Although made one year later than another Melvyn Douglas - Joan Blondell pairing, "There's Always A Woman", "The Amazing Mr. Williams" can be taken as more of a prequel than a follow-up to that earlier film, in which Douglas plays a retired detective who has gone private and Blondell is his wife who has already discovered her knack for crime-solving. Here, Douglas works for the police force, Blondell is the mayor's secretary, and they haven't even gotten married yet. While Blondell is always a delight to watch and the film definitely has its moments (especially near the end, when her role becomes more active), it is burdened by an episodic story that jumps from subplot to subplot (first, it's a locked-room mystery; then a false identity farce; then a hunt for a serial killer; and finally, a bank-robbery-and-murder story). All in all, it's pleasant but unremarkable. **1/2 out of 4.
Review of The Amazing Mr. Williams
