Reviews of movies with William Powell.
Friday, May 16th 2008
Grade: C+
Synopsis: An attorney (William Powell) prosecutes a lifelong friend (Clark Gable) on the opposite side of the law for murder, unaware of the crime’s true motive.
Manhattan Melodrama doesn’t start well. True to its title there’s a young Mickey Rooney sobbing on screen in the wake of the General Slucum tragedy, then more sobbing at another tragedy. Finally, Clark Gable makes his appearance and the film picks up considerably.
The script is pretty ridiculous, as far as story goes, but the three leads, Gable, William Powell, and Myrna Loy pull it off. Gable is his usual sly, charming self, and works perfectly as a gambler who secretly looks up to his childhood friend, played by William Powell, who’s equally well perfect as a moralistic attorney determined to do what’s right. Between them, Myrna Loy does a fabulous job of maximizing her character’s story of a girl growing up and wanting more from life, and her chemistry with Powell is dynamite. Their combined star power overcomes the story’s gaping plot holes and left field twists, but only barely. MORE »
Posted at 1:25 PM in Movie Reviews and William Powell.
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Wednesday, May 14th 2008
Grade: D+
Synopsis: A doctor (William Powell) solves a murder with his mystery writer ex-wife (Jean Arthur).
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford is a poor-man’s Thin Man that fails on almost every level. In trying to ape the latter’s success, the filmmakers overlooked all the little things that made it work.
First and foremost, Jean Arthur is no Myrna Loy. She struggles with the forced comedy and fails to charm the audience, leaving you wondering just what William Powell’s character sees in her. Further, her box office stature demanded a larger role, which, in turn, cuts into Powell’s, who’s the film’s lone strong suit. Finally, Powell and Arthur simply don’t have the chemistry that Powell and Loy shared. MORE »
Posted at 3:18 PM in Movie Reviews and William Powell.
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Tuesday, May 13th 2008
Grade: C-
Synopsis: The wife (Myrna Loy) of a lawyer (William Powell) commits a crime of passion unbeknownst to her husband, only to have him defend another woman accused of the crime.
Evelyn Prentice is notable as the screen debut of actress Rosalind Russell, but aside from that, it’s a far-fetched and mostly forgettable melodrama, despite the re-teaming of stars William Powell and Myrna Loy, who’d previously struck gold with The Thin Man.
The problem here is the script, which starts off well enough, but gets more and more ridiculous as the film goes on, culminating in a truly laughable courtroom sequence at the film’s finale. Powell and Loy do their best with the material, but get little help from the supporting cast. The aforementioned Russell, despite forth billing, is little more than a plot device and fails to register. MORE »
Posted at 12:56 PM in Movie Reviews and William Powell.
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Tuesday, February 26th 2008
Grade: B-
Synopsis: Amateur detective Philo Vance (William Powell) solves the murder of a man found locked in his bedroom.
The Kennel Murder Case is a snappy mystery carried by star William Powell.
Powell, reprising the Philo Vance role for the fifth and final time, is a natural. Powell’s easy charm and urbane manner are perfectly suited to the story and foreshadow the great success he would have playing a similar detective a year later in The Thin Man (1934).
Supporting Powell is a fine cast including Mary Astor as a perfect femme fatale and Eugene Pallette as the perpetually confused police detective.
Director Michael Curtiz keeps thing moving at a brisk pace and shows some real technical chops with an impressive tracking shot that starts with Powell in one building, pans out the window, arcs across the cityscape and focuses on a room across the street. While it’s obviously staged using miniatures, it’s impressive nonetheless. MORE »
Posted at 12:59 PM in Movie Reviews and William Powell.
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Saturday, December 8th 2007
Grade: B-
Synopsis: A derelict (William Powell), living in the city dump, becomes a butler for a rich eccentric family.
My Man Godfrey is an entertaining comedy thanks in large part to the considerable charm of William Powell.
Opening with a refreshingly clever credit sequence, the film grabs you right from the first scene with Powell’s endearing performance. He carries the film and is simply a joy to watch.
Less charming however, is Powell’s romantic lead Carole Lombard, who displays none of the charisma she did in In Name Only (1939). Here she’s an annoying brat prone to tantrums. Further, she and Powell have little visible chemistry, despite (or perhaps because of) having been married briefly a few years earlier. This is exasperated by the curious lighting, which makes Lombard seem to wear a five o’clock shadow throughout most of the film. MORE »
Posted at 2:08 PM in Movie Reviews and William Powell.
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