Customer Reviews

Bureau of Missing Persons [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This nineteen thirties film is a blend of comedy, romance and drama. With a strong cast and snappy dialogue, the film is entertaining. Lewis Stone co-stars as Captain Webb, the benevolent head of the NYPD Bureau of Missing Persons, and gives a compelling performance as the almost godlike boss who will bend the rules, if he feels that it serves a higher purpose. Pat O'Brien plays the part of the virile, tough talking gumshoe, Butch Sanders, who has been reassigned to the Bureau of Missing Persons due to his penchant for brutality. Butch falls head over heels for Bette Davis, who fetchingly plays the role of Norma Roberts aka Norma Phillips, a woman on the lam, accused of a murder that she did not commit. Glenda Farrell is delightful as Belle, Butch's ostensibly estranged wife.

This movie is a lot of fun to watch, if only for its peek into the nineteen thirties perception of police work. There are a number of subplots and incidents that flesh out the film. Look also for the politically incorrect. The scene where Butch decides to show Belle his anger over her fleecing him is sure to anger domestic violence activists. It is, however, rightly or wrongly, reflective of the time in which the film was made. It is also a tad risque for the time, as Butch makes reference to the night that he and Norma spent together.

While Davis and Stone get top billing over Pat O'Brien, it is O'Brien who steals the show. He plays his character with a vim and vigor that grabs the viewer. All in all, this is an interesting little movie that should delight all those who love classic films.

Bureau of Missing Persons is a fast paced film set in a police station. We see various snippets of people looking for other people for various reasons. We hear of lost women being found in jail. We find that one woman went missing as a publicity stunt. We also see that some people are never found. The main story centers around Bette Davis's character who claims to have lost her husband. As the story unravels, we learn that she is lying and that she is really wanted for murdering the man she is seeking.

Lewis Stone plays the chief of the bureau, a sensitive man, but no push-over. He makes sure that the families of the lost are given bad information gently and often sugar coats the truth.

Pat O'Brien is excellent in the film as a new addition to the bureau who is assigned Davis's case. He shows great promise before the case, but during he finds himself falling prey to her feminine wiles. However, all turns out well in the end. O'Brien is the star of the show, a fast-talking, highly entertaining cast member.

Bette Davis is beautiful and sweet-looking in this film. She does nothing outstanding for the part, but she fulfills the role.

Overall, this film is a delight from start to finish.

Pat O'Brien stars as a dectective at New York City's Bureau of Missing Persons, where people go to find loved ones that have disappeared. O'Brien has been transferred there to learn more about proper police work, guided by the Bureau's chief, Lewis Stone, a man who can be tough and compassionate, depending on the situation. A lot of stories come through the Bureau, and a number of them are nicely woven into the subplot. O'Brien becomes involved with one of his clients, a mysterious young woman played by Bette Davis, who claims to be looking for her new husband. There seems to be more to the story than she says, and that soon becomes apparent. I really enjoyed this film a lot. In many ways, it is a typical Warner Brothers 1930's film. There's plenty of tough talking dialogue, tight editing, and no-nonsense acting. O'Brien comes on strong with a solid performance, Stone is wise and all-knowing, and Davis is unusually, but effectively understated. Glenda Farrell, as O'Brien's money-grabbing wife, is a lot of fun. Director Roy Del Ruth keeps it all moving at a very quick pace, and I really like the way the camera zooms back and forth between scenes, giving you a real sense of the urgency in the story. That's an unusual technique for films of that time. I also got a sense of the atmosphere of New York in the 1930's, which added to the film's effect. The story is surprisingly fresh for today's audiences, the dialogue is a lot of fun, and the film moves along very well. I'd recommend spending some time in the Bureau of Missing Persons.

Police captain Lewis Stone is in charge of the Bureau of Missing Persons. It's his duty to see that cases are solved, and during this movie, they ARE solved! He inherits Detective Butch Saunders, played by Pat O'Brien, who is transferred to his department for disciplinary reasons. Butch scorns the work of the Bureau of Missing Persons, and accepts cases reluctantly--except for the case of Norma Roberts aka Norma Williams. Gorgeous Bette Davis plays Norma, who's on the run from the law. She's accused of being invovled in a murder, but Butch knows that's false! In a complicated series of events, the case involving Norma is successfully solved.

