I love William Powell's movies. I had read somewhere that his favorite film was Libeled Lady so I got it in a DVD pack with four other Jean Harlow movies. It was quite a hoot (as are My Man Godfrey and the Thin Man series). Highly recommended.
I have never been able to make it past the first chapter of van Dine's first Philo Vance book because the verbal mannerism he gave his 'tec drove me up a wall.
Did he at some point stop writing like that and allow Vance to talk like a normal human being? I can't bring myself to read the rest of them to find out.
I picked up The Gracie Allen Murder Case and read it all the way through, hoping for some good Gracie jokes. Sadly, there weren't any. Van Dine didn't get her at all. Philo wasn't funny either.
This is not only one of Powell's best movies, it is also one of the best detective films ever made, and one of the best pre-code early talkies. Director Micheal Curtiz is the unsung hero of Warner Brothers Studios. Almost everything he did is classic. Would love to see this on the big screen.
I love William Powell's movies. I had read somewhere that his favorite film was Libeled Lady so I got it in a DVD pack with four other Jean Harlow movies. It was quite a hoot (as are My Man Godfrey and the Thin Man series). Highly recommended.
ReplyDeleteI have never been able to make it past the first chapter of van Dine's first Philo Vance book because the verbal mannerism he gave his 'tec drove me up a wall.
ReplyDeleteDid he at some point stop writing like that and allow Vance to talk like a normal human being? I can't bring myself to read the rest of them to find out.
I picked up The Gracie Allen Murder Case and read it all the way through, hoping for some good Gracie jokes. Sadly, there weren't any. Van Dine didn't get her at all. Philo wasn't funny either.
ReplyDeleteThis is not only one of Powell's best movies, it is also one of the best detective films ever made, and one of the best pre-code early talkies. Director Micheal Curtiz is the unsung hero of Warner Brothers Studios. Almost everything he did is classic. Would love to see this on the big screen.
ReplyDeleteGuess I'll just have to watch the film, then. Thanks for the link, Evan.
ReplyDelete