Movie Review: The Last Alarm (1940)
Synopsis: After being forced into retirement because of his age, Captain Jim Hadley is bored, depressed and angry about "outliving his usefulness." However, when his best friend is killed fighting a fire set by a serial arsonist, he gets out of his funk and helps his future son-in-law, Frank, track down the pyromaniac, an investigation that soon puts his family in danger.
Who's in it? The movies stars J. Farrell MacDonald, Warren Hull, Polly Ann Young, Mary Gordon and George Pembroke.
Review: After an active and exhausting weekend, I was falling asleep on the couch a bit earlier than expected and, when scouting for a movie to watch this morning, I mostly was choosing the first one that sounded halfway interesting and could be watched in the amount of time I had available. After a couple minutes, I chose The Last Alarm.
For a short while, I wondered if I made a mistake with my choice. The first few scenes about Jim Hadley's (MacDonald) retirement seemed like they were made for a comedy rather than the drama I was expecting to see, whether it was his ineptness when trying to help his wife (Gordon) around the house or torturing a brush salesman with long stories about his time with the fire department. As the movie progressed and got to the main plot, however, it turned out to be pretty good.
I think the thing that really sold movie for me is the arsonist (Pembroke). I liked how the movie portrayed him as someone who was obsessed with fire to the point he'd even give away that obsession with his facial expressions whenever he saw a lit match but at the same time, was also functional enough to run an antique business and blend in. This made finding him a lot harder while his obsession with fire made him unpredictable because he had no motive other than to watch things burn.
The stock footage of real fires was spliced in well enough to make it work in the context of the movie and show just how dangerous the arsonist was. It certainly was more impactful than just keeping the fires off screen.
Plus, the movie does a great job setting up the suspenseful ending, introducing the arsonist to Jim and his family through a random business transaction made by Jim's daughter, Joan (Young) that also resulted in the pyromaniac having Jim's home address. It was a random and believable chance encounter that ultimately changed the tone of the film for the better.
Final Opinion: The comedy-like beginning doesn't really fit the overall tone of the film but once you get past that, it's a solid drama with a good story and an exciting ending. It's a movie that is worth watching as a result of that.
My Grade: B
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Here are some reviews of other movies featuring firefighters:
Movie Review: A Shoe Addict's Christmas (2018)
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