Private Detective 62 (1933)

Private Detective 62 (1933) is one of four movies in the Warner Archive DVD set William Powell at Warner Bros. Pre-code William Powell is always fun.

There’s a very odd prologue. Donald Free (Powell) is an American diplomat who has just been deported from France. It’s fairly obvious he was no diplomat but an American intelligence agent and the French not unreasonably took exception to his espionage activities. But we don’t find out exactly what he was up to and this entire angle has no connection to the rest of the movie.

Donald ends up having to swim ashore in New York but his problems have just begin. The Depression is in full swing. He can’t find a job and he’s flat broke. Finally he talks his way into a partnership with private eye Dan Hogan (Arthur Hohl). Hogan isn’t just down-at-heel, he’s pretty much down-and-out.

He hasn’t had a client for so long that he’s even more broke than Donald. But while Hogan is lazy and incompetent Donald is a live wire and the agency is soon back on its feet.

Unfortunately Hogan is also dishonest and while his connection with racketeer and gambling club owner Tony Bandor (Gordon Westcott) brings in lots of business Donald is increasingly uncomfortable with the increasingly ethically dubious nature of the agency’s jobs. He doesn’t like frame-ups and blackmail.

Tony has a very big problem. Janet Reynolds (Margaret Lindsay) has won huge amounts of money at his gambling joint. Tony can’t pay her what he owes her. Donald’s job is to frame her so that she can be blackmailed into not pursuing Tony for the money.

Donald falls for Janet straight away. She’s young and beautiful but he’s also attracted to her devil-may-care attitude and sense of fun. She gambles for the kicks, not the money.

The frame-up leads to an unexpected consequence and a possible murder rap.

That’s the plot and it’s a bit thin but quite serviceable. It would have been cool had the spy angle been developed a bit.

The movie’s biggest asset is of course William Powell. Donald is no Boy Scout but he has his limits and he’s reaching the point where he’s going to be totally morally corrupted if he’s not careful. Powell gets this across effectively. He’s always charming but I particularly like him when he’s charming and just a tad ethically challenged.

Margaret Lindsay is pretty good. There’s not quite enough chemistry between the two leads.

Ruth Donnelly is fun as Hogan’s disapproving secretary Amy Moran. Arthur Hohl as Dan Hogan is a sleazeball and a weasel and he’s terrific.

Michael Curtiz once again demonstrates his ability to make good movies in any genre.

A major plus is the 66-minute running time which means there’s no fat at all to this story. It zips along very smoothly.

How pre-code is it? There are lots of drug references. It’s very upfront about the sleazy nature of private detective work. There’s no suggestion that gambling is immoral, as long as you don’t welch on your debts.

The private eye genre was still in its infancy and this movie is only marginally hardboiled. It’s a setup that would, a decade later, have made for a decent film noir.

Private Detective 62 is lightweight but enjoyable and William Powell is just so watchable. Recommended.

Private Detective 62 gets a perfectly acceptable transfer.

I’ve reviewed other movies in this set - The Road to Singapore and the excellent High Pressure.