Pursuit (1935)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Lawrence G. Blochman (story)
Wells Root (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 August 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Romance gets a move on in this mad, merry comedy of the open road! (original ad)

Plot:

"Mitch" Mitchell is an aviator who has been hired to take a child in a guardianship suit out of California into Mexico...

Plot Keywords:

Aviator | Mexico | Secretary | California | Private Detective

Cast

Chester Morris	...	Mr. 'Mitch' Mitchell
Sally Eilers	...	Maxine Bush
Scotty Beckett	...	Donald McCoy 'Donny' Smith
Henry Travers	...	Thomas 'Tom' Reynolds
C. Henry Gordon	...	Nick Shawn
Dorothy Peterson	...	Mrs. McCoy
Granville Bates	...	Auto Camp Proprietor
Minor Watson	...	Hale
Harold Huber	...	Jake
Dewey Robinson	...	Jo-Jo
Erville Alderson	...	Cop

Runtime:

60 min | USA:75 min (original version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Approved (PCA #1134)

Filming Locations:

Laguna, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Goofs:

Continuity: In the part where the speeding train is shown in the near background, there is no smoke whatsoever emitting from the locomotive's smokestack. Yet in the next shot, taken from a different angle, the locomotive is shown emitting a steady plume of dark smoke.

Country Roads, 1930's Style

No, this little programmer from the 30's is not going to win any awards. But it is an entertaining, fast-paced action drama laced with sometimes amusing bits of comic relief. The two principals, Eilers and Morris are particularly winning, their chemistry blending nicely as they grow closer despite the odds. I was especially taken with Eilers whose verve and grit suggest an MGM version of Warner's great toughie Joan Blondell. On the other hand, for me, a little of the folksy humor of Henry Travers goes a long way, but I guess that's a matter of taste. And, of course, there's tragic little scene-stealer Scottie Beckett who later fell victim to the notorious "child star" syndrome. It's hard to believe his later life, seeing him here.

Anyway, an interesting part was seeing those old flivvers of the 30's racing down narrow two- lane country roads where I could almost see Bonnie and Clyde just ahead. Yes indeed, the writers manage to string together about every cliff-hanger gimmick imaginable. So, if you don't like this particular setup, wait, there's another one just around the bend. But when you think about it, a gimmicky format is not so different from today's f-x'ed movie fare that pretty much depends on the spectacular. All in all, this little programmer amounts to an entertaining peek back into a time when kidnapping was in the headlines and Dillinger was on the loose.