The Amazing Mr. Williams is a very different, very good detective film, with ongoing romantic complications. Which does he love more – his fiancé or his work as a homicide detective?
The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939) starring Melvyn Douglas, Joan Blondell
Maxine Carroll: I think I’ll wear my pink dress tonight. The one with the full skirt.
Effie Perkins: Don’t put it on until you see the whites of his eyes.
Maxine Carroll: What?
Effie Perkins: Every time Kenny sends you roses, you end up all dressed up, made up and stood up.
And that’s the central conflict of The Amazing Mr. Williams. he’s truly in love with Maxine, and wants to marry her. But he’s already “married” to his job as a homicide detective.
And there’s a lot of conflict – some comedic, some serious – along the way. For example, Maxine arranges for Kenny — already in the doghouse — to be the ‘target’ of a criminal targeting women. In drag, of course. But it turns to drama when she’s almost the next victim.
And then, he’s finally had enough, and leaves the force. But, he’s miserable, and the smart detective is quick to “point out” what his former colleagues are overlooking …. And quickly finds himself back at it.
Police Captain McGovern: You see, I don’t think you’re good enough for him. The woman that marries that man has got to take him for what he is – a good cop! Not what she wants him to be.
Cast of characters
- Melvyn Douglas (The Old Dark House; The Vampire Bat) … Police Lieutenant Kenny Williams
- Joan Blondell (Topper Returns; Nightmare Alley) … Maxine Carroll
- Clarence Kolb (Merrily We Live) … Police Captain McGovern
- Ruth Donnelly (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town; A Slight Case of Murder) … Effie Perkins
- Edward Brophy (The Thin Man; Speak Easily) … Buck Moseby
- Donald MacBride (High Sierra; Buck Privates Come Home) … Police Lieutenant Bixler
- Don Beddoe (Don’t Bother to Knock; The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer) … Police Detective Deever
- Jonathan Hale (Blondie: Footlight Glamour; Easy to Wed) … Mayor
- John Wray (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town) … Stanley