Brilliant and touching

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Blistering performances.

When you screen an old movie, there are a few obvious signs as to its quality. Take the Monogram logo, for example. You know that the script will be a rough draft, that production will take only a week or so and that the acting will range between passable and clunky. On the other hand, it might even be entertaining. Which "The Mystery Man" actually is, even when it staggers along. Robert Armstrong stars as an intrepid newspaperman who winds up, after a drunken spree, in St. Louis where he's determined to restart his career by catching the mysterious criminal known as "The Eel." Somewhere along the way, he gets mixed up with a plucky, dead-broke brunette who masquerades as his wife for reasons that make no sense. But why worry about reality? It's...drum roll, please...a Monogram Picture. And that's almost as good as a PRC release.

This really seems to be two movies in one. The first is a sweet romantic comedy that takes up the first 40 minutes of the film. Reporter Larry Doyle from Chicago gets $50 for breaking an important story and does too much celebrating. He ends up broke in St. Louis. He sits down at a lunch counter with beautiful Anne Oglivie (Maxine Doyle). She finds that she only has 10 cents to pay for her 20 cent coffee and donut. Larry secretly pays for her. Realizing that a young girl broke in the city could end up in trouble, Larry follows her around to help her out. Having no place to stay, he gets a hotel room for the two of them. Anne is reluctant, thinking he wants sex in return, but Larry reassures her that he's a square kind of guy. He orders an expensive $35 a day hotel suite which has two bedrooms with separate keys. He explains that Anne is as safe with him as she would be anywhere in the city.This part of the movie seems to inspired by Frank Capra's "It Happened One Night" which came out also in 1935. Suddenly with about 25 minutes left the movie turns into a more typical Monogram murder mystery. Larry, remembering that he's an investigative reporter, goes after a slippery gangster called "the Eel." As all Monogram murder mysteries are, its silly, cheap and quite a lot of fun.Robert Armstrong (King Kong, Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young) gives a really strong performance. He's a sweet tough guy with a heart of gold. Maxine Doyle is excellent as the broke virgin in the city. Twenty years old at the time, this was one of her first starring movies. Over the next two years, in 1936 and 1937, she starred in about a dozen low budget movies and that was pretty much the end of her career. She did do some bit parts in the 1940's.Monogram generally made "C" or "D" movies. This one is actually a solid "B" movie.

Cinematic archeology is what this is all about. The film has lost all its appeal as the hooks have gone out of style. But we can see major chunks that have evolved to what we have now.The basic setup is the fold of a reporter as a detective, a miraculously simple concept in narration, as his job is to 'get the story.'He has an easy hookup with a perky girl, though cleanly post-code.Our reporter is an adventure-loving party man (which then meant an occasional drunk) who cannot keep money and who hates authority.The environment is one in which police are inept and essentially invisible, and 'the paper' runs the town behind the scenes. You can easily see the seeds of noir here.Oh, and we have a stereotyped villain, a mystery man who calls himself The Eel and who calls to taunt police (represented by the DA).Good digging here, if you have the patience.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

This B-movie is from Monogram Pictures--a company known for low-budget and relatively low quality films. Now this isn't to say their films are not enjoyable--they are often VERY fun to watch--they just aren't particularly distinguished. In the case of "Mystery Men", it's obvious that the writing was poor--but somehow, despite many silly plot elements, the film was fun to watch.Robert Armstrong stars as a crime reporter. In the first of MANY irrational plot points, the local DA wants to show his appreciation for Armstrong's work...so he has a .45 caliber pistol awarded to him! Then, while he's on a trip to St. Louis, he meets a woman who is broke. Now what would you do in a situation like this? Well, you certainly would NOT pretend that she is your wife and then check into a hotel you cannot afford! Well, that is exactly what he does...and with no expectations of sex. Then, when he tries to get a job with the local paper and the prospective employer calls his old paper, what happens--yep, the old boss tells the St. Louis newspaper editor that the man in his office is a phony and the real reporter is back in Chicago!!! Huh?!? Then, when Armstrong eventually DOES get the St. Louis job anyway, he investigates a crime spree. And, when he sees the killer leaving with the money, what does he do? Yes, he pretends to be one of the gang and drives away with the loot! Can you see that none of this makes any sense? There are MANY more situations like this in the film--I am only naming a few. But, oddly, despite so many dopey moments, Armstrong manages to at least make it enjoyable and the film kept my interest...though it was a bad film from most respects.