Absolutely Fantastic

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

There seems to be a wide divergence of opinion on the quality or otherwise of this one, whether it's poor and dull or witty and fast. I plump for the latter, even though Warners' portrayal of the lawyer left something to be desired, turning him into potentially yet another run of the mill private eye for the b market. But the production values in this were pretty high and it was directed by Michael Curtiz with panache.Woman comes to Perry Mason played again by William Warren for help because her first husband she thought dead has come back to shake her and her new rich husband down. Her first husband gets his instead, from then on the game is on to find whodunit and why, with some witty if sometimes improbable plot twists along the way. From the outset with Perry and his laconic coroner friend buying lobsters for the creation of a new gastronomic sensation to Errol Flynn's flashback appearance it carries you along on a tide of incessant lighthearted repartee and swift soft focus fade out's and in's. Typecast Allen Jenkins plays Perry's helper the brash and loyal Spudsy in what must be one of his finest performances ever, he weaves in and out of the story as a perfect counterpoint to his boss. Favourite bits: The all-too-short scenes in Luigi's restaurant on that "nutty night"; Perry and the coroner's continual smart ass one liners; the cosy relationship depicted between Perry and the newspaper men; Jenkins getting knocked out by the 2nd husband; Flynn's bit.It should be a great watch for fans of b&w 30's detective films (and maybe screwball comedies too), I certainly have always enjoyed this 2nd entry in the series. But not to be taken too seriously.

I never thought about the history of Perry Mason prior to the classic TV series starring Raymond Burr, so catching this on TCM today was a nice treat. The character is handled in a much lighter vein than Burr's portrayal, and I got the feeling that Warren William would also have made a good Nick Charles in the 'Thin Man' series if William Powell hadn't been tapped for that role. One of the neat things about "The Case of the Curious Bride" is that William is given a suitably sophisticated and glib character to parry with in the form of Coroner Wilbur Strong, nicely portrayed by Olin Howland. Of course, there's the comic relief character as well (Allen Jenkins as Spudsy Drake), a mainstay in mystery series of the era, along with a secretary (Claire Dodd as Della Street) who's not so secretly pining for his attention. If one isn't paying attention, this Perry Mason looks more like he might have been a detective solving the case instead of a lawyer defending his client.The story itself is a little baffling in that we're asked to believe that a man who's been missing and presumed dead for four years (Holy cow - that's Errol Flynn!) has suddenly turned up to blackmail his former wife who's remarried. Not only that, but he had done it before! I had to wonder what kind of guy has that kind of time on his hands in order to pull off a stunt like that. The entire movie is used to set up the payoff in the finale as Mason maneuvers suspect Carl Montaine (Donald Woods) into describing the accidental death of Gregory Moxley (Flynn). In that regard, the picture resembles a Charlie Chan flick, in which the Oriental detective describes how he came to his conclusion about a murder suspect, only with this story the resolution comes from the suspect himself.Come to think of it, the movie had as many suspects as a typical Chan film too. Not only was there Carl Montaine as a late entry, but his new wife Rhoda (Margaret Lindsay), along with the Pender siblings Oscar (Warren Hymer) and sister Doris (Wini Shaw). It got a little confusing after a while, I'm glad Mason was able to keep things sorted out.Best advice given by Mason to suspect Rhoda Montaine - "Say nothing, and plenty of it!" You know, I liked that. Then there was that crying jag between Mason and sidekick Spudsy over the teargas gambit - pretty hilarious to see Mason break character like that. One of the best though was that great sight gag early in the story - a 'Welcome' mat on the way into the city morgue - Gotta love it!

Of all the "Perry Mason" films of the 1930's (there were six films, produced from 1934 to 1937), this one has to be the best. -- At least, it's MY favorite.Warren William, who played Mason in more of these films than anyone else, elevates this short murder mystery from programmer to an 'almost-A' feature.Claire Dodd, as Della Street, is little more than window dressing, as were all of the "Della's" in these early Warners' Perry Mason films. Allen Jenkins gives one of his standard (but good) blustery performances as Mason's side-kick, Paul Drake (called "Spuds" Drake in this film, and a complete opposite of TV's dapper Paul Drake, played by William Hopper). The best supporting role was that of Olin Howard as the coroner, who is also Perry's good buddy, and frequent dining partner. The veteran character actress, Margaret Lindsay is the "Curious Bride" of the title.The real surprise (the first time I saw this) was seeing Errol Flynn doing a "bit" part in a flashback sequence at the end of the film. Flynn has a non-speaking part as Margaret Lindsay's first husband. This flashback scene is narrated by the Curious Bride's current husband, played by Donald Woods (who would later play Perry Mason in another of these Warner Brothers efforts, though not anywhere as entertainingly as Warren William).The use of soft-focus fades for every scene change, at first seems to help move the story, but can also be a bit irritating.-- Overall though, this is a well photographed film, --both the nicely composed interiors, and the outdoor urban location shots of 1935 San Francisco (although the Mason stories are mostly based in L.A.).Directed by Michael Curtiz, this swift-moving murder mystery has the feel of many of Curtiz's bigger-budgeted Warner films, and is easily the best of the Mason series. At the same time, it is not too unlike the other 5 Mason films that Warners produced.Unfortunately, Warren William could not play Mason in all of these films, but overlooking that fact, all six of the Warners "Perry Mason" films, including "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop", "The Case of the Velvet Claws," and "The Case of the Lucky Legs" are very faithful to the source material, and all are entertainingly done.By the way-- because all of these films were adapted from original Earl Stanley Gardner stories, all of these titles showed up in the 1950's, produced as episodes in Raymond Burr's "Perry Mason" TV series. It's very interesting to see the different treatment these stories were given on TV. --D.--

This is the best of Warren William's performances as Perry Mason, well directed by Michael Curtiz. This is nothing like the PM you've seen from Raymond Burr, and not exactly like the PM in the books, either.many scenes are hilarious, the french accent and the onion scene being prime examples. Olin Howland as the coroner is priceless.