They knew how to construct them, put all the clues out there, and play fair with their audiences. This is especially true of William Post, Jr.'s Gerry North. Gracie was out shopping. 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After Pam leaves, Carol admits that she hated her cruel husband, but says he did not know about the affair. The roster of dependable character actors -- Virginia Grey, Jerome Cowan, Felix Bressart (comic relief as a Fuller Brush Man caricature), Thin Man veteran Porter Hall, Keye Luke – appearing as cops, suspects, witnesses, all seem little more than stick figures designed to serve as foils for Gracie. Forgot your password? title details and video sharing options. Cast: Gracie Allen (Pamela 'Pam' North), William Post, Jr. (Gerald P. 'Gerry' North), Paul Kelly (Det. According to a news item in Hollywood Reporter and M-G-M publicity materials, Henry O'Neill was cast, but he did not appear in the released film. George Burns, by the way, doesn't appear. Albert Hackett and Peggy Conklin played Mr. and Mrs. North. Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons And it throws off the chemistry between the Norths. By using this site, you agree to our updated, Opening title sequence from the Gracie Allen detective comedy, Pam (Gracie Allen) is a little too forthcoming as she and spouse Gerry (William Post Jr.) are debriefed by Detective Mullins (Millard Mitchell) in, Pam (Gracie Allen) confounds husband Gerry (William Post Jr.) with her reasoning before finding a body in the closet in, A dizzy socialite (Gracie Allen) and her husband set out to solve a murder in their Park Avenue apartment in. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. It's a comedy of obliviousness, especially to what it could – and should – have been. I first heard this series in the '70s and was taken in by the combo of light romance, danger and mystery. After carefully removing the card, she goes to a party at Stuart's and confronts him. Jerry is in no mood to discuss brooms and tries to chase him away, until Talbot says that he came the day before and the man inside would not let him in. zacandan But it's peopled mostly by mannequins, and the simultaneously lively and homey give-and-take that gives the Norths their low-key charm is pulled off course and out of reach, by the decision to turn the film into a Gracie Allen vehicle, even if she does solve the murder by dismembering syntax and logic and rejiggering facts, confidently marching to her own beat. Until they make sense to everyone. In no time, bland WASPy types fill the room, as if from a party list, misdirection ensues as domestic and extracurricular tangles are bared, and the well-tailored crowd, when it isn't gathered around the Norths' piano singing Arthur Freed songs, or marching through police headquarters with its smart cop-dumb cop team prodding them with questions and assumptions (would-be know-it-all dumb cop Millard Mitchell was a carryover from the Broadway stage version, Paul Kelly plays the smart one), angrily fills the air with accusations. See what's new with book lending at the Internet Archive. Uploaded by The same sources, and a publicity still from the film indicated that Olin Howland was cast as a police desk sergeant, but he was not in the released film. They solve crimes because bodies, in effect, keep getting dumped on them. With William Powell and Myrna Loy as the sophisticated couple (his retired detective provided raffish worldliness, her heiress provided the money), they hit big, making five sequels. and the Terms and Policies, A year later, the Norths surfaced in a Broadway play. By this time, Jerry really does think that Pam was having an affair and leaves the apartment. Lieutenant Luke Weigand), Rose Hobart (Carol Brent), Virginia Grey (Jane Wilson), Tom Conway (Louis Berex), Felix Bressart (Arthur Talbot, Fowler Brush Salesman), Stuart Crawford (Stuart 'Stu' Blanton), Porter Hall (District Attorney George Heyler), Millard Mitchell (Detective Mullins), Lucien Littlefield (Mr. Barnes, the Postman), Inez Cooper (Mabel Harris, Gerry's secretary), Keye Luke (Kumi, Blanton's servant), Jerome Cowan (Ben Wilson), Fortunio Bonanova (Buano). At the police station, everyone believes that Jerry is the killer, but through Pam's ramblings, it is revealed that Stuart's alibi is phony because the lobster he served at his party was canned, not homemade. They all seem practically interchangeable. They then search his desk and find a note written by Pam, inviting Brent to their apartment on the afternoon of the murder. Overview of Mr. & Mrs. North, 1942, directed by Robert B. Sinclair, with Gracie Allen, William Post Jr., Paul Kelly, at Turner Classic Movies Your browser may not be compatible with all the features on this site. -- it's also fun to note the aberrations – such as the suspect played by Tom Conway (best remembered as The Falcon, a sort of down-market Philo Vance) at a bit of a loss, stripped of his usual suave demeanor, left with nowhere much to go, looking as if he wandered by mistake into the wrong party. He did, and it was filmed with Gracie discombobulating the usually suave Vance of Warren William, a sort of American Sherlock Holmes. Sign up here. Working fast, MGM filmed The Thin Man the same year it was published, in 1934. Years of radio and TV episodes followed. Millard Mitchell originated his movie role in Owen Davis's play, which opened in New York on 12 January 1941 and ran for 163 performances. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! All rights reserved. The couple first surfaced in his New York Sun newspaper columns in the '30s, then morphed into New Yorker stories. The police then question Jerry's secretary, Mabel Harris, to corroborate his alibi for the afternoon of the murder and find an envelope in the office wastebasket, addressed to Brent from Pam. on April 24, 2007. Director: Robert B. Sinclair Don't have an account? Just then, Heyler calls and says that Ben is the chief suspect because of Talbot's identification. and Mrs. North” series by Richard and Frances Lockridge are from the detective fiction genre. Mr. and Mrs. North was a radio mystery series that aired on CBS from 1942 to 1954. Closed Captioning. When Pam goes for the mail, she notices the card on their box is covered by one with the name "Blanton" on it. The Mr. and Mrs. North shows popped up irregularly. He says he knows nothing about the card and advises Pam to take it to the police. Unknown to Jerry, Louis has been having an affair with Carol Brent and has asked Pam to convince Carol's husband to grant a divorce. Just then their friends, patent attorney Stuart Blanton, and Jane and Ben Wilson stop by. When the police question Pam and Jerry again, they admit knowing Carol, but Pam says they never met Brent. By Richard Harland Smith, Dashiell Hammett wrote only one novel about his crime-solving married couple, Nick and Nora Charles. Directed by Robert B. Sinclair. While crime and murder are being solved, a touch of humor always permeates the proceedings. Just as there's a modicum of enjoyment to be gleaned from the period flavor – the woodenness of much of the dialogue is a campfest! In the end, Mr. and Mrs. North isn't a comedy of murder. When Pam suddenly screams because she thinks a stranger has been in their apartment, Ben recognizes the compact and pockets it.