As I watched this film I thought that "The Longest Night" was an incredibly short film, and indeed, it is apparently the shortest feature film MGM ever made. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining little murder mystery that's well worth a watch of under one hour.
There is a problem here, however. The director and writers tried to make a film that was both a mystery AND a comedy. There are elements of both here, but it's a mix that doesn't quite work. They might better have made a mystery OR a comedy. There are fine comedy bits here, as well as fine dramatic moments, but they don't mesh.
The performances, however, are quite good. Robert Young may be the only person in the film you readily know, and he is quite good here. And although you won't probably know many of the other actors is this B film, you'll recognize many of them. Two are worth mentioning, albeit in a negative sense. Did either Ted Healy (earlier associated with The Three Stooges") or Sidney Toler (of Charlie Chan fame) actually have any acting ability????? I guess this sounds like a negative review, although I don't mean it to be. This was an entertaining film...and a little different...and worth watching with a t.v. tray and dinner in front of the television. But just once.
There is a problem here, however. The director and writers tried to make a film that was both a mystery AND a comedy. There are elements of both here, but it's a mix that doesn't quite work. They might better have made a mystery OR a comedy. There are fine comedy bits here, as well as fine dramatic moments, but they don't mesh.
The performances, however, are quite good. Robert Young may be the only person in the film you readily know, and he is quite good here. And although you won't probably know many of the other actors is this B film, you'll recognize many of them. Two are worth mentioning, albeit in a negative sense. Did either Ted Healy (earlier associated with The Three Stooges") or Sidney Toler (of Charlie Chan fame) actually have any acting ability????? I guess this sounds like a negative review, although I don't mean it to be. This was an entertaining film...and a little different...and worth watching with a t.v. tray and dinner in front of the television. But just once.