Product: The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)
Rating: 4.0
"I thought up that one all by myself!"
This is a 4 1/2 star review rounded down to 4 for Amazon purposes.There used to be a time Hollywood made movies like "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford"; movies that belonged to the now-vanished Glamour Mystery Genre. The stars were beautiful, the costumes more beautiful, the dialogue snappy and the art Deco. Plus, the mystery itself would be a genuine puzzle with a satisfying finish at the 90 yard line. For those of you who have watched and re-watched every Thin Man movie and are longing for more, well this is the film for you.You even get William Powell, as the genial Dr. Bradford. Jean Arthur (at the very top of her game in a perfect role for her) plays his wife, the titular Ex-Mrs. Bradford, who is determined to be just plain Mrs. Bradford again. But does Dr. Bradford want her back? On the plus side she is gorgeous, fun and sports a series of incredible outfits while repeatedly saving Powell's life. On the downside she is slightly fruit loops, constantly in trouble and has an annoying habit of clunking Powell on the noggin at inopportune times. When a race jockey is killed and it looks like the good Doctor did the deed, it's the Ex-Mrs. Bradford who determines he must solve the crime himself, with her assistance of course. The mystery ends, as they always did back in the old days, with all the suspects in one room and Powell explaining who killed who with what and why and how and look out they have a gun!It's all sublime, quite perfect, and a total delight. Most of these newly released archive films (dumped bare bones onto DVD but at least cleanly transferred) are worth seeing, and this one is worth buying. How come they don't make them like this anymore? Could it be so hard, when they made it look so easy?GRADE: A-(Best scene: Arthur's all-gelatin, all-dessert dinner. And how Powell just starts eating, resigned to her craziness.)