Bureau of Missing Persons (1933)
*** (out of 4)
Insane, over-the-top, crazy, silly but oh so entertaining drama from Warner throws pretty much everything at the viewer hoping any of it will stick. The film takes place at the title division where Detective Butch Saunders (Pat O'Brien) is sent to work because he's too violent for the other locations. Along the way his Captain (Lewis Stone) sets down new rules for him, which requires brains and not violence but Butch meets his match in a woman (Bette Davis) that he falls for not knowing she's wanted for murder. BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS is everything you'd want in a "B" picture from Warner. You've got a terrific cast, a wild and wacky story, some violence and just one strange scene after another. This is really one crazy little movie for a numbers of reasons. One of the biggest is that Detective Butch lives up to his reputation of being violent as he's not even afraid to slap a woman or two around. What's so funny (or unfunny depending on how you see it) is that the film goes for comic relief by having him smack around women. I won't ruin what happens at the very end of the movie but to say it's a little bit uncomfortable would be an understatement. Of course, O'Brien was a genius at playing this wise cracking, fast talking tough guys and he's a lot of fun here. Davis gets top billing even though she doesn't appear until the 35-minute mark but she's good here and the scenes with O'Brien are a lot of fun. Stone is also very good in his part and we get nice supporting bits by Glenda Farrell, Allen Jenkins and Hugh Herbert. It's best that one goes into this movie with their brain turned off because the "mystery" of the so-called "plot" is pretty stupid and there are so many holes in it that it never makes too much sense. The entire film remains entertaining because you really never know what's going to happen next. Fans of these type of Warner pictures should have a lot of fun with this one.
*** (out of 4)
Insane, over-the-top, crazy, silly but oh so entertaining drama from Warner throws pretty much everything at the viewer hoping any of it will stick. The film takes place at the title division where Detective Butch Saunders (Pat O'Brien) is sent to work because he's too violent for the other locations. Along the way his Captain (Lewis Stone) sets down new rules for him, which requires brains and not violence but Butch meets his match in a woman (Bette Davis) that he falls for not knowing she's wanted for murder. BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS is everything you'd want in a "B" picture from Warner. You've got a terrific cast, a wild and wacky story, some violence and just one strange scene after another. This is really one crazy little movie for a numbers of reasons. One of the biggest is that Detective Butch lives up to his reputation of being violent as he's not even afraid to slap a woman or two around. What's so funny (or unfunny depending on how you see it) is that the film goes for comic relief by having him smack around women. I won't ruin what happens at the very end of the movie but to say it's a little bit uncomfortable would be an understatement. Of course, O'Brien was a genius at playing this wise cracking, fast talking tough guys and he's a lot of fun here. Davis gets top billing even though she doesn't appear until the 35-minute mark but she's good here and the scenes with O'Brien are a lot of fun. Stone is also very good in his part and we get nice supporting bits by Glenda Farrell, Allen Jenkins and Hugh Herbert. It's best that one goes into this movie with their brain turned off because the "mystery" of the so-called "plot" is pretty stupid and there are so many holes in it that it never makes too much sense. The entire film remains entertaining because you really never know what's going to happen next. Fans of these type of Warner pictures should have a lot of fun with this one.