Fast Company (1938)

A husband (Melvyn Douglas) and wife (Florence Rice) run a rare book business in New York City. To supplement their meager income, they recover stolen rare books. When a book dealer (George Zucco) is murdered, the husband does his own private investigating when a friend (Shepperd Strudwick) is accused of the killing. Based on the novel by Harry Kurnitz and directed by Edward Buzzell (NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER). An uninspired attempt to create another THIN MAN like franchise, Douglas and Rice just don't have the Powell and Loy chemistry to hold our attention. What we're left with is a rather shopworn murder mystery without much punch to it and at its center, a married couple who aren't as "cute" as the film would like us to believe. Still, MGM kept trying with two more entries in 1939, FAST AND LOOSE and FAST AND FURIOUS. Actually, the reviews for this first entry were pretty decent but it just doesn't hold up. With Claire Dodd (who gives the best performance in the film), Louis Calhern, Dwight Frye, Nat Pendleton and Douglass Dumbrille.