Excellent in a supporting role is Glenda Farrell as Belle, "Butchie Wootchie's" golddigging wife who shows up to gouge him for money. A running gag throughout the movie is the search for a gentleman's missing wife--and she turns out to be one of the secretaries at the bureau! The missing wife is played by the wonderful character actress Ruth Donnley, who never fails to please her audience.

This movie has great "atmosphere" and gives the viewer to experience what detective work might have been like in the 30's. Enjoy this movie soon!

Pat O'Brien stars as the fast-talking demoted tough-guy cop who is now forced to work in the missing persons department of the police force, way beneath his level (so he thinks). When Bette Davis comes in asking for help in finding her missing husband, O'Brien is on the case. He finds out she's wanted for murder in Chicago - for murdering her so-called missing husband. After she gets suspicious of O'Brien and disappears, he stages her death hoping to reel her in. Sure enough her curiosity gets the best of her, she shows up at the mortuary to see what's going on - only her "dead husband" shows up, too. O'Brien nabs the real killer - it turns out he was Davis's husband's twin brother (a tough nut to swallow) and Davis is cleared. The action is lightning fast with dialogue to match, and O'Brien is definitely the hit of the picture. Because of the quality of the intended comedy, the porousness of the story can be forgiven. Fun to watch.

This is a superb film; get it while you can. They'll probably never release this one on DVD, and you would be missing an excellent performance from Bette Davis if you don't get this film. Typical Warners 30s fare: hardboiled, fast paced, and short.

Bureau Of Missing Persons gave a very young Bette Davis a chance to prove she should be taken seriously as a Hollywood actress. The plot of the movie moves along at a good clip; and the convincing acting held my attention completely.

The action begins when tough guy Detective Butch Saunders (Pat O'Brien) is transferred to the Bureau of Missing Persons in New York; he was too rough for his former department. In fact, Butch is a brute even by tough guy police standards. Despite Butch's initial protests that the Missing Person's Bureau is "kindergarten," Butch finds out differently very early on in his tour of duty.

Many subplots go on in this movie with people never being found and others being found as victims of foul play. However, the film focuses on one case: Norma Roberts (Bette Davis) comes in one afternoon desperately seeking her lost husband, Therme Roberts (Alan Dinehart). Butch gets the case but soon Norma and Butch fall in love. Not long after that, Butch and the Bureau of Missing Persons also find out that Norma Roberts is really Norma Williams--and wanted for the murder of Therme Roberts!

Norma promptly disappears herself; this starts an active police search for her. Butch cleverly stages a fake funeral for Norma--and hopes big time that Norma shows up so he can catch her and start to find out the truth about her and what really happened.

What happens next is anyone's guess. Will Norma show up at her fake funeral? Why might she go to her own fake funeral? Will they ever find Therme; and if so, will he be alive? What about Belle, Butch's estranged wife--will she continue to badger him for money? No spoilers here, folks--you'll just have to watch the film to find out the answers.

The choreography works wonders in crowded scenes including those in the police station; and the cinematography impresses me, too. Great!

At the end of the day, Bureau Of Missing Persons may be considered as a film starring Pat O'Brien as Detective Butch Saunders; but the film truly belongs to Bette Davis. Her acting required a lot more sophistication and versatility than O'Brien's role; and Bette Davis fans will enjoy this film. I also recommend this film for people who want "lite fare" drama from the early 1930s.

Enjoy!

The "Bureau of Missing Persons" (1933) is an unintended hoot. Meant as a serious crime drama in the early 30s, it was part of a movement to improve the image of the Police and to spend less cinematic time glorifying the gangsters - Wallace Beery in "The Big House" (1930), Edward G Robinson's "Little Caesar" (1930), Peter Lorre's "M" (1931), Jimmy Cagney's "Public Enemy" 1931), Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in "The Secret Six" (1931) and Paul Muni's "Scarface" (1932). Most of these films glorified the gangster and showed the authorities in a poor light. Yet a small number of films (e.g., "Beast of the City", 1932) began to appear promoting the Police, and this is one of the earliest.

