Movie Review: The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) directed by Michael Curtiz
Between movies, star defense attorney Perry Mason has successfully defended an alleged hatchet killer, humiliating the district attorney once again. He’s preparing for a victory feast, the crab dish of which he’ll cook himself, and then a Chinese vacation. At the restaurant, he’s called aside to meet an old friend, Rhoda Montaine (Margaret Lindsay). She has this friend, a bride, you see, who’s gotten curious. She thought her previous husband was dead before she got married, but that might not be the case. Just asking, for this friend, what she should do. Perry immediately sees that Rhoda herself is the curious bride, but when he presses Rhoda on this, she does a runner.
As the meal concludes and Perry’s friends are enjoying dessert coffee, the coroner, Wilbur Strong (Olin Howland) gets notice that there’s been an exhumation order on a corpse named Gregory Moxley (Erroll Flynn in a blink and you’ll miss it cameo.) At the morgue, the coffin turns out to contain a cigar store Indian. Moxley’s alive!
But not for long. He turns up beaten and stabbed to death, with Rhoda as the main suspect. Moxley is discovered to have pulled the same stunt several times. Marry woman, fake his own death, turn up for blackmail once the widow remarries. He went to the well too often, but who actually killed him?
District Attorney Stacey (Henry Kolker) and Chief Detective Joe Lucas (Barton MacLane) like Rhoda as the suspect. She had plenty of motive, was carrying around a gun and (prescription) knock-out drugs shortly before the murder, is lying about her alibi, and also her father-in-law is exerting pressure. C. Phillip Montaine (Charles Richman), a millionaire, hated his son Carl’s (Donald Woods) wife from the beginning. He’d be thrilled if the marriage was declared invalid, and if Rhoda gets sent away for murder, so much the better! Also, if the marriage is null, then Carl can be asked to testify against his false wife.
It’s up to Perry Mason, his secretary Della Street (Claire Dodd) and detective sidekick “Spudsy” Drake (Allen Jenkins) to unravel the State’s case and uncover the real killer!
This second Perry Mason movie takes a more humorous tone than “Howling Dog” did. Perry’s more relaxed and willing to crack jokes, and Spudsy is much more of a comic relief figure than the book’s Paul Drake. The action’s moved to San Francisco, and between that and other liberties taken with the plot and characterization, this movie wasn’t liked by Erle Stanley Gardner or book purists. (Yes, they existed in 1935.)
Not being a faithful adaptation doesn’t make this a bad movie. It’s well-directed, fun, and the actors do a good job. Olin Howland is a particular delight as the coroner. (Flynn, on the other hand, is wasted on his tiny role.) There’s amusing minor characters, and some entertaining twists and red herrings.
Political: The police and district attorney are depicted as unpleasant, using trickery to get Rhoda to make statements that work against her, and lazily not completing the investigation to rule out other suspects. Perry has to do the real detective work for them.
Content note: Murder. Fisticuffs. A Chinese servant is depicted in an ethnic stereotype way. Skimpy costumes on some women (though if you look closely they’re wearing flesh-colored bands to cover their navels to conform with the Hays Code.) Extramarital sex is implied with the bigamy thing going on. Mention of divorce. Early teens on up should be okay.
Recommended to Perry Mason fans, and old-fashioned murder mystery fans.
