Mystery Classics

Looking for some old movies to watch? This collection of 50 black and white mysteries from the 1930's through the 1950's contains some of the better Bulldog Drummond series with John Howard, as well as the Sherlock Holmes films, with both Basil Rathbone and Reginald Owen in the lead role. I have always preferred Basil Rathbone.

The collection contains, among others, Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto, John Garfield in "They Made Me a Criminal", Edward G. Robinson in "Scarlett Street", even Orson Welles in "The Stranger." They're all here, nicely packaged and arranged.

Frank Sinatra is taut as a would be assassin in the 1954 film "Suddenly", as he waits to shoot the President. Bela Lugosi is sinister as "The Mysterious Mr. Wong", and of course Nigel Bruce is bemused, as always, while Basil Rathbone takes the measure of the case at hand, solving the seemingly impossible, while making it look so easy!

Even William Powell is here, in the first of the Dashiell Hammett films he would later make so famous with "The Thin Man" series. The film here is one of Mr. Hammett's Philo Vance mysteries.

Looking for a different version of James Cagney? He's here, too, as the only honest Inspector of Weights and Measures in "The Great Guy."

If you like the old black and white mystery films from those rainy afternoons watching TV when you were a bit younger, this collection is made to order for you.

"The Thin Man" with Myrna Loy and William Powell

Looking for a good Christmas movie with a little bit of a twist? Look no further than this one. "The Thin Man" is one of those "whodunits" that seldom get made these days. William Powell, impeccably dressed, as always, plays Nick Charles, a former playboy-detective who marries Myrna Loy, who plays Nora Charles, his wife. He has retired from the "detecting" business in order to "keep an eye on my wife's money."

When Mr. and Mrs. Charles arrive in New York just in time for the holidays, the last thing on their minds is to become involved in solving the murder of an old friend, Professor Wynatt. But with the press hounding him, and a wife who wants to see her famous husband in action, there is not much hope in evading the inevitable, as Mr. Charles drinks his way to solving the crime.

Loaded with character actors, the faces of whom you will instantly recognize, the film is fast paced and the dialogue witty. Nick and Nora are perfect as they romp their way through the holidays, culminating their investigation with an elegant dinner party, during which the killer is finally exposed. With the case wrapped up in time for New Years Eve, the couple happily boards the train for the return trip to San Francisco, and their next escapade.

Long the most admired of the many duos who have played the part of Nick and Nora, both in Hollywood and on TV, William Powell and Myrna Loy have that certain screen chemistry that will make you think they are really married. And with a script based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, what more could you ask for.

Here's a little sample courtesy of youtube;


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkbPRU_yRp0