Although intended as a serious portrayal of the working of the New York City Bureau of Missing Persons, where 27,000 people per year went missing, by today's standards the "cases" are amusing, and sometimes hilarious (e.g., an older man runs away from his young wife who is too sexually demanding). No hints of child abuse, sexual abuse, white slavery, torture, or any of the kinds of things we now associated with going missing.

Even more amusing is the Police response to the missing people once they are found. For example, a man who leaves his wife to shack up with his girlfriend is caught, reprimanded, and then the Police Captain (Lewis Stone) colludes with the Allentown Police to pick him up as an amnesia case and return him to the waiting family fold.

Pat O'Brien is over the top as a manic detective who slaps, punches, and generally manhandles men and women in his brash attempt to close a case. And dialogue like "Follow that cab", "I'll betya a buck to six bits" and "Are you smokin' Hop?" is precious.

The film stars Bette Davis, Lewis Stone, and Pat O'Brien and was made by Warner Brothers. It was based on a book "Missing Persons" by real life Police Captain John Ayres.

According to AFI Bette Davis (1908-89) is the #2 female screen legend, and she was the first actress to ever achieve an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. She received her first wave of critical acclaim for "Of Human Bondage" (1934) and followed that with Oscar wins in "Dangerous" (1935) and "Jezebel" (1938). She appeared in nearly 100 films, was nominated for an Oscar 11 times between 1935 and 1962, nominated for an Emmy 4 times and won once ("Strangers" in 1979), 3 Golden Globe Nominations, and for "All About Eve" (1950) she won awards at Cannes, in Italy, and the New York Film Critics. She is great in this film as a woman looking for her husband.

Pat O'Brien (1899-1983) plays a detective who falls in love with Davis. He was part of the Irish Mafia that included Jimmy Cagney, Allen Jenkins, and Frank McHugh. He made more than 100 films between 1930 and 1981, although his peak period was in the 30s and 40s with films like "The Front Page" (1931), "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1939), and "Knute Rockne" (1940).

Lewis Stone (1879-1953) plays the Captain. He was a major star in the 20s and 30s and was nominated for an Oscar for "The Patriot" (1930). Between 1914 and 1953 he made more than 150 films; his memorable roles were as the warden in "The Big House" (1930), Doctor Otternschlag in "Grand Hotel" (1932), Commissioner Smith in "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932), and "Doc" in "Three Godfathers" (1936). He's probably best known for his continuing role as Judge Hardy in the Andy Hardy films (1937-46).

Allen Jenkins is the quirky comedy foil who lit up so many films of the 30s and 40s and then went on to a successful career in TV. Some of his memorable roles were in "Dead End" (1937), "Destry Rides Again" (1939), "Tortilla Flats" (1942), "Robin and the 7 Hoods" (1964) and "Front Page" (1974). He plays a gum chewing detective.

Glenda Farrell (1904-71) plays O'Brien's estranged wife. Farrell was a popular actress in the 30s ("Little Caesar", "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang", "Gold Diggers") and transitioned to TV where she won an Emmy in 1961 ("{Ben Casey").

The film is directed by Roy Del Ruth (1893-1961), a former gagman for Mack Sennett who made more than 100 films between 1920 and 1960. He was best known for his musical comedies ("Born to Dance", Ziegfeld Follies") and dramas ("Lady Killer", Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back"), although his most popular films was the William Bendix "The Babe Ruth Story" (1948).

1933 was a good year for films. Box office hits were Mae West's "I'm no Angel" and "She Done Him Wrong", the star studded "Dinner at Eight", Roby Keeler and Dick Powell in "42nd Street", "King Kong", and Garbo in "Queen Christina". The Oscar winners were "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (Actor), "Morning Glory" (Actress) and "Cavalcade" (Picture). Other notable films released that year included the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup", Laurel and Hardy's classic "Sons of the Desert", and "The Invisible Man". Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made their film duo debut in "Flying Down to Rio". FWIW - 1933 was the year that Walt Disney referred to the gold statue as an "Oscar" when he won it for "The Three Little Pigs".

