Gumshow Virginia

Private investigator Bill Reardon (Melvyn Douglas) is trying to find the thief who robbed the jewelry store owned by Francine Nacelle (Margaret Lindsay) and her husband (Pierre Watkin). While he's preoccupied with this case, his wife, Sally (Virginia Bruce) is taking on new clients by pretending she is herself an agent.  Highjinks ensue as Sally again complicates Bill's life and career in There's that Woman Again (1938)

Some years ago, we saw There's Always a Woman (1938), the precursor to this film. Frankly, we didn't enjoy the first one all that much, and we disliked this one more. The crew seems to think they are making a new Thin Man movie, but they aren't even in the universe, much less the ballpark. The script is plodding, the characters are underdeveloped, and the character of Sally is just plain silly.

With Joan Blondell in the part of Sally, you had a slight chance at humor, but Virginia Bruce, who really is quite a good actress in other films, is beyond annoying. It's not Ms. Bruce's fault really. She doesn't have any chemistry with Melvyn Douglas, and the script gives her precious little to do except get in the way of everyone. (Though hats off to her in the very last scene - the only funny one in the film!) Ms. Blondell was pregnant when shooting began (The Women of Warner Brothers: The Lives and Careers of 15 Leading Ladies by Daniel Bubbeo), and thus escaped being embroiled in this fiasco.

Though the film is only 72 minutes long, it feels as though the screenwriters needed to pad it out. And much of the padding makes no sense. The so-called comic bits go on for too long - there is a scene in a gym that has nothing to do with the plot and just goes on forever - and it's not funny. It's clear that they are not sure if they are making a comedy, a mystery, a farce, or pure screwball.

Poor Margaret Lindsay has nothing to do in this morass of a movie. She is involved in one of the better scenes - a fairly ingenious murder - but otherwise you want to tell her to run as far away from the film as she can get. Watch The House on 56th Street or B.F.'s Daughter if you want to visit with her.

According to the AFI catalog, this film was supposed to be the second in a trilogy. Thankfully, that idea was mercifully put to sleep after this debacle. Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926–1955: The Harry Cohn Years by Gene Blottner says it all: "the comedy is forced and unfunny. The story lets the viewer down when the murderer is revealed long before Douglas comes up with solution. No wonder the series was cancelled after this one." 

We agree. This is one to pass up.