FAST AND FURIOUS

US, 1939, 72 minutes, Black and white.
Franchot Tone, Ann Sothern, Ruth Hussey, Lee Bowman, Allyn Joslyn, Mary Beth Hughes.
Directed by Busby Berkely.

Fast and Furious moves at a rapid pace. it is a story of a husband and wife who work together, she manipulating him to have a holiday during a very hot summer in New York City, he lending money to a friend without her knowing, the friend organising a beauty pageant in Florida and inviting him to come down to the pageant for a holiday. He then includes him in the list of judges – much to the annoyance of his wife.

There are the various scenes for the beauty pageant, under the direction of Busby Berkely, best known for his elaborate musical numbers. There are also some financial shenanigans. The young man, Lee Bowman, who has been lent the money is being targeted by an entrepreneur who, with the help of his financial adviser, a severe woman, Ruth Hussey, is planning to take off with the money. There is a complication with his relationship with one of the showgirls, Mary Beth Hughes. Also in the act is a journalist, Allyn Joslyn, who had a relationship with the showgirl – and, while charming on the surface and friend of the hero, he is nevertheless revealed as the killer.

Franchit Tone enjoys himself as the put-upon hero, indulging in little ogling, while devoted to his wife, trying to detect the killer. In the meantime, his wife, Ann Sothern, does a little detective work herself. One of the corny complications is that there is a circus master who has three lions in his room, wants to get some financial backing – and there are various scenes with characters confronted by the lions, with some none too convincing mugging Tone, wide eyes in fear of the lions…


Perhaps executives at MGM hoped that this might lead to a series, lower-grade Thin Man stories – although Ann Sothern did get her series with the adventures of Maisie.