Mordaunt Hall of the NY Times felt the film was "set forth in jesting guise" and "a closing glimpse savors of the slapstick genre of comedy", but he found the film interesting, felt that Davis "does well", Stone's character is "nicely played", and O'Brien acts "with the necessary vigor and humor" . Variety called it "pretty fair entertainment" and Time Magazine applauded the "convincing shots of how a Missing Persons Bureau works."

Bottom line - a fast paced amusing look at the 30s from the perspective of the New York City Bureau of Missing Persons.

Bureau of Missing Persons (Roy del Ruth, 1933)

Prolific director Roy del Ruth made hundreds of films over the course of his life, from two-reel silents in the teens and twenties to bad fifties horror movies, working right up until his death in the early sixties. Very few of his films are remembered today, mostly because they're cheap potboilers that will only appeal to those who enjoy old (not classic) movies. One of his most famous is 1933's Bureau of Missing Persons, not because it is in any way a better film than most of those he made; in fact, as far as potboilers go, it's one of the potboiliest. But del Ruth was willing to take a chance on two rising young stars in what was, at the time, a major picture, and by the time the critics walked out of the theater, they predicted superstardom for the movie's two leads. They couldn't have been more right about Pat O'Brien and Bette Davis.

Butch Saunders (O'Brien, probably best-remembered these days for Angels with Dirty Faces and Some Like It Hot) is a brutal cop who gets transferred into the Missing Persons division after a number of police brutality complaints. He picks up a doozy for his first big case: a blonde bombshell named Norma (Davis, and if I have to tell you where you know her from, you haven't watched a movie in seventy years) who's trying to locate her husband, a guy about whom she doesn't seem to know much, but who she knows was dressed as a pirate last time she saw him. He's half-suspicious she's leading him on a wild goose chase and half-suspicious she's nuts, but that doesn't stop him falling for her. As these things go, however, as soon as he does, he finds out she's not at all what she seems.

It's got all the hallmarks of the bad melodrama. Butch's violent tendencies suddenly disappear after they advance the plot. The tension between he and his new boss evaporates about fifteen minutes into the movie. Etc. Robert Presnell's script is basically worthless; I wouldn't be surprised if the principals ad-libbed half the movie as they went along just to give it some sort of continuity. The plot twists are unbelievable to the point of stupidity, and the characters are as cardboard as they come. But for stupid fun (and to catch a glimpse of Bette Davis when she wasn't playing a cast-iron bitch, and what a rare thing that is!), it's worth a view. **

This is one of many Warner Brothers pre-code films which stand up very well today even though Bette Davis always categorised films like this as junk in her career. It is obvious why. Such a film offered her no particular challenge and certainly did not place her centre stage or use any of her unique abilities. It had no specific relevance to the star she became because any number of Warner's contract players could have played her role.

However, "Bureau" is a fast moving and thoroughly entertaining pre-code programmer with that mixture of hard boiled comedy and melodrama in which Warner Brothers specialised at that time. The plot combines a number of stories around investigations by the Bureau of Missing Persons. Absurdities are piled upon each other culminating in an aeroplane being hired to follow homing pigeons which delivered a ransom note. At that point, the viewer realizes that despite some documentary aspects of the plot up to that point and the integrity of Lewis Stone as the head of the department, this film is really low life farce. Pat O'Brien leads the ensemble cast and is his usual, albeit unsubtle, fast talking self. Davis, playing a mysterious lady involved in a murder, is attractive and, as usual, more intense than the standard Warner's leading lady. Most of her dialogue is pathetic but she does her best. There are a wealth of good supporting players including Allen Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly, Hugh Herbert and Glenda Farrell. Roy del Ruth directs efficiently and the editing is excellent as it pieces the jigsaw which the film is together.

The DVD has been issued in the Warner's Archive Collection which means it is very expensive, there are no extras and no scene selection. In this case, the print is dirty but adequate. The theatrical trailer is included.