Fast and Furious (1939)

"I've got to see the manager. He distinctly promised me a room overlooking the ocean."

"But this one overlooks the ocean."

"But I don't like this ocean."

Joel (Tone) and Garda (Sothern) Sloane sell rare books in New York.  When a heat wave strikes, they escape to Seaside City.  Their friend Mike Stevens (Bowman) is managing a beauty pageant in Seaside City.  Stevens brings Joel on as an investor and judge, despite Garda's protestations.  Stevens learns that his boss, Eric Bartell (Miljan), is planning to skip town with the pageant money.  He goes to confront Bartell, only to find him dead.

Stevens is arrested as the prime suspect, but the Sloanes' don't think he is the culprit.  Joel is asked to help with the investigation.  He is joined by old friend and newspaper man Ted Bentley (Joslyn).  The list of suspects is long and includes criminal Ed Connors (Nedell), Bartell's publicity director Lily Cole (Hussey), and his mistress Jerry Lawrence (Hughes).  Can they find a way to get to the truth and save their friend?


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made 3 films about Joel and Garda Sloane from 1938-1939.  Each film had a different director and a different set of actors in the lead roles.  Fast and Furious is the third film in the series.  The trilogy started with Fast Company, directed by Edward Buzzell and starring Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice.  The second film, Fast and Loose, was directed by Edwin L. Marin and starred Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell.

The Good:
Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern have great chemistry and exchange easy banter.  I wish they made another film with these two as sparring partners.  The camera work is impressive, I expect no less from director Busby Berkeley.

The Bad:
The story feels like a lite version of The Thin Man.  That isn't a bad thing, but it isn't original.  The story drags a little in places.

Other Comments:
-I like Joel and Garda Sloane, but the story seems like an after thought - it's mostly an excuse to fill the screen with pretty young women in bathing suits or pageant attire.
-The scenes with the lion tamer, played by Frank Orth, and his lions are entertaining.  They don't seem to have a purpose, other than humor, but they did make me laugh.
-I feel like actress Ruth Hussey is wasted here, but I did enjoy seeing her in the film.
-It was also great to see Allyn Joslyn in this film, and I enjoyed his story arc.
-It wasn't the best or most interesting film, but I don't regret watching it.

Fast and Furious (1939) 73 minutes
Director: Busby Berkeley
Starring: Franchot Tone as Joel Sloane
Ann Sothern as Garda Sloane
Ruth Hussey as Lily Cole
Lee Bowman as Mike Stevens
Allyn Joslyn as Ted Bentley
John Miljan as Eric Bartell
Bernard Nedell as Ed Connors
Mary Beth Hughes as Jerry Lawrence
Cliff Clark as Sam Travers