The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

Plot synopsis:
Wealthy murder mystery writer Paula Bradford (Jean Arthur) returns from her worldwide travels to see her former husband, surgeon Dr. Lawrence "Brad" Bradford (William Powell). He had divorced her because she was always involving him in real-life murder cases, but she wants him back. When a jockey riding the favorite dies while leading a race, she is convinced it was murder. She and Mike North (Frank M. Thomas), the horse's trainer, persuade the reluctant doctor to investigate. Brad is puzzled when he finds traces of gelatin on the corpse.
Then he receives an envelope addressed to North. North telephones a little later to say he will come pick it up. Curious, Brad opens the envelope to find a great deal of money. Someone claiming to be North calls shortly afterward and instructs Brad to meet him somewhere else, but without the money. Suspicious, Brad takes a taxi, but gets out a short distance away and returns to his suite. As he anticipated, a burglar is inside looking for the letter. When the two men start fighting, Paula tries to help, but ends up knocking Brad out instead, allowing the intruder to get away.
Soon after, the doorbell rings. When Brad opens the door, North's body falls in. Police Inspector Corrigan (James Gleason) names Brad as the main suspect in the second death. Now Brad has to solve both murders to clear himself.
All sorts of suspects present themselves: Nick Martel (Robert Armstrong), a bookie who owed North $100,000 for a winning bet; Leroy Hutchins (Ralph Morgan), the owner of the winning horse; John Summers (Grant Mitchell), the favorite's owner; Mrs. Summers, who is seeing Martel behind her husband's back; and Summer's lawyer, Henry Strand (an uncredited Frank Reicher). Even Brad's receptionist, Miss Prentiss (Lila Lee), had been spotted with Martel. Brad discovers that Martel was instructed to send the money to an address he was given, but decided to confront North in person instead over what he considered to be deceit; though North claimed he did not place the bet, Martel did not believe him and gave him the money. Going to the address provided, Brad finds Paula already there. They then discover the body of Lou Pender (Paul Fix), the would-be burglar, who had masqueraded as North. As Brad is examining the corpse, an unseen person shoots him from the window. Fortunately, he is not seriously wounded.
Brad eventually figures out how the murders were committed. The killer put a deadly black widow spider inside a gelatin capsule, secretly attached it to the victim's body, and waited for the gelatin to melt from body heat, releasing the spider. Since the police have the $100,000, Brad assumes the killer will try the same trick again. The same two horses are scheduled to race against each other the next day, so Brad has film cameras set up around the racetrack. The murderer does strike again, but fortunately, Brad had taken the precaution of inoculating the jockey beforehand.
Brad invites all of the suspects to his suite, hoping the culprit will stay away. When that fails, he screens the film footage he had taken. It shows Mr. Summers slipping a capsule down the jockey's back. Pulling out a gun, Summers admits his motive was revenge against his unfaithful wife and Martel. Brad subdues him before he can shoot the lovers. During the struggle, however, Paula once again knocks out her ex-husband. Despite this, Brad marries her again.

Tags: mystery, murder

Review:
RKO studios decided to borrow both William Powell from MGM and Jean Arthur from Columbia, for one of their more big budget efforts to cash in on the popularity of The Thin Man. They succeeded to some degree.A lot of folks forget that in addition to and earlier than Nick Charles, Bill Powell also played in a few Philo Vance films in the title role.
This is after he comes to Bill Powell for help.Myrna Loy was a more steadying influence on Bill Powell than Jean Arthur was.
But it works here and she and Powell have good chemistry.The ever dependable James Gleason is the police inspector in the Sam Levene/Nat Pendleton role.
All they needed here was Asta and possibly Eric Blore as Powell's butler was essaying that part.If Powell and Arthur were signed at this studio we might have seen a whole slew of Bradford films..
The comic banter between William Powell and Jean Arthur is the highlight of this murder mystery, which has one of the most bizarre and unlikely plots ever.
Eric Blore also has some comic turns as Powell's butler.Powell's contract with MGM included a clause which allowed him to reject being loaned out to another studio, but he wanted to work again with Arthur and he liked the script, so he eagerly accepted the assignment.
William Powell recreates, for RKO, his Nick Charles character, now as Dr. Bradford, M.D. and Jean Arthur substitutes as  Nora.
This film works because Powell and Arthur have terrific chemistry, and a crackerjack good comic-mystery script.
William Powell is a doctor dealing with a murder and an ex-wife in "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford," also starring Jean Arthur, Eric Blore, and James Gleason.
