Product: The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)
Rating: 4.0
Deliciously fun mystery
When I happened upon this movie I wasn't sure I wanted to see William Powell solve a mystery without Myrna Loy at his side. I am so glad I gave it a chance. Jean Arthur is perfect as his mystery writing, always suspicious ex-wife who drops in on him unexpectedly with a man to serve a subpoena because Powell (Dr. Bradford) isn't making his alimony payments. He says he isn't going to pay because she already has 2/3 of the money in California. She invites herself to dinner and during the evening decides that she is going to marry him again. But the doctor has another unexpected visitor that night--a friend, Mr. North, who is involved in horse racing. The movie had opened with a big splash about a racing jockey who died before his horse could win a big race. Though it was said to be a heart attack, Mr North suspects foul play and asks the doctor to go to the morgue and see what he can find out, thus involving Dr. Bradford in a murder mystery he would rather not get near. His ex-wife is concerned for his safety and the next thing he knows she is moving into his guest room to keep an eye on him. She is also very inclined to get involved in the mystery herself. Though I wouldn't call this a screwball comedy in the strictest sense (whatever that is), it does have elements of that genre along with the mystery around which the story revolves.What is in the envelope Mr. North has mailed to the doctor but addressed to himself?Why does Mr. North call to say he is coming to get it and then never show?Why does the doctor's secretary suddenly leave her job, claiming illness when she obviously is not?Who took the scalpel from the doctor's office that he had used on the dead jockey's autopsy?What is so deadly about gelatin?Why does a corpse show up on the doctor's doorstep?And will the doctor remarry the Ex-Mrs. Bradford?All this and more awaits you in 81 minutes of pure black & white mystery pleasure. Presented in 1.33:1 fullscreen with absolutely NO extras (are we not used to this now with the Warner Archive Collection?), this DVD is printed on demand and is only made to play in "player only" models, not DVD Player/recorders. I felt like the images were very sharp, but the print had not been cleaned. There were many specks and flecks on the picture and an occasional blip. The sound was clear and I enjoyed watching it. If you are used to pristine, HD, remastered movies, this may not be quite up to your standard, but I did not feel the minor problems were a distraction to me as I watched. I only pay attention to such things in order to note it in reviews like this.The price at this writing is high and it is less at another website, however, buying from a marketplace seller here on the old Amazon with their minimal shipping was actually less expense than the other website with their inflated shipping. Just saying.