The Fat Man (1951)

Best movie ever!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

I might get into some hot water here because the value of film adaptations from popular radio serials are held high for many. I am admittedly not familiar with the radio show to which this Castle film was based. In all honesty, I am quite convinced that it played better without the visual component. There are too many flashbacks that slog and mire the plot progression. The effect is an instability of mood throughout the film. Castle's direction is plodding and does little to compensate. There are some good moments of mobile framing and blocking/staging, however, most often Castle relies on simple short pan reframes and frontality in his staging. Not only does this strategy limit auteurship but also prevents provocative psychological portrayals of the characters. This film is carried literally and figuratively on the weight of the reputation of the titular character. The fat man has his moments - corny, quaint and digressive. That being said, his dancing number should become a contemporary viral meme - hashmark Twinkle Toes. Clown of renown, Emmett Kelly makes an appearance and the climax of the film is set around the circus grounds. You might think fun times but don't forget that impressionable Kelly hobo long face.

The odd subtexts for this film are probably what has buried it. 1. It is based on a popular radio show that sold itself as "created by Dashiell Hammett." Actually the nickname "Fate Man" was that of Gutman, one of the baddies in the Maltese Falco; the character of the radio "Fat Man" was developed out of the otherwise nameless Hammett character "The Continental Op," hero of the Dain Curse and Red Harvest. But in 1951, when this film was about to be released, Hammett was getting sent to prison for thumbing his nose at the McCarthy-era 'House UnAmerican Activities Committee' witchhunters, so his name doesn't appear in the credits (at least not the copy I've seen). 2. With reference to Hammett removed, the character is redefined; while the character remains a tough private eye, he now has acquired a gourmand's taste for good cooking - an obvious reference to the popular Nero Wolfe Character - as well as a shadow of Wolfe's sidekick, Archie Goodwin. 3. This is an early film with Rock Hudson, and it is clear where he was intending to go with his career - a Montgomery Clift without the angst - but just as clearly he decided to change directions - too bad, he's actually quite good in this. 4. This is William Castle before he decided to throw himself wholeheartedly into gimmicky horror movies, and it reminds us that he could be a very capable director when he wanted to be. 5. That the a lead baddie is played by legendary clown Emmett Kelly probably doesn't mean much today, but it's certainly worth a footnote for those interested in the history of clowns. The story, dialog and acting are all solid; the camera-work, lighting and design are nothing special but certainly competent. The pacing is pretty good. The film keeps its suspense up and provides enough twists to be a real detective mystery. Overall a satisfying mystery from the era when such could still be made.

When I was growing up, pre-television, we used to listen to many radio shows. One of these was The Fat Man, starring J. Scott Smart. This, as with some other radio shows, was made into a movie. The casting of Smart in the title role was good, since he looked the part and the sound was identical to the radio program.In virtually every radio show, Bradford Runyan is hired to solve a crime; the film carries on the tradition. However, the radio program lasted for only a half hour, and even though there was a "time compression" effect, there was time to do significantly more in the film. As an example, Runyan asks a lady to dance, and when she accepts, he acquits himself well. That could never have worked on the radio program, to be sure.For those of us who remember the program, there's a lot of nostalgia in the film. For those who never heard the show (such as my wife), it's still okay, but probably not as valued.

The plot of the movie is fairly basic. It begins with the death of a dentist - which death turns out to be tied in with a 6-year-old armored car robbery investigation, another murder, and a circus. The Fat Man, Brad Runyon, is a private investigator hired by the dentist's nurse to investigate, since the police are satisfied that his death was an accident.The movie's humor is fairly silly - for one thing, the director went a bit overboard on using all the sight gags that they couldn't use on radio (see below), such as Brad trying to fit into a tiny car, a phone booth, and dancing (which was kind of adorable).One interesting bit of trivia about this movie - J. Scott Smart, the actor playing Brad Runyon (the titular "Fat Man") also played him in the radio serial of the same name. It was really nice to see that (unlike many actors) he really looked the part he played.In the radio serial, he didn't have the sidekick character they gave him for the movie - but the guy was pretty harmless and amusing, so it worked out pretty well (it didn't turn them into a Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin clone or anything). On the radio, what made Runyon stand out was that he was a big guy, but not the least bit sedentary.It's a movie to watch if you like the radio serial (another trivia point - the radio show was inspired by a CHAPTER TITLE from the Maltese Falcon) or if you want to see famous clown Emmett Kelley play - well - a clown. Or if you like Julie London who looks pretty stunning in a cocktail dress.