The Solitaire Man (1933)

Pretty Good

Excellent but underrated film

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"The Solitaire Man" is a slick, stylish,sophisticated thriller, a throwback to an era when spinning a good yarn was more important than bloating the budget or running up the running time. When we first meet Herbert Marshall as Oliver Lane, he has a small problem. A Paris-based master criminal, he's about to retire to Devonshire, marry Elizabeth Allen as his fetching accomplice and turn from safecracking to milking cows. But a drugged-out henchman has committed a robbery that could get them both sent to the slammer -- and Lane has no choice but to reluctantly return the loot. How that leads to a plane bound for London, a battle of wits with Lionel Atwill as a mysterious Scotland Yard inspector and the contribution of an American socialite played with mirthful glee by Mary Boland takes up much of the movie. The result is tight, taut, cleverly directed by Jack Conway and a lot more modern -- in style, dialogue and devilish humor -- than most of the movies made back in 1933. Or a good many made since.

THE SOLITAIRE MAN is a superb example of how MGM was head and shoulders above the other studios during this era - quite obviously a "B" movie, barely running an hour, it nevertheless boasts superior actors (several of them major film names) and an elegant polish that most other studios wouldn't have bothered with for a programmer.Herbert Marshall stars as the leader of a small "family" of con artists, when a faux son steals a priceless necklace Marshall attempts to return it, knowing the protégé would be the obvious suspect when it is noticed missing. While he is in the home attempting to put the jewels back in the safe, another burglar breaks into the home and was spotted by a patrolling policeman. The second burglar kills the inspector which Marshall witnesses but can't see the murderer. Later as he attempts to flee the country with his accomplishes on a small plane, secrets and double-crosses are revealed during the long flight.This comic crime-mystery is mainly worthwhile for the sole chance to see two of the 1930's greatest character actresses, Mary Boland and May Robson, together in the same film. These ladies, with Edna May Oliver, were the queen bees of character players of the era along with superstar Marie Dressler. Miss Boland is second-billed but doesn't show up until the film is almost half over, she quickly earns her star billing with a delicious turn as a brassy rich American who finds herself in unusual circumstances. Miss Boland is hilarious as always but here voicing her role in a boorish unsophisticated loud drawl rather than her normal dizzy musical tones. It's a superb characterization and she is matched by that wonderful septuagenarian May Robson as a presumably cultured society woman who is pretty blunt and earthy herself.Jack Conway, one of MGM's major directors, does a fine job here with this limited material and when the second half-hour is almost completely set inside a small airplane passengers area it's scarcely noticed given the fine direction and acting. The entire cast is quite good and it's intriguing to see Marshall, Miss Robson, and Elizabeth Allen - all British or Australian - not cast as Americans as they usually were in Hollywood films. This little film is fairly predictable in it's denouement but with a fine cast, sharp direction, and some good wisecracks, it's well worth your time.

This is one of those little MGM quickies that is unfairly overlooked by both film fans and historians. Without giving anything away, the plot involves a jewel theft and murder, with the suspects aboard a plane flying from France to England. There are several plot twists before and after the plane lands. It may not be hard to guess who the villain really is, but the film maintains a good level of suspense and is well acted. It's not without a major goof, at one point in the film Lionel Atwill calls Herbert Marshall "Wallace", the name of Atwill's character. How MGM let that get by is a mystery. This film is a good example of what could be done on a limited budget.

Just what I wanted to see: a stage play masquerading as a movie. It's one of those few times in which you forget the entire content of the film just minutes after watching. Most of us get into movies to be visually and emotionally stimulated, but this MGM cheapie fails on both fronts, at times even daring the viewer to stay awake with its endless dialogue and overblown theatrics. A caper plot about a stolen necklace on an airplane could and should have been better than the nonsensical soap opera mechanics on display here. The old hags were not only rude and insulting, but they practically beg the viewer for a well placed slap across the mouth. Given the technical limitations of 1933, the plane set where most of the film takes place looks like a kindergarten stage with a few random chairs spread around for good measure. Thankfully, this wretched excrement of old cinema remains unreleased on video; those that get TCM may have to suffer a terrible ordeal, though.