Movie Review: The President's Mystery (1936)

Synopsis: After successfully stopping legislation that would have helped small businesses during the Great Depression, attorney James Blake goes on a fishing trip to celebrate but instead sees first-hand evidence of his work when he ends up in a town that is full of closed businesses and on the verge of financial collapse. Inspired by an article he read in a magazine, Blake decides to liquidate all his assets, abandon his unhappy marriage and fake his death so he can start over and help reopen a shuttered cannery. His plan becomes more complicated when his wife is murdered and he is blamed.

Who's in it? The movie stars Henry Wilcoxon, Betty Furness, Sidney Blackmer, Evelyn Brent and Barnett Parker.


Review: I was in the mood for a mystery film and, after doing a quick search, came across this one. At first, I didn't know if I would enjoy the movie because it wasn't what I thought it would be but, overall, I did still enjoy the movie for the most part.

The story about Blake (Wilcoxon) trying to reopen the cannery and compete against a national chain was interesting, including some of the obstacles he was forced to face, such as his competitor buying the railroad line they planned to use to ship their product and dealing with panicking townspeople as they, believing the cannery would go out of business again, started looting the warehouse. 

I was, however, a bit disappointed by the surprisingly small impact his wife's (Brent) murder ultimately has on the film. At first, I thought it would end up being a relatively big thing, with him having to defend himself in court. Instead, it really only comes into play late into the movie and his innocence is proven with very little effort (and quite a bit of luck). 

The movie was decent enough without murder being a major part of the plot. However, as someone who likes a good murder mystery and/or courtroom drama, I would have preferred to see that filled out a little more.

Final Opinion: It wasn't the murder mystery I was hoping it would be but the film was still entertaining enough to be worth watching at least once.

My Grade: B

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: Mean Girls (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After being raised in Kenya and homeschooled by her mother, high school junior Cady Heron is given the opportunity to attend classes at an American public school. As she tries to adjust, she is invited to join the Plastics, a girl clique headed up by the beautiful but vicious Regina George. Despite her friends, Janis and Damian, warning her about Regina and her fellow clique members, Karen and Gretchen, Cady tries to see the good in Regina. That changes when she falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron, and sees just how cruel Regina can be. Her acts of revenge, however, result in Cady assuming many of Regina's less-than-desirable traits and ultimately becoming a pariah. All while breaking out into song and dance because this is a musical. Who's in it? The movie stars  Angourie Rice ,  Reneé Rapp ,  Bebe Wood ,  Tim Meadows and Tina Fey . Review: I've seen the original Mean Girls multiple times, first when it originally came out then again with eac
Read more

Movie Review: Upgraded (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After running up a ton of student loan debt as an art history major, Ana's dreams of owning her own gallery hinge on being able to make an impression with her new boss, Claire, at a prestigious auction house. She gets that opportunity when she's invited to serve as an assistant on a trip to London, where a rare collection is about to be auctioned off. After receiving a surprise upgrade to first class, Ana meets William, the son of a British actress, and when he mistakenly believes she has her boss' job, she doesn't correct him. This creates complications as she begins to fall for William and learns his mother is the one selling the art collection. Who's in it? The movie stars Camila Mendes , Archie Renaux , Marisa Tomei , Lena Olin and Anthony Head. Review: I came across this movie on Amazon Prime yesterday and since it sounded like something my wife and I would both like, I added it to my list. We watched it tonight and, overall, I thought it wound up
Read more

Kwik Trip Kitchen Cravings Tailgater Pizza

Image
  When my wife and I decided on pizza for dinner last night, I stopped at Kwik Trip with the intention of just buying a cheap, frozen, cheese pizza for our daughters since we already had another pizza in our freezer. However, as I was walking up to the checkout counter, this particular pizza caught my eye and, even though I wasn't crazy about spending $8.99 when I already had another option at home, I was intrigued enough to make the purchase anyway. We ended up making the pizza in the oven when I got home. After trying it, I have to say it is one of my favorites. One of the things, in particular, that really stood out for me when it came to this pizza was the toppings. The combination of sausage and cheese curds was both unique and delicious, especially since the curds were fresh enough to still squeak when we were eating them. The pizza also proved to be surprisingly filling, both because of the thicker crust and the generous amounts of toppings and cheese.  Normally, when my wi
Read more