Fast Company (1938)

Don't Believe the Hype

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This is one of several movies - more than just this one starring Melvyn Douglas as the husband/sleuth - that were made in the 30's trying to piggy-back off the success of 1934's "Thin Man". This one is pretty good, but it lacks what nearly all of the other Thin Man knock-offs lack - any perceived chemistry between the husband/wife sleuth team. In fact, I thought Douglas' scenes with Claire Dodd were more believable than the rather forced attempts at getting sparks to fly between Melvyn Douglas as rare book dealer Joe Sloane and Florence Rice as his wife Garda.Apparently the Sloane book dealing business itself isn't doing that well,so Joe has been picking up extra bucks by finding stolen rare books and getting a 10% cut from the insurance company on what they would have had to pay had the books not been found. A friend of the Sloanes, Ned Morgan, has just gotten out of jail for stealing some rare books that were never recovered. He has always proclaimed his innocence, but after he's out of jail it seems the Sloanes and Ned's girl Leah Brockler are the only people who believe him - he can't find a job anywhere. Plus Leah's wealthy dad Otto Brockler (George Zucco) is threatening Ned with more jail if he doesn't leave Leah alone.Well, next thing Otto is found dead, bludgeoned to death in his office by a statue on his desk. Joel gets involved because the police are already measuring a missing Ned for the electric chair. There are a multitude of suspects including Claire Dodd as Otto's secretary who dresses in expensive fashions considering her small salary, plus a couple of rare book counterfeiters played to perfection by Louis Calhern and Dwight Frye.The pace is fast moving, the characters interesting, and Joel seems to move effortlessly through his sleuthing paces, just dripping with self confidence. This had me wondering - where did a rare book dealer come up with all of these detective skills? With a mystery film, the question I ask at the end is - would I watch it again, now that I know who did what? The answer in this case is yes - because the characters and just not the twists and turns of the plot make it memorable. Recommended.

FAST COMPANY is a minor mystery/comedy about Joe Sloane, a book dealer who plays part time detective to solve a crime involving a crooked book deal. MELVYN DOUGLAS has a great time with the comedy aspects, delivering some tart lines with authority and FLORENCE RICE makes a nice impression as his ever loving wife.Naturally, there have to be heavies and the cast includes GEORGE ZUCCO, DOUGLAS DUMBRILLE, CLAIRE DODD and NAT PENDLETON to take care of all the other angles. The biggest culprit turns out to be LOUIS CALHERN as a very aggressive gangster type who strays from his usual suave kind of role to deliver a good performance as the mastermind behind a lot of crooked schemes in the rare book business. CLAIRE DODD is equally effective as his two-timing partner in crime.Strictly low-budget mystery/comedy has the benefit of some smart lines that put it in the above average category.

The first and, in my humble opinion, the best of the three Joel & Garda Sloane mysteries. Others have compared the three "Fast" movies to The Thin Man series. Its only real similarity is the snappy exchanges between husband and wife. Joel is gainfully employed with his own rare books business and well known locally as an expert in the field. Garda works with him. Neither Nick or Nora did much other than live off of Nora's inheritance. I particularly enjoyed Florence Rice more in the Garda role than either Ann Sothern or Rosiland Russell. She is fairly rarely the butt of Joel's "jokes" like Nora is. Douglas and Rice are a little more "down to earth" than the other two couples.If you are a mystery series fan this is well worth the hour and ten minutes and much better than most of the '30s and '40s mystery series. Don't expect to be culturally enriched but you will be entertained.

This is simply a terrific movie. Done in the "Thin Man" vein, it is not a cheap imitation, it has a life of its own. Florence Rice and Melvyn Douglas have some real chemistry going on as Garda and Joel Sloane. The entire cast look like they are really enjoying this one. Fast paced and slick, with just enough comedic touches, this movie succeeds in being very entertaining. Florence Rice has never looked more beautiful, as she dishes it out and takes it from Melvyn Douglas who is both witty and charming all the while putting together the clues to solve the murder. Louis Calhern gives a really solid performance as the villain, and veterans George Zucco, Douglas Dumbrille and Thurston Hall add to the drama and the mystery. Claire Dodd and Mary Howard give some more feminine charm to the proceedings, and Nat Pendleton makes an appearance for some comic relief. Throw in a young Shepperd Strudwick as the accused and you have a real find here in this movie. Florence Rice continues to impress as a truly gifted actress, this movie shows again the marvelous talent of this performer and the cruel twist of fate that has left her in obscurity. Hopefully this film will be available on DVD. Should have been the first of a series..........