The Verdict

 (1946)
Directed by Don Siegel
Written by Peter Milne, based on a novel by Israel Zangwill
Starring Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Joan Lorring, George Coulouris, Paul Cavanaugh, Morton Lowry
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No, The Verdict isn't the Paul Newman movie and has no connection with it. But it is an intriguing mystery with two of the best-known character actors of the 40s.

George Grodman (Sydney Greenstreet) is superintendent of police when a man is executed. Grodman put forth a strong case, but after the man is hanged, it turns out that his alibi -- considered fictitious -- was solid. It is too late to change things, and Grodman becomes the fall guy, replaced by John Buckley (George Coulouris), who gloats over Grodman's downfall.

Grodman returns to his home, consoled by his friend Victor Emmric (Peter Lorre) and two neighbors, Clive Russell (Paul Cavanaugh) and Arthur Kendall (Morton Lowry). Kendall and Russell clash over politics and leave angrily.  That night, Kendall is murdered. The door and windows are locked from the inside.* Buckley takes over the case and it leads him to Russell, whose alibi breaks down. But things are much more complicated than that.

It's a relatively subdued performance by Greenstreet, and it's odd to see him with muttonchops, but he still plays it well. Lorre has little to do, but he oozes the same sinister charm he did in all his roles. Colouris is just the right mix of obnoxiousness and overconfidence. 

The solution is a nice, unexpected twist, and the mechanics of the locked room are well thought out.

This was Don Siegel's first full-length film. He later helmed such films as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dirty Harry, and a couple of episodes of The Twilight Zone. He's best known as an action director, but The Verdict is more like a cozy mystery.

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*I do like locked room mysteries.

**Best known for playing Walter Parks Thatcher in Citizen Kane -

Lawyer Man

 

(1932)
Directed by William Dieterle
Written by Rian James, James Seymour, Wilson Mizner, from a novel by Max Trell
Starrring William Powell, Joan Blondell, Alan Dienhart, Claire Dodd, David Landau
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Lawyer Man is a pre-code movie about an honest lawyer who gets in trouble and has to work his way back.

Anton Adam (William Powell) is the lawyer. With this secretary, Olga Michaels (Joan Blondell), he works to represent people in the Lower East Side of New York City. After getting an acquittal for his client, he is asked by hot shot attorney Granville Bentley (Alan Dinehart) to join his firm. Adam has a wandering eye, much to the chagrin of Olga, who is secretly in love with him, of course. Adam is on the up-and-up and refuses to play ball with the political boss John Gilmurray (David Landau). Gilmurry sets him up with Virginia St. Johns, who tricks him into being sued. When the trial ends with a hung jury, Adam loses all respectability and goes back to working in the Lower East Side -- but becomes more ruthless and cruel, taking shady cases*, until he gets a chance for revenge.

Powell was his usual charming self and his obliviousness to Olga's obvious affection is unforced. Joan Blondell is one of the most underrated actresses of the 30s and always a delight.

This was an early Hollywood film by director William Dieterle. He started out in Germany but was called to the US about the time sound came in, and did such classics as A Midsummer Night's Dream with Max Reinhardt, several of the Warner Brothers biopics of  the 30s, and many others, working regularly until the 60s.

Of note is that Wilson Mizner, known as one of the greatest wits in Hollywood, worked on the screenplay (uncredited).

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*One shows him getting the madam of a bordello acquited.

The Nice Guys

(2016)
Directed by Shane Black
Written by Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi
Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Kim Basinger
IMDB Entry

People know about parody, but not so much about a pastiche. While a parody mocks its subject, a pastiche appreciates it. An example is Galaxy Quest, a pastiche of the Star Trek franchise. Pastiches are unusual in filmmaking, but one great example is The Nice Guys.

Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is a detective who is hired by a woman to find her niece Misty Mountains, a porn star. Misty died in a car crash, but her aunt insists she seen her alive. Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is hired to stop March, breaking his arm to scare him away and meeting March's teen daughter Holly (Angourie Rice). Healy is threatened by some thugs looking for his client Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley). Healy teams up with March to find Kuttner, who as gone missing and fears she might be in danger. They are joined by March's daughter Holly (Angourie Rice), who likes the thrill of the case and even finds some clues to what's going on.

The movie is a buddy comedy/action film that looks like something out of the 70s. Yes, that's when it's set, but they use graphics of the era and the look of TV shows from back then. It also sticks with a 70s-type sexual openness.

Gosling and Crowe make a great team. March is the brains of the  outfit (though he'd not all that smart) while Healy is the muscle. The two have a great rapport and one can easily see this having further sequels if  it  had been a bigger success.

The script is witty and really works as a setup for a TV series. Director Shane Black has written the first two Lethal Weapon movies, as well as Iron Man 3. Unfortunately, he had some flops and has found it  hard to get projects.

Crowe was a major star, though this was during a lull in his career. Gosling kept going strongly, though.

Dept. Q

 

(2025-)
Created by Scott Frank, Chandni Lakhani
Starring Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne, Jamie Sives, Katie Dickie
IMDB Entry

Dept. Q  is a UK TV series about a cold case. This is hardly new, but what makes it work and stand out are the characters involved.

Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) is a police detective who is returning to duty after being shot in a botched investigation. Morck barely survived, and his partner James Hardy (Jamie Sives) is paraplegic due to the attack. But it's clear that no one is welcoming Morck back -- and for good reason.  He's sarcastic and arrogant. His boss, Moira Jacobson (Katie Dickie), tells him he is to head a new cold case unit, but it's clear to keep him out of the way -- his offices are in the basement in an old locker room decorated with urinals. 

Morck is joined by Akrim Salim (Alexej Manvelov), a former policeman from Syria who is an civilian employee, not a cop, but who attaches himself to Morck's unit. He goes through the cold cases and finds one about Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), a prosecutor who vanished four years earlier on a ferry ride. Morck thinks she's dead, but Akrim insists on following up. Soon Morck is drawn into the case and we learn quite early that Merritt is alive and a prisoner.  Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne) is a detective assigned to desk duty after a breakdown, but joins Morck to do more than file papers.

It's not a mystery since we know quite early that Merritt is alive. The story is discovering where she is and who has captured her.

The acting is excellent. Matthew Goode's Morck is much like Gregory House, but more intense and sarcastic and with little sense of humor. Alexej Manvelov portrays Akrim as a fascinating character: quiet, polite, patient on the surface, but ruthless when necessary. Chloe Pirrie is strong as a character that has been broken down by her experiences.

The show is strong stuff. Some of the scenes, especially with Merritt, are intense and may turn off viewers. But the result is great television.

The main mystery is resolved, but a second season is planned.  I'm looking forward to it.