The advertising for this film plays up a sexy romantic angle, but the story itself is more of a crime comedy. The two leads, Pat O'Brien and Bette Davis, had previously teamed up in a coming-of-age trifle called HELL'S HOUSE. Originally, O'Brien and Lewis Stone, on loan from MGM, had top billing, with Miss Davis third in the credits (she doesn't appear until around the 30-minute mark, and this is just a 72 minute movie). But when Warners/First National reissued the title in the late 1930s, Davis was the reigning queen of the studio, so the title sequence was redesigned to put her name at the top.
The film's screenplay is based on a book written by a retired NYPD captain whose job was to oversee missing persons cases. The Lewis Stone character is undoubtedly based on him. The book, called Missing Men, centers primarily on men who've disappeared. Most likely these were guys that ran afoul of the mob and were either rubbed out or sent packing. But this motion picture includes a variety of missing persons cases, not all of them involving men but women as well. In fact, Bette Davis' character goes missing at one point, and investigator O'Brien must stage a phony funeral to flush her out.
Fans of WB precodes will likely take pleasure in seeing contract players Allen Jenkins, Hugh Herbert, Ruth Donnelly and Glenda Farrell in supporting roles. Farrell as usual has an attention grabbing part, this time cast as a gold digger married to O'Brien. She frequently shows up while he's working to shake him down for an allowance. There are several cute scenes with her referring to him as Butchy Wutchy, to his great annoyance.
Fortunately for O'Brien, he learns that Farrell had an earlier marriage to someone else, and it is still valid. This allows him to ditch her for good and permanently take up with Davis at the end.
There's a frenetic feel that envelopes BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS, probably because there are so many subplots happening simultaneously that get crammed into the standard running time for a B-picture. Not all the subplots are put across successfully, but there is a very good one involving a child violinist who has run away from home because he just wants to be a normal kid with normal activities. The mother (Marjorie Gateson) arrives at the police station to reclaim him, and she doesn't seem to have learned much about her son's behavior. In fact, she's already getting him ready for their next concert!
In addition to the quickly paced narrative, we have Pat O'Brien known for his fast talking antics, not unlike Lee Tracy in similar adventures. We know things will pop right along...and there won't be a moment of boredom in this offering. That's a good thing for those of us who want a slight diversion from today's wearying routines. We can find amusement looking in on a world with mysterious goings-on that lead to vanishing and reappearing persons of interest.
The film's screenplay is based on a book written by a retired NYPD captain whose job was to oversee missing persons cases. The Lewis Stone character is undoubtedly based on him. The book, called Missing Men, centers primarily on men who've disappeared. Most likely these were guys that ran afoul of the mob and were either rubbed out or sent packing. But this motion picture includes a variety of missing persons cases, not all of them involving men but women as well. In fact, Bette Davis' character goes missing at one point, and investigator O'Brien must stage a phony funeral to flush her out.
Fans of WB precodes will likely take pleasure in seeing contract players Allen Jenkins, Hugh Herbert, Ruth Donnelly and Glenda Farrell in supporting roles. Farrell as usual has an attention grabbing part, this time cast as a gold digger married to O'Brien. She frequently shows up while he's working to shake him down for an allowance. There are several cute scenes with her referring to him as Butchy Wutchy, to his great annoyance.
Fortunately for O'Brien, he learns that Farrell had an earlier marriage to someone else, and it is still valid. This allows him to ditch her for good and permanently take up with Davis at the end.
There's a frenetic feel that envelopes BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS, probably because there are so many subplots happening simultaneously that get crammed into the standard running time for a B-picture. Not all the subplots are put across successfully, but there is a very good one involving a child violinist who has run away from home because he just wants to be a normal kid with normal activities. The mother (Marjorie Gateson) arrives at the police station to reclaim him, and she doesn't seem to have learned much about her son's behavior. In fact, she's already getting him ready for their next concert!
In addition to the quickly paced narrative, we have Pat O'Brien known for his fast talking antics, not unlike Lee Tracy in similar adventures. We know things will pop right along...and there won't be a moment of boredom in this offering. That's a good thing for those of us who want a slight diversion from today's wearying routines. We can find amusement looking in on a world with mysterious goings-on that lead to vanishing and reappearing persons of interest.