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The kiss is at the beginning rather than the end, the camera scarcely knows where to look. "Very good technique. Not at all like a husband." "We strive to please." Six-month anniversary for Long Island socialites (Robert Young, Constance Cummings), the "Jubilee Binge" kicks off with a barge-shaped bar where the valet (Arthur Treacher) handles cocktails and stuffed seagulls with moose-faced sang-froid. Joyrides, cannonades, the unforgettable sight of a bowl of champagne sipped with straws through minstrel masks. "The most appalling hangover" means the effervescence of privilege giving way to the heebie-jeebies of mortality, thus a corpse in the bed. The inspector (Edward Arnold) is summoned, though not before the couple transfer the cubes from the ice pack into their hooch glasses. "Just a social call. And I was hoping for a moider." Wisecracks, secret passageways, messages in Greek, an acute James Whale whirlwind to scan the blank upper-crust mind, a rare treat. Widow (Sally Eilers), gadabout (Reginald Denny), restaurateur (Gregory Ratoff), mechanic (Robert Armstrong) and chauffeur (Jack La Rue), suspects put through their paces. The flatfoot (Edward Brophy) is a gourmet, the morgue photographer (E.E. Clive) is an artist. "I feel like the bride of Frankenstein." "Thanks." A sprawling crane shot gives a full view of the palatial Art Deco set, cf. Lewis' The Ladies Man, the mesmerist (Gustav von Seyffertitz) arrives to spin painted mirrors and add one more body to the pile. "I found a solution!" "Great. Now go soak your head in it." Jeeves bids adieu to these "piffling penguins," Renoir welcomes them in La Règle du jeu. With Louise Henry, Monroe Owsley, George Meeker, Rafaela Ottiano, and Alyce Ardell. In black and white.
--- Fernando F. Croce |