Cast:
Robert Armstrong (Richard Bruce), Helen Mack (Rose Thorne), Roland Young (Holmes the Burglar), Ralph Bellamy (Jim Steele), John Miljan (Regan, Gang Leader), Beryl Mercer (Elsie, the Maid), Tyrell Davis (Gerald Fairfax), Henry Stephenson (Major Archer Thorne), and Laura Hope Crews (Lady Rockingham) Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack (#283 - King Kong, #604 - Mighty Joe Young, #709 - The Most Dangerous Game, and #914 - Son of Kong)
Review:
Okay, so remember Son of Kong (1933)? That was the rushed sequel to King Kong that retained the uses of Ernest B. Schoedsack as director/producer while featuring Robert Armstrong and Helen Mack (replacing Fay Wray from the original film) as the stars to basically be second-nature to the big effect (the film itself, well, was pretty disappointing, but that was a long time ago). Of course, there was one other aspect retained from the original Kong in Ruth Rose (familiar to Schoedsack, because she was his wife) as screenwriter. You may wonder just what does this have to do with Blind Adventure? Well, that was the other 1933 movie released by RKO Radio Pictures that had Armstrong and Mack as stars with Schoedsack as director, and Rose as a writer (Robert Benchley delivered uncredited work for the film); oddly enough, Cooper didn't produce the Kong sequel but did produce Blind Adventure. Schoedsack was a most curious filmmaker, as one would expect from somebody that honed their skills in the Signal Corps in World War I. He directed various films with a good chunk in collaboration with Merian C. Cooper (they met in Europe in 1918 and coincidentally were both pilots during the war), whether that involved producing films spent in the wilderness such as Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927) or dramas such as The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) or effects-driven features such as Dr. Cyclops (1940) and his last key effort in Mighty Joe Young (yet another movie with Armstrong, Rose, and Cooper). Schoedsack died in 1979 at the age of 86.
The movie is perhaps too fitting for B-movie status within its 65-minute runtime and a premise involving "An American in foggy England all by himself". The enjoyment of the film depends on just how much you can take the film at face value with such little time to allow it to coat in interest. But B-movies were a dime a dozen, so those familiar with hazy surroundings will probably just be fine with what the film is selling, and I did eventually go with it, perhaps because sometimes one really does just go with the flow. So here we are with a plot about wrong houses wrapped in pea soup fog, incriminating cigarette cases, and friendly burglars. Armstrong I think is confident enough to hold the ship together with being thrust into such a strange time, which mostly means competent timing that is played for a bit of contrast with everyone that isn't about bluster with the previous Schoedsack ventures. Mack makes a casual lead to get thrust into the proceedings that mainly involves a bit of going along with whatever is happening and a bit of relief when it comes to "trifles". Of course, Young makes for a pleasant bundle of chuckles as the sly fox in the middle of pursuers and bumblers. This includes a minor adversary in Bellamy, who at least seems game within the mild diversion that comes when packed with other minor heavies that see one of them get bonked on the head at one point. As a whole, the enjoyment of the film depends on just how much a diversion one finds within such a short and measurable time, and I think it works out just alright, so take that for what it is worth.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
