Miss Pinkerton (1932)

Scion of the once-rich Mitchell family, Herbert Wynn is found shot to death. Nurse Adams, bored by hospital routine, is recruited by the police to ferret out clues as she tends to Wynn's ... See full summary »

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Mary Roberts Rinehart (novel), Niven Busch (adaptation),

Stars:

Joan Blondell, George Brent, Ruth Hall

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Blondell	...	Nurse Adams, aka Miss Pinkerton
George Brent	...	Police Inspector Patten
Ruth Hall	...	Paula Brent
John Wray	...	Hugo
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Juliet Mitchell
C. Henry Gordon	...	Dr. Stuart
Holmes Herbert	...	Arthur Glenn
Mary Doran	...	Florence Lenz
Blanche Friderici	...	Mary
Mae Madison	...	Second Nurse
Allan Lane	...	Herbert Wynn (scenes deleted)
Nigel De Brulier	...	Coroner James A. Clemp (as Nigel de Brulier)
Eulalie Jensen	...	Miss Gibbons - Superintendent of Nurses
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lucien Littlefield	...	Henderson (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Scion of the once-rich Mitchell family, Herbert Wynn is found shot to death. Nurse Adams, bored by hospital routine, is recruited by the police to ferret out clues as she tends to Wynn's elderly aunt Julia. Jokingly given the 'rank' of Miss Pinkerson, after the famous detective agency, Adams probes into the mystery, but not before a second death.

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Plot Keywords:

police | hospital | nurse | butler | last will and testament | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Crime da Avenida

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The secret marriage license shows the names "Herbert Wynne" and "Paula Brent". In newspaper headline, the surname is spelled "Wynn".

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Quotes

Nurse Adams, aka Miss Pinkerton: Here's a dollar, keep the change.
Taxi Driver: There is no change.
Nurse Adams, aka Miss Pinkerton: Then we're even.

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Connections

Version of The Nurse's Secret (1941)

User Reviews

Good mystery but little chemistry here...

...specifically between Joan Blondell and George Brent. These are two players whose performances and films I generally enjoy immensely, but here the two just seem to be acting at each other rather than with each other. It's hard to describe unless you actually see it.

Blondell plays a nurse in a hospital - Nurse Adams - who is bored with hospital routine. One night she gets picked by the head nurse to be private nurse for the night to an old woman who has had a terrible shock - the old woman found the body of her nephew shortly after he had been shot with his own gun. Was it suicide? Was it murder? If it was murder, what was the motive? These are the questions surrounding the mystery of the unnatural death of Herbert Wynn. There is also the complication of Herbert Wynn's life being insured for one hundred thousand dollars payable to his aunt, and that his family - once wealthy - is now on the verge of bankruptcy and ruin. So, there is just as much a motive for making the suicide look accidental - or like a murder - as there is reason for making any murder that has occurred look like a suicide or accident. Life insurance doesn't pay out for suicide.

Enter George Brent, a police detective on the case that takes an immediate liking to Nurse Adams and dubs her "Miss Pinkerton". I could never really figure that one out, unless it has something to do with the famous Scottish detective whose name is often a pseudonym for detective. This is really an old dark house tale mixed in with elements of the Thin Man. From the old dark house side of things we have a creepy mansion with creepier inhabitants and mysterious locked rooms. From the Thin Man tradition of mysteries - which actually wasn't made for two years after this film - we have everybody shooting darting and knowing glances at everyone else and looking guilty and somewhat conspiratorial.

The rather complex plot will keep you interested, but you'll likely be disappointed with the romance and partnership end of things between Blondell and Brent. They were both capable of having tremendous chemistry with other leading ladies and men, just not with each other and certainly not in this film. Recommended, but with reservations.