Though he and Myrna Loy were the perfect screen couple, the actor made a couple of other "Thin Man" type movies, one with Ginger Rogers and this one with Arthur, both to very good effect.Somehow one never gets tired of seeing Powell as a witty, debonair professional and "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" is no exception.
It almost seems as though there was a "Bradford" film before this one or that this was intended to be the first of a series of films - Mr. B complains that his mystery-writer ex is constantly bringing him into cases.
This time, a jockey riding the favorite horse in a raise mysteriously falls off the horse and dies right before the finish line.The solution of the case is kind of outlandish but it's beside the point.
It still works well, and it shows how a good actress can make a part her own.Definitely worth watching, as William Powell and Jean Arthur always were..
Ignore that other review, Powell and Arthur have GREAT chemistry!.
I've seen the Thin Man series -- Powell and Loy are definitely great, but there is something awfully sweet about Powell and Arthur's chemistry in this flick.
Jean Arthur SHINES when she looks at Powell.
While I watched it, I thought for sure Powell was carrying on an off-screen affair with Arthur.
This is one film where I wish I could step back in time (to schmooze and lock lips with Powell!) There seems to be no end to his lovable playful smirks!
Powell's character, Lawrence Bradford, is probably the closest thing to the "perfect man." Okay, this is sounding way too gushy, but I can't help myself..
M-G-M had struck success in 1934 by adapting Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man" with William Powell and Myrna Loy in the central roles.
They got halfway there, at least: for the "Nick Charles" role, Powell was loaned out from M-G-M, but, for his "Nora," Jean Arthur arrived from Columbia Pictures.
Both were already big names in the screwball comedy business – that year, Powell also starred in 'After the Thin Man (1936)' and 'My Man Godfey (1936),' and Arthur had graced 'Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936).' There does seem to be a slight mismatch in each star's comedic style; Arthur's impulsiveness tended to work better with an actor less sure of himself, like Jimmy Stewart.
Thus, the interplay between husband and (ex-)wife doesn't quite come off as naturally as it did with Myrna Loy, but RKO still got their money's worth.Does this 'Thin Man'-knockoff reach the heights of its inspirational source?
While certainly utilising the comic talents of its two stars, 'The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)' lacks an interesting script, becoming so halfheartedly-distracted by its main characters that the supporting cast – the very people whose movements we should be scrutinising – are anonymous wax figures.
When, in a Nick Charles-inspired detective tactic, Dr. Bradford (Powell) decides to bring together all the potential murderers, I couldn't remember ever meeting half of them.
At least the method of murder was ghoulishly clever.Though Powell's character is supposed to be a professional surgeon, writer Anthony Veiller apparently felt obliged to furnish him with the characteristics of a detective.
Paula Bradford (Arthur) has the active imagination – and certainly the enthusiasm – of Nora Charles, but maybe not the courage under fire: upon entering the morgue, she faints in her ex-husband's arms, but not before Eric Blore has hilariously fallen down behind her.
This movie was made the same year as the first Thin Man film, and it's another stylish black-and-white murder mystery starring the same leading man (William Powell), so comparisons are inevitable.
Its script isn't nearly as strong as the best of the Thin Man flicks, but if you're a big TM fan, this film can ALMOST feel like an extra entry in the series -- except that the fabulous Myrna Loy is nowhere in sight.
Powell is just as polished here as he is in the Thin Man movies (though seeing him perform a chaste autopsy reminds you that he's playing a doctor, not Nick Charles), and he's well paired with Jean Arthur playing the titular ex-wife, who's bucking for a reconciliation with her reluctant former hubby.
(In fact, if you're paying close attention, you'll notice that she switches costumes at a couple of slightly inexplicable moments.) The couple bickers well (but not at the break-neck pace of Powell and Loy), and there is a little bit of simmering sexual tension (but again, not in the same league as P&L).
Bradford: (deadpan) That sounds reasonable.It feels like the writer couldn't quite decide if he wanted to present a relationship-driven comedy or a thrilling drama, and the undeniably talented actors seem equally confused at times.
It is obvious that RKO is trying to imitate the Thin Man series over at MGM, and they did pony up the money to borrow William Powell from MGM as the sleuth/surgeon in this one - yes I said surgeon.
The thing is, this one has almost exactly the same skeleton of a plot outline as RKO's "The Star of Midnight" from the year before where Powell is the sleuth and Ginger Rogers is the girl that from the beginning claims she is going to marry him.
This time it is Jean Arthur as the ex-wife who is awfully chummy with Powell's character, Dr. Bradford, considering they are divorced.
