bensonmum2 There are a lot of different film genres I enjoy, but one I've enjoyed as long as I can remember (at least 45 years) is 30s/40s-era detective/murder mysteries. For reasons I can't explain, the early Perry Mason movies have, until the other night, remained unknown to me. I love the Thin Man, Falcon, and the Saint - Perry Mason ticks all the same boxes. Mix a decent little murder mystery with a bit of nice comedy, snappy dialogue, an appealing cast, and a well-shot, nice looking film and you'll end up with film that will most likely work on me. The Case of the Curious Bride may not be the best of the bunch, but it is a whole lot of fun.The plot involves a worried woman named Rhoda. She tracks down Perry with a story of "friend" who has recently remarried, but is worried her first husband may not be dead after all. What should the "friend" do? It doesn't take a detective to see that Rhoda's in trouble. Perry agrees to help, but before he can do much, Rhoda's first husband turns up dead - for real this time. With Rhoda the chief suspect and Perry's reputation on the line, he's got to find the real killer.The Case of the Curious Bride has a couple things going for it. First, Warren William's Perry Mason is a joy to watch. Similar to Nick Charles, Mason is a worldly sort - capable of everything from cooking a gourmet meal to solving a murder to just about everything in between. And he does all with style and grace. His barbs, directed at the police or whoever gets in his way, and his overall wit are real treat. He's quite a character. The second is Director Michael Curtiz. His direction, even in a relatively "small" picture like The Case of the Curious Bride, is spot-on. The direction is snappy, without a single wasted scene. Curtiz deftly gives the film a light, airy feel that works. The mix of comedy, mystery, and action is handled expertly. He was a real underrated professional.Overall, a real treat that I easily rate a 7/10.

utgard14 Second in the Perry Mason film series starring Warren William as the famed lawyer/detective. It's arguably the best in the series. This time around Perry is asked for help by an old flame and winds up investigating her estranged husband's murder. Fun entry with a weird thread involving Perry's cooking hobby. William is having fun as he usually seemed to be. Allen Jenkins is a hoot as Perry's sidekick. Claire Dodd is an enjoyable Della Street. Errol Flynn has a "blink and you'll miss him" appearance in a flashback. This was his inauspicious feature film debut. One of Humphrey Bogart's wives, Mayo Methot, has a small part. The rest of the fine cast includes the always lovely Margaret Lindsay, the always bland Donald Woods, and the always grumpy Barton MacLane. It's a good-looking film, attractively photographed by David Abel with nice direction from the great Michael Curtiz, who would go on to much bigger and better films, including many starring Flynn.

SimonJack This is the second of Erle Gardner's Perry Mason mysteries put on film. Warren William again stars and does a great job in the role. This is also the first of two appearances of Claire Dodd in the role of Della Street. She is by far the best in the early film roles. This Street plays off Mason's witticisms with equal wit. The repartee between the two is quit good and sprinkled throughout this film. Dodd's Della is equally attractive, intelligent and quick on her feet, yet also proper and not so flirtatious as others who play her in the early films. Dodd also imbues her character with a deep attraction to her boss. "The Case of the Curious Bride" is also the first look with some depth at Mason's epicurean side. The opening scene has him with a friend selecting the best crabs – probably at the Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. He later is going to prepare a dish he calls "Crab ala Bordeaux." Those are huge Dungeness crabs they are picking over. In my years of crabbing on the Oregon Coast, we seldom got crabs that large. A note for those not familiar with these Northwest crabs – they are cooked as soon as possible. The crabs Mason and friend are looking at and handling have all been cooked already. The audience can clearly see steam and the top of the cooking pot to the left. The mystery in this film is another excellent brain-twister that only Perry Mason and his team of detectives can unravel. And all the cast are very good in their roles. Allen Jenkins is a hoot as Spudsy Drake and Olin Howland is very good as Coroner Wilbur Strong. One other small smile comes with a very short appearance of Errol Flynn. I won't give away any of the story here, but have to mention that there is a tear gas scene that is riotously funny. True, these first movies of Gardner's famous lawyer-detective have a quite different character than millions of TV viewers and later movie fans saw with Raymond Burr. And, the Mason creator, Gardner, apparently didn't like these early films. But he was developing the character as he went along, and Perry Mason evolved after a few books into the courtroom centered mysteries that millions became familiar with from the 1950s on. But I think these early films – especially the first four with Warren William at the helm, are great entertainment. They provide some spice and humor. And they may more accurately reflect the people, customs and behaviors of the various social groups of the time. Toward the end of this film, Margaret Lindsay's character, Rhoda, says to Perry: "You're so wonderful. If only you couldn't cook."

Neil Doyle A bland script makes THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE more of a curiosity rather than a good Perry Mason film. WARREN WILLIAM is the famous sleuth and CLAIRE DODD is a blond Della Street, the secretary always one step ahead of her boss. This time the action centers on the mysterious death of a man called Gregory Moxley (ERROL FLYNN in what amounts to a bit role). He is talked about but not seen until the last few minutes when the mystery is wrapped up.MARGARET LINDSAY is the damsel in distress who calls upon Mason to help solve the mystery.What makes this curious is why they didn't write the Moxley role into the script, given that they had Flynn under contract and would soon be grooming him for stardom. He makes his debut as a corpse lying on the floor beneath a sheet! DONALD WOODS has the leading supporting role, but the story is never involving enough to maintain suspense. ALLEN JENKINS overplays his Paul Drake role.Surprisingly, Michael Curtiz was the man behind the camera--but the script is the real problem.