure are a batch of red minnows in this film.

If not for the O'Leary and Keate comic squabbles, I don't think I would have been able to sit through this whole film. They are 4 of the 5 stars I give this almost turkey flick.

Private Thatcher Hospital is suffering a spate of murders, but THE PATIENT IN ROOM 18 - a young detective recovering from a nervous breakdown - is determined to find the killer.

Fast-moving & fun, this is another example of the comedy crime picture that Warner Brothers was so expert at producing almost without effort. Casts & plots could be shuffled endlessly, with very predictable results. While this assembly line approach created few classics, audience enjoyment could usually be assured.

Patric Knowles & Ann Sheridan spark the action here. As a convalescing detective & stern head nurse with romantic difficulties in their recent past, they keep the plot racing - especially after murder rears its ugly head. Knowles, who never quite graduated to starring roles in major pictures, shows a fine flair for comedy. Sleepwalking down the street dressed in pajamas & bowler, he is indeed a very droll sight. Sheridan shows flashes of the talent that would eventually make her an important star at Warner Brothers.

Unfortunately, the two most potentially interesting characters in the film - Eric Stanley's English valet & Greta Meyer's German cook - are given very little to do. And what about the film's other mystery: just what is so special about Room 18?

Patric Knowles plays a detective, having just failed to solve his first case, admitted to Thatcher Private Hospital to relax and get over anxiety problems(walking in the middle of the street in pajamas, etc...)In employ there is the nurse that he is smitten with, a trio of suspicious doctors who seem to have all lost any moral character they once had, a drunken Irishman(?) who is a jack of all trades it seems, and a wealthy investment banker that has hypochondriac persuasions. Throw in some romantic intrigue, some want-to-be romantic intrigue, a wastrel nephew needing cash bad, and some other minor plot "twists" and you have the uncle banker getting killed because of some valuable radium lying on his chest. Knowles is to the rescue much to the chagrin of an annoying policeman investigating the crime. As mysteries go, this one is passable but is nothing really more than fluff. The mood is light, the mystery is light, and the denouement is light. Knowles carries off the charming lightness very well as does most of the cast. All the character actors are very good at looking guilty. Ann Sheridan plays Knowles's love interest and is credible in her thankless role. At barely an hour in length, the film does have a nice, fast pace and is fairly entertaining. The solution to the crime was, for me at least, somewhat crude in application but the film does have some interesting merits and is never trying to take itself too terribly serious.

Lesser known Patric Knowles is Lance O'Leary, who has been acting goofy. walking around town in his jammies. so they lock him up in the Thatcher Hospital for rest and relaxation. and of course, there's drama going on at that institution. there's a large amount of radium being kept here for "treatment". and someone steals it. and kills a patient. in spite of that, it's all light and fluffy. the cops and now O'Leary are all trying to solve the case. amusing, but there are a couple plot holes. Ann Sheridan's career was still rising when she made this in 1938... her big roles would come in They Drive by Night and Man Who Came to Dinner, a couple years later. Based on the novel by Mignon Eberhart. had nine novels turned into film. directed by Bobby Connolly, who died young at 46, but was nominated for four oscars, for dance. this one is okay.

It must be difficult to cast support players in a movie where even the stars are B List. Warner's does it's best with stock players like Cliff Clark, Charles Trowbridge, Frank Orth, and John Ridgely. All reliable - all competent. Ann Sheridan as the love interest does well enough. There is something appealing about her. The problem lies with Patric Knowles. For those of us that remember him fondly as Will Scarlett in The Adventures of Robin Hood this movie, as well as so many other efforts, are a disappointment. Warner Bros continued to try to find a niche for him - and failed. They tried him as a pathetic coward and weakling in Five Came Back. They tried him in a half dozen light romantic comedies - no luck. He eventually fizzled into obscure supporting roles. Too bad. He was a genuinely likable guy.

Oh, the movie. Well, it's a medical mystery. At 60 minutes running time, it had no choice but to move at a rapid pace. That doesn't make it good, it just makes it short. I happen to be a fan of these potboilers, but there ain't many of us. You have to wonder where they dig these things up from. Buried deep in some film library until some 3rd assistant researcher digs it out. It sits in a cardboard box in some programmers office until he totally runs out of ideas for the 2am slot. He tosses into the que as a filler and nobody notices. Bingo! It makes air and I'm thrilled.

This movie was made in 1938 and it really is dated. The men walk around the house in tuxedos and dressing gowns. All the cops have a New York Irish accent and smoke cigars. All rich people had white telephones. Bodies fall out of the closet. The medical procedures make one shudder. For example: A patient has a mystery medical condition and they tape 100K worth of Radium to his chest. As I recall, radium was a miracle cure for everything back then.

If I sound like I'm down on this movie, I didn't mean to. Movies like this one couldn't be made anymore. There is more acting and writing talent in this 3 week wonder than you will find in most movies made today. You don't have to take it seriously, but take the time to watch it.