Fast Company (1938)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Melvyn Douglas and Flo Rice are Joel and Garda, owners of a rare book business. Similar to Thin Man series, they are a husband and wife team solving mysteries. In this case, the insurance company hires them to figure out whats going on in the book market. Soooo similar to Thin Man... husband and wife flirt relentlessly. they drink. they smoke. they bicker in a friendly fashion. They even have Joel playing tricks on wifey to make sure she goes home while hubby goes off to do some dangerous sleuthing. So much talking. Both film series made by MGM. CLEARLY they were trying to capitalize on a good formula! Shepperd Strudwich is "Ned", accused of moidah. Julia, the secretary seems to be playing a role in all of this, played by Claire Dodd. Dodd would only make films a couple years more, quitting to raise a family. Rice would also quit Hollywood just a couple years later. The plot here is in-consequential... its all pretty bland. they run circles around the police department and solve the big case. Whatever. No big deal. nothing new to see here. Its a fine film, just another copy of the original.

Okay, so they're not Nick and Nora, but MGM produced this and 2 other such films (with different stars) to fill in the time gaps between films in the "Thin Man" series. Nevertheless, this is a neat little murder mystery.If there's a significant problem here, it's that Florence Rice (the female lead) can't hold a candle to Myrna Loy. Too bad she is held to that standard, but Rice just didn't have the gravitas (for wont of a better word) to do so. It's a shame, because on the other hand, Melvyn Douglas does quite nicely here not only as an alternative to William Powell, but also in his own right. For many years I knew Douglas only as an older and very serious actor, but in his younger days he played quite a few light and flip characters...this being one.In terms of supporting actors, they mostly do their jobs, but none shine. Claire Dodd is pretty decent as the other woman, deeply involved in criminal activity, yet seemingly not a criminal. Shepperd Strudwick, around whom the plot focuses, strangely disappears a little bit into the film...for no good reason. Louis Calhern -- in later films a favorite character actor of mine -- plays the primary bad guy here...and does "okay". You'll recognize Nat Pendleton as a dumb bad guy, Douglass Dumbrille as a lawyer, George Zucco as a semi-bad guy, and another favorite character actor of mine -- Minor Watson. Again, they all do what they need to do, but that's about all.The script is better than the character actors. The leads are involved in rare books, are presented with an odd murder case that deals with such books, and humorously work to solve the mystery and save a friend. It's an interesting little plot, though nothing to write home about.The comparisons with "The Thin Man" series are inevitable, and although this film doesn't quite compare, it's still a pretty good little story -- but a B, not an A, picture.

FAST COMPANY is a minor mystery/comedy about Joe Sloane, a book dealer who plays part time detective to solve a crime involving a crooked book deal. MELVYN DOUGLAS has a great time with the comedy aspects, delivering some tart lines with authority and FLORENCE RICE makes a nice impression as his ever loving wife.Naturally, there have to be heavies and the cast includes GEORGE ZUCCO, DOUGLAS DUMBRILLE, CLAIRE DODD and NAT PENDLETON to take care of all the other angles. The biggest culprit turns out to be LOUIS CALHERN as a very aggressive gangster type who strays from his usual suave kind of role to deliver a good performance as the mastermind behind a lot of crooked schemes in the rare book business. CLAIRE DODD is equally effective as his two-timing partner in crime.Strictly low-budget mystery/comedy has the benefit of some smart lines that put it in the above average category.

The first and, in my humble opinion, the best of the three Joel & Garda Sloane mysteries. Others have compared the three "Fast" movies to The Thin Man series. Its only real similarity is the snappy exchanges between husband and wife. Joel is gainfully employed with his own rare books business and well known locally as an expert in the field. Garda works with him. Neither Nick or Nora did much other than live off of Nora's inheritance. I particularly enjoyed Florence Rice more in the Garda role than either Ann Sothern or Rosiland Russell. She is fairly rarely the butt of Joel's "jokes" like Nora is. Douglas and Rice are a little more "down to earth" than the other two couples.If you are a mystery series fan this is well worth the hour and ten minutes and much better than most of the '30s and '40s mystery series. Don't expect to be culturally enriched but you will be entertained.