Fast and Furious (1939)

Rare book dealers Joel and Garda take a summertime jaunt to the seashore where he becomes involved in a beauty pageant as investor and judge much to her chagrin.

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writer:

Harry Kurnitz (original screen play)

Stars:

Franchot Tone, Ann Sothern, Ruth Hussey

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Franchot Tone	...	Joel Sloane
Ann Sothern	...	Garda Sloane
Ruth Hussey	...	Lily Cole
Lee Bowman	...	Mike Stevens
Allyn Joslyn	...	Ted Bentley
John Miljan	...	Eric Bartell
Bernard Nedell	...	Ed Connors
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Jerry Lawrence
Cliff Clark	...	Sam Travers
James Burke	...	Clancy
Frank Orth	...	Captain Joe Burke
Margaret Roach	...	Emmy Lou
Gladys Blake	...	Miss Brooklyn
Granville Bates	...	Chief Miller

Storyline

Joel and Garda Sloan, a husband and wife detective team, who also sell rare books in New York, take a vacation to Seaside City. At Seaside, Joel's pal, Mike Stevens is managing and preparing for their beauty pageant. Joel is made one of the judges plus he has invested $5,000 in it, to Garda's dismay. Eric Bartell, promoter, arrives to dupe Stevens. When Ed Connors, New York racketeer arrives, Bartell is mysteriously murdered. Joel and Garda set out to investigate the murder.

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Plot Keywords:

rare book dealer | seashore | vacation | murder | racketeer | 

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Taglines:

Crime doesn't pay with these two super sleuths on the job!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Musical | Mystery

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

A nagy riport

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Fast and furious" has the distinction of being the first American film shown in a newly-liberated Copenhagen, following Denmark's five-year German occupation in World War II.

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Quotes

Garda Sloane: Darling, do you think they'll go on with the pageant despite all this dreadful business?
Joel Sloane: I hope so.
Garda Sloane: You would, you and your tape measure.

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Connections

Follows Fast and Loose (1939)

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Soundtracks

When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain
(1931) (uncredited)
Written by Kate Smith, Howard Johnson and Harry M. Woods
Played on piano by Rube Demarest and sung by him and Henry Roquemore, Tom O'Grady, Ernie Alexander, James Burke and others at the party

User Reviews

An enjoyable B-movie with an almost A cast

B-movies were cheap and short films that were made to play as the lesser film at a double-feature. Many small-time studios specialized in Bs (such as Monogram and Republic) and the bigger studios also made Bs. In this case, the very respected MGM produced what seems like a B-movie in almost every way except that its stars were slightly better than you'd expect to see in a B. Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern star as a married couple who, not surprisingly, investigate crimes but are NOT professional detectives. I say 'not surprisingly' because there were plenty of B films with amateur detectives constantly showing up the police--such as Boston Blackie, Bulldog Drummond and Nancy Drew. And, like these other films, this was one of a series of such films--though NONE of the actors and actresses who played the two main roles played them in more than one film! The movie begins with Garda Sloane trying to trick her husband Joel into taking them on a vacation. Coincidentally, an old friend arrives and talks about a beauty contest going on at the SAME place where the Sloanes are headed (what are the odds?!). Once there, the Sloanes meet this friend once again but also (not surprisingly) stumble into a murder. And, like the genre, the pair begin investigating the crime and do far better than trained detectives.

The plot is about average for this sort of film--no better, no worse. However, Tone and Sothern are quite good AND the dialog is quite nice. It also helps that there is a nice sense of humor about the film--such as the wonderful dictophone scene. Overall, breezy and entertaining--but you wonder why neither Tone nor Sothern were used again for these roles.