Fast and Furious *** (1939, Franchot Tone, Ann Sothern, Ruth Hussey, John Miljan, Allyn Joslyn) – Classic Movie Review 12,621

Director Busby Berkeley’s diverting 1939 MGM black and white mystery comedy film Fast and Furious stars Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern as bookselling married sleuths, with Ruth Hussey, John Miljan and Allyn Joslyn.

Fast and Furious is the still amusing third and last in the Fast comedy thriller series (after Fast Company and Fast and Loose) with another new team, Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern, as husband and wife Joel and Garda Sloane, the rare book selling married sleuths, here investigating a vacation-resort beauty contest murder after their buddy Allyn Joslyn is wrongfully arrested.

The surprise choice of director, the ace choreographer Berkeley, pays off, as does the Tone-Sothern star casting, in another infectiously fast-paced, frothy, diverting picture. The main mystery here is why it became a trilogy and not an actual series, along with why MGM couldn’t make up their minds about who to star.

Harry Kurnitz’s screenplay is based on Harry Kurnitz’s novel, writing as Marco Page.

Also in the cast are Bernard Nedell, Mary Beth Hughes, Cliff Clark, James Burke, Frank Orth, Margaret Roach, Gladys Blake, and Granville Bates.

The 1938 film Fast Company with Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice became a sort of brief series, each with different stars in the leads: Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Fast and Loose (1939); Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern in Fast and Furious (1939).

The cast are Franchot Tone as Joel Sloane, Ann Sothern as Garda Sloane, Ruth Hussey as Lily Cole, Lee Bowman as Mike Stevens, Allyn Joslyn as Ted Bentley, John Miljan as Eric Bartell, Bernard Nedell as Ed Connors, Mary Beth Hughes as Jerry Lawrence, Cliff Clark as Sam Travers, James Burke as Clancy, Frank Orth as Captain Joe Burke, Margaret Roach as Emmy Lou, Gladys Blake as Miss Brooklyn, Granville Bates as Chief Miller, and Inna Gest as Miss San Antonio.

It is made and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Release date: October 6, 1939.

Running time: 73 minutes.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,621

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