User Reviews

"Fast and Loose" was one of the many husband and wife murder mysteries spawned by the success of "The Thin Man" franchise. Living up to its title at 80 minutes, this lighthearted contemporary M-G-M crime story featured a married couple forged in the mold of Nick and Nora Charles. Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell were ideally cast as an amusing couple of amateur detectives, Joel, and Garda Sloane, investigating the theft of the only existing excerpt of a genuine William Shakespeare manuscript valued at half-a-million dollars. At least three people die under mysterious circumstances because of this priceless manuscript. Since this is an M-G-M effort, the production values are glossy, the cast immaculate, with glamor in every department, particularly the villainous gambling entrepreneur. Indeed, everything is its proper place, and the amusing banter between Joel and Garda Sloane is more fun than the formulaic plot. Rare book dealer--and resident smart-aleck--Joel Sloane (Robert Montgomery of "The Lady in the Lake") is approached by a client, Christopher Oates (Etienne Girardot of "The Kennel Murder Case"), who wants him to buy a scrap of Shakespearean manuscript from a wealthy gentlemen desperately needing money. The economy of Edwin L. Marin's invisible direction is surpassed only by charisma of the two leads. Montgomery and Russell belong together. They have rhythm. Like traditional heroes and heroines, they don't blunder into this investigation from the get-go, they are desperate for work themselves. The office landlord has threatened to evict them if they don't pay up in ten days. Joel and Garda are in their office surrounded by book shelves bristling with valuable texts when she utters forbidden sentiments. "Too bad they abolished slavery, you'd bring a nice price," quips Garda flippantly. I'm surprised that comment didn't spark some controversy.

You can tell "Fast and Loose" is an M-G-M film because even the police look like they have better salaries. Mind you, this murder mystery unfolds in a large house, and everybody here had been there when the murders were committed. Furthermore, this crime follows infighting among the wealthy Torrent family. Nicholas Torrent (Ralph Morgan of "Strange Interlude") suspects that his son, Gerald Torrent (Tom Collins of "The Secret of Dr. Kildare"), may be stealing his prized books from his collection and selling them to pay off his gambling debts to 'Lucky' Nolan. The father plans to cut his son out of his will because of his son's larcenous spree. Joel phones one of his close friends, Phil Sergeant (John Hubbard of "The Mummy's Tomb"), who works for Torrent, Phil gives Joel nothing. Everything kicks into gear after Joel's insurance agent friend Dave Hilliard (Alan Dinehart of "Hotel for Women") asks him to visit Torrent and snoop around for him. The agent shows Joel a rare hardback copy of a book that Hilliard's company obtained. Hilliard and company are suspicious about what is happening out at the Torrent estate.

Joel Sloane isn't a defenseless amateur. He pulls some mighty slick moves, especially when he disarms Nolan in the gambling house. Garda ridicules Joel about his rush to heroism and wishes that he would refrain from it. You'll chuckle when you see what condition Joel is in at the close of "Fast and Loose." Even if the climactic payoff isn't as surprising as it is, "Land of the Pharaohs" scenarist Harry Kurnitz parcels out the appropriate scenes in agreeable order. Light comedy is the order of the day. Indeed, Kurnitz would later pen the stage play "A Shot in the Dark" that would become the basis for an Inspector Clouseau comedy. Anyway, Garda needles her impetuous husband about what happened when he got in the way of a crime investigation. We learn that Joel was shot in the buttocks. Garda wiggles a finger through the bullet hole as she holds up his pants and reminds him how painful the aftermath was with an inflatable donut tube. When Joel and Garda aren't picking at each other, Joel interferes with Nolan's dame, Bobby Neville (Joan Marsh of "Anna Karenina"), to question her about her presence at the house. Harry Kurnitz provides swell dialogue, interesting characters, but the revelation about the villain's identity isn't startling. This individual was fairly smart, but like all villains tripped himself up in the long run. "Fast and Loose" doesn't wear out it welcome.

Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell take up the roles that Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice had in "Fast Company" (made just one year earlier), and although they do a thoroughly professional job of it, I felt that the relationship portrayed by Douglas and Rice was a tad sweeter; in "Fast And Loose", there is a little too much "Go out now darling, I have to take care of business all by myself" attitude by the husband. Nonetheless, there are some funny moments (the perfume, the closing gag, etc). The mystery itself is thicker than that of the first film and demands your full attention if you want to keep up with all the different characters. The film feels a bit drawn-out at times, however the ending does provide a jolt! **1/2 out of 4.

I don't know why M-G-M decided to exchange Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell for the amazingly successful team of Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice who debuted as Joel and Garda Sloane in 1938's Fast Company. Mind you, Robert and Rosalind actually do very good jobs, although the chance to act in a superior screenplay – which is actually even more exciting than the original – helps too. Also of immense assistance here is a really outstanding support cast led by Sidney Blackmer as the evil, stop-at-nothing "Lucky" Nolan – no, I'm not giving away an essential plot twist. Lucky's just one of the suspects so far as the main murder is concerned. Also tops in the support cast are Jo Ann Sayers as Christina, Joan Marsh as Bobby, and Tom Collins as Gerald. I know these are not household names, but it goes to show what an enormous pool of talent was hanging around Hollywood in 1939 (often described as Hollywood's greatest year). And I can't leave off praising the acting without mentioning Etienne Girardot who is absolutely priceless in the role of Christopher Oates. This one was produced on a bigger budget than Fast Company and is well directed by the usually unexciting Edwin L. Marin, who never surpassed A Study in Scarlet (his second film); but this entry comes close! Available on an excellent Warner Archive DVD.

Brush up your Shakespeare, 'cause you may need it for clues in solving this murder involving original Shakespeare manuscripts replaced by phonies. Well, MGM thought its original stars of the first entry in this three part series to be phonies, too, and out were Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice, and in were Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell. Roz's addition was fine, but Montgomery seems slightly out of his element replacing Douglas. He's great in romantic comedy or drama and even in action, but after terrorizing Roz in "Night Must Fall", seems to be a desperate choice. The chemistry might have worked had Douglas been back, but he got Garbo that year, so he didn't loose in the deal. There is a bit more intrigue here, including an attempt to kill the couple in a car accident which ends up being played for laughs. Etienne Girardot is amusing as a little sprout of a man whom Montgomery orders to keep an eye on Roz. Other than the typical MGM gloss, there is nothing really remarkable about this, which comes as a major disappointment considering the talent involved. Russell gets a few opportunities to show off her comedic skills but is lost amidst the many convoluted plot twists which may make you lose attention and miss important clues in order to solve the crime. Something is definitely rotten in this state of confusion!

. . . "Picturization" (to use ITS word) of GONE WITH THE WIND, REBECCA, and shelves of other books lets slip its True Colors with FAST AND LOOSE. The whole theme of FAST AND LOOSE is that Literature exists ONLY to enable Fat Cat One Per Center Studio Heads to rake in scads of Quick Bucks from a Lazy Public too inert to actually READ a book (which allows said studio to play FAST AND LOOSE with the content of said books). Only ONE book is mentioned by name during the entirety of a flick supposedly ABOUT books! Aptly enough, PARADISE LOST is the is the name of that tome. As soon as this Hollywood Hack Shack opened for Business, America's Paradise for Authors (think Irving, Cooper, Melville, Poe, Alcott, Whitman, Emerson, Thoreau, London, James, Dreiser, Twain) Truly was Lost. An otherwise undescribed "Shakespeare" page is given a value here of "$500,000" (or $21 million, adjusted for inflation) simply as a backdrop for a few murders among the Rich and Famous under the nose of a failing gambling casino owner who is NOT President of the United States. If the Bard were around now to view FAST AND LOOSE, he'd surely shave his beard in humiliation!