Just that the ex-wife involved the doctor in all of her murder mysteries to the point he was more her co-writer than doctor.
One of the problems is that the great Jean Arthur is really miscast as the ex-wife.
Whatever gold is spun from this little mystery/comedy comes from the crackling performances of WILLIAM POWELL and JEAN ARTHUR (prettily photographed through gauze for her movie star close-ups).
But by this time, none of the suspects have established any kind of identity, so the viewer can only yawn when the culprit is revealed to be one of the least visible supporting actors.As a mystery, it fails to have any real suspense nor does it have a satisfying enough conclusion.
As a comedy, it falls somewhere between THE THIN MAN stuff and any other screwball comedy of the thirties that featured Powell and Arthur in tailor-made roles.However, fans of the couple will surely find their light touch with this sort of material refreshing, if not original.
A reasonably entertaining combination of comedy and mystery, done in much the same fashion as 'The Thin Man', and even starring the same star, William Powell is as good as one would expect, however Jean Arthur does not work quite as well with him as Myrna Loy does, and she is even a tad annoying to have on screen at times.
The script is well written with some good lines and an interesting plot, and the film relatively engaging on the whole.
The presence of William Powell as Arthur's ex recalls the Thin Man series.
It's also standard for this type of movie at this time.Eric Blore serves an important purpose: He establishes the Bradfords as wealthy people who might have a butler.
Otherwise, Glenda Farrell or any number of B- plays could have been plugged into the Arthur role and it'd have been essentially the same old mildly entertaining semi-mystery.
I have always enjoyed Jean Arthur in movies and was surprised how much I didn't like her here.
I think part of it is because I watched this William Powell/Jean Arthur flick just after seeing two exceptional William Powell/Myrna Loy films.
The chemistry between Powell and Loy is simply better and the other films (not just the THIN MAN ones) were more enjoyable and the characters worked better together.
In this case, you wonder why Arthur and Powell EVER got married, as Jean is just too annoying and whiny.
This is a mistake, as the dialog is mostly one-way and the banter back and forth isn't as witty or snappy as the Loy/Powell films.
It's more like Powell makes a sarcastic comment and Arthur misunderstands it--this gets old really fast.The film itself seems a lot like a THIN MAN plot--a murder mystery that Powell (as a doctor) and Arthur (as a mystery writer) investigate separately.
For a better film watch any Powell/Loy film or for a similar but better executed plot, see Errol Flynn's FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK--another film about a writer turned murder investigator but with better results..
"The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" (1936), starring Thin Man series star William Powell (this film was released the same year as the second Thin Man film, "After The Thin Man," comes very close to duplicating the fun and style of the Thin Man films, but it nonetheless misses.
Still, it is a wonderfully fun, highly entertaining murder mystery in the same comic vein.Is Myrna Loy missed?
And the chemistry between Arthur and co-star William Powell is real and it's fun, romantic and involving.The story and screenplay by Anthonyu Vieller and John Wyne's production company partner, James Edward Grant ("The Angel & The Bad Man") is close to being up there with a Thin Man effort, but lacks a bit of the proper wit and sizzle.While it's not in the stratosphere of 'The Thin Man" movies (what else is?), "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" is one of the most entertaining of the dozens and dozens of mystery-comedy "who-done-its" of the '30s & 40s..
A jockey expires under mysterious circumstances, bringing in an urbane doctor and his ditsy ex-wife.Pretty good whodunit.
Enjoyed this 1936 film with plenty of veteran classic actors and especially, William Powell, (Dr. Lawrence Bradford), "Mister Roberts", who played the role as a doctor and detective.
Dr. Bradford was once married to Jean Arthur, (Paula Bradford), "Shane", and got a divorce and still they managed to live with each other and also fight all the time.
Jean Arthur plays a rather nutty type and there is plenty of 1936 Comedy and the method of murder is something you will never believe, especially with a jockey on a California Race Track.
Robert Armstrong, (Nick Martel) "King Kong" gave a great supporting role as a bookie along with James Gleason, a detective who need the help of Dr. Bradford in order to solve this very strange murder mystery.
Powell, Arthur oil and water in sluggish mystery..
With the solid box office pairing of established stars William Powell and Jean Arthur The Ex- Mrs. Bradford fails to meet expectation as it flaccidly plays itself out.
Arthur's energy is forced and out of sync with Powell who comes across a touch listless himself.When a jockey falls from his horse and dies his trainer suspects foul play and consults Dr. Lawrence Bradford ( Powell ) to look into it.
