The Case of the Curious Bride (1935)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Erle Stanley Gardner (story)
Tom Reed (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 April 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

Plot:

After giving the District Attorney another stinging defeat, Perry plans to take a vacation in China...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Murder | District Attorney | Restaurant | San Francisco California

Cast

Warren William	...	Perry Mason
Margaret Lindsay	...	Rhoda Montaine
Donald Woods	...	Carl Montaine
Claire Dodd	...	Della Street
Allen Jenkins	...	Spudsy Drake
Phillip Reed	...	Dr. Claude Millbeck
Barton MacLane	...	Chief Detective Joe Lucas
Wini Shaw	...	Doris Pender (as Winifred Shaw)
Warren Hymer	...	Oscar Pender, Doris' Brother
Olin Howland	...	Coroner Wilbur Strong
Charles Richman	...	C. Phillip Montaine
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Toots Howard, 'Inquirer' Reporter (as Thomas Jackson)
Errol Flynn	...	Gregory Moxley
Robert Gleckler	...	Detective Byrd
James Donlan	...	Detective Fritz

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #685)

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

Donald Woods appears as the character Carl Montaine. In 1937, he would actually play Perry Mason in The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937), the last in the Warner Bros. Perry Mason series.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the first scene at Fisherman's Wharf, Perry is picking out crabs, and he says, "Joe, we've decided upon these four antagonistic anthropods." Crabs are arthropods; there is no such thing as an anthropod.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Della Street: [to Perry] You're so wonderful. If only you couldn't cook.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Perry Mason: The Case of the Curious Bride (#2.5)" (1958)

Soundtrack:

On a Dark and Stormy Night

Perry's Old Flame

Besides being in the series of Perry Mason films that Warner Brothers did the urbane Warren William in the title role, The Case Of The Curious Bride is famous for being the American debut film of Errol Flynn. Flynn has no dialog in the film, he's first seen briefly as the corpse and then in flashback the actual murderer relates how Errol got himself dead. Two films later and Flynn, a complete unknown was co-starring with Olivia DeHavilland in Captain Blood and the rest is cinema history.

Don't expect to see the business like Raymond Burr interpretation of Perry Mason here. Warren William is quite the romantic here with steady girl friend Della Street played by Claire Dodd and a few old flings constantly showing up. One of those is Margaret Lindsay who is now married to rich young Donald Woods, son of Charles Richman who ain't too crazy about his son's marriage. When Flynn shows up after people thought he was dead making veiled threats of course Lindsay turns to another old flame in Warren William for help.

Then when Flynn gets killed she really does need his help. Though the case never gets to trial, Perry earns his fee in finding out the real killer.

Warren William has some kind of record, he played the hero/protagonist in three movie series, The Lone Wolf, Perry Mason, and Philo Vance. He's not the Perry Mason a couple of television generations grew up with, still his interpretation is different.