Monte Carlo Nights (1934)

Admirable film.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

When the film begins, the rich playboy Larry (John Darrow) finds himself engaged to two women--one who is a gold-digger and another, Mary (Mary Brian), who is kind of sweet. Larry manages to shake loose the gold-digger but just when it looks as if the marriage will go off without a hitch, Larry is in the wrong place at the wrong time and the police think he killed someone! He's sentenced to 10 years in prison--a wonderful way to spend his wedding night! However, there is a LOT more to the story than this. There is a clue that the real killer is a guy who is obsessed with playing a bizarre little system for roulette--and when Larry manages to escape from the train taking him to prison, he begins to investigate on his own! And this is only the beginning....see the film and you'll see what I mean.The plot to this film is wildly improbable and the actors are mostly unknowns. Additionally, the film is obviously a cheap B-movie with very modest pretenses. BUT, despite all this, it IS entertaining and well made. If you don't spend too much time thinking through the plot, it is quite fun and worth seeing. A better than average B-mystery, that's for sure.

This is a surprisingly attractive "B" drama from one of poverty row's longest running studios, one which seems almost like something Paramount might have expanded on. (Even the opening title looks like one of Paramount's title cards). It's all about a young playboy framed for murder and struggling to find the actual killer after he escapes from the prison train. A bunch of obvious stock footage mixes in nicely with the newly filmed material, and the acting (particularly John Darrow as the accused playboy, Mary Brian as the socialite who loves him and Yola D'Avril and Astrid Allyn as sordid femme fatals) is right on target. Usually associated with Z-grade westerns, crime dramas and poorly filmed horror movies, Monogram on occasion threw in something a bit above the usual grade, and this is one of them.

I searched for this film for one reason only: I really liked Mary Brian in the W. C. Fields film "The Man On The Flying Trapeze", and wanted to see more of her. She is sweet and beautiful but a little bland in this film; in fact, I would say that two other actresses, Yola d'Avril as a French girl who loves the hero but is not loved back and Astrid Allwyn as the killer's girlfriend, make more of an impression. Although it is made by Monogram studios, which have a reputation for cheapness, "Monte Carlo Nights" has higher-than-expected production values, including a horse steeplechase and a daring jump from a moving train. But the story is unlikely, short on mystery, and not very engaging. This is not a bad movie, but if you miss it, you won't be missing much. ** out of 4.

A man found guilty of a murder he didn't commit, a daring escape by leaping off a train crossing a bridge, a shooting in a café and a scrap of paper that leads to a denouement in Monte Carlo --- these are the plot points that tell you you're watching a great Hitchcockian thriller. Only it isn't a Hitchcock picture, it's directed by William Nigh for Monogram and it is pretty poor -- especially as we've seen Hitchcock do it right, starting a year later with THE 39 STEPS. Really, the main reason to see this movie is to serve as counterpoint to Hitchcock.Even the sound system seems off. Everyone speaks their lines with great emphasis as if every article is of great importance. There are some good actors lurking here, including gorgeous Mary Bryan, Astrid Allwyn and George 'Gabby' Hayes, clean-shaven, hair neatly combed and his teeth in. But really, you'd do yourself a favor by giving this one a miss.