He's at first hesitant but goaded by his mystery writing ex (Arthur) gets involved.Even without the ghost of Loy's Nora hovering above Arthur's Paula is little more than a glamorous Gracie Allen, Bill an uncomfortable George Burns.
Jean Arthur imbues her movies with so much grace and inner-sparkle that her performances usually save the day, no matter what the picture.
Arthur (photographed in gauzy, movie-magazine fashion) either wants alimony from ex-husband Powell or another shot at marriage, but one never feels for her because the character isn't conceived as person--she's just a string of wisecracks.
Powell reportedly had a high time working with Miss Arthur, but you'd never know it from these results.
Jean Arthur plays a role usually taken by men in supposed romantic comedies: an obnoxious stalker who bulldozes her way into her prey's life and takes it over, and both prey and audience are supposed to find this charming and amusing.
Arthur plays an overbearing, meddlesome idiot who decides to remarry her ex-husband (William Powell) against his will, while browbeating him to investigate a murder so that she can write a mystery story about it--then sabotaging the investigation by tampering with (even stealing) evidence, constant eavesdropping, and showing up uninvited everywhere.
I've seen Jean Arthur be both funny and charming in other films.
The formula is similar and there is a murder mystery to be solved, and it's a pretty good one.
the big difference is that Myrna Loy is not here and her place is taken by Jean Arthur, and she proves to be a very adequate replacement.
She is the Ex-Mrs. Bradford in the title and also has the requisite comedic touch for such a part, and helps to keep the picture moving at the quick, breezy pace the genre is known for.The plot involves a murder at a race track and another one connected to the first.
Some movie buffs like to compare various films of the comedy mystery group that William Powell made.
The prototype for comparison is the role Myrna Loy played as Nora to Powell's Nick Charles in the Thin Man movies.
"The Thin Man" was made in 1934, and the next one of that series didn't come out until "After the Thin Man" in 1936 But in the meantime, Powell starred in some other comedies, a couple musicals and a couple of dramas.
So, was it possible that Powell, and/or some movie moguls were looking for the best match with Powell to continue the Thin Man series?
I wonder – especially since "Star" and "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" both were made by RKO.After these two comedy mysteries at RKO, Powell returned to MGM and picked up with the Myrna Loy match for more Thin Man movies.
But, it doesn't take anything away from these others films or the co-stars performances with Powell.
So, here we have a film with Jean Arthur, who became known for her comedy roles; but, who also was very good in dramatic roles.
– Dr. Bradford ("Brad") is part and parcel to the mystery and plot of this film.
He and Arthur have very good supporting help from a number of other actors.
I don't think anyone has ever played a better butler role than Blore in comedies.
I was so taken with the chemistry between Powell and Arthur that I barely followed the plot, which was OK but had some holes.
There was real affection afoot between those two, and the movie cameras that separated them from us could not hope to hide it.I rate their chemistry much higher than that between Powell and Loy in The Thin Man series.
And because of these two, this movie had me not wanting to miss a minute.Altogether, Powell and Arthur had 5 collaborations, two in 1929, two in 1930, and this one in 1936.
Gathering all the suspects in one room is another weak ploy by writers not nearly as clever as The Thin Man crew (after all, Powell has already seen the film of the killer, already has the evidence, and already knows whodunnit, so what's the point?).
Entertaining Powell-Arthur Caper.
William Powell and Jean Arthur star in this mystery caper/screwball comedy that is very much in the vein of star Powell's 'Thin Man' series.The interesting, if convoluted, plot involves a jockey who has died mid-race.
Bickering husband-and-wife team Powell, a doctor, and Arthur, a mystery writer, do some investigative work to find what killed the jockey, and who is the killer.
Powell and Arthur look good together and play off each other quite well, yet do not quite generate that indescribable electricity that made Powell and Myrna Loy such a great team in the 'Thin Man' series.
I am sure that if this combination had been a success, more 'Bradford' movies would have been produced by RKO or perhaps snapped up by another studio.
Arthur seems a little bit off her best form in this one.Overall, an entertaining film that is not quite the classic it could have been..
The Ex-Mrs Bradford is the sort of film that gives old movies a bad name.The only reason I can give for the enthusiasm of other critics, is that they are actually watching a vastly different print.
I've pretty much enjoyed William Powell in all his films, and I can say the same for Jean Arthur (well, except for "A Foreign Affair").
And it wasn't bad, but I kept thinking how much better it would have been with Myrna Loy as another in the Thin Man series.
But together they were not what Powell and Loy were.But that isn't even my biggest complaint about this film.