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

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

Movie Review: Damsel (2024)

Image
Synopsis: Elodie, the oldest daughter of Lord Bayford, reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage with Prince Henry in the far-off land of Aurea because her bride price will provide much-needed relief to the starving residents of her homeland. When they arrive for her wedding, Elodie quickly warms up to the idea after seeing Aurea's beauty and even falling in love with Henry. However, soon after the wedding, she discovers it has all been a farce and she instead is thrown into a cave as a peace offering for the dragon living inside. Who's in it? The movie stars  Millie Bobby Brown ,  Ray Winstone ,  Angela Bassett ,  Robin Wright  and  Nick Robinson Review: My wife and I decided to watch a movie late yesterday evening and after striking out on horror films lately, ended up changing things up a bit with the fantasy adventure, Damsel . My wife thought it looked good from the trailer and I enjoyed Millie Bobby Brown in the Enola Holmes movies, so we had cautiously optimistic ex
Read more

Movie Review: Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie (2023)

Image
Synopsis: Despite showing improvement after solving his wife, Trudy's murder, the pandemic caused Adrian Monk to regress, and he now plans on killing himself after Trudy's daughter, Molly, is married. However, a day before the wedding, Molly's fiancé, Griffin is killed while bungee jumping. While a coroner's inquiry determined it was an accident, Molly believes Griffin was killed by Rick Eden, a billionaire and wannabe astronaut Griffin was about to expose for murder. Even though he isn't convinced by Molly's theory, he delays his suicide so he can investigate and bring her closure. Who's in it? The movie stars Tony Shalhoub , Traylor Howard , Ted Levine , James Purefoy and Caitlin McGee. Review: I used to be a huge fan of the television series Monk and still occasionally watch reruns when I can't find anything else on TV. So, when I heard there was going to be a movie based on the series, I was intrigued albeit a bit skeptical. I finally had a chan
Read more