Fast and Furious (1939)

Fast and Furious is a 1939 comedy-mystery directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern. In the fashion of The Thin Man's Nick and Nora, Franchot and Ann play Joel and Garda Sloane, a married couple of booksellers who moonlight as private detectives. Franchot and Ann have fantastic chemistry and come off charmingly. 

Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern

They are equally quick-witted, intelligent, and comical. Garda has been craving a vacation alone with Joel and thinks she's finally getting one. She soon realizes that Joel is using the trip as a cover-up for a secret investment and the chance to ogle young beauties as a beauty pageant judge. Before long, a murder is committed and Joel and Garda must turn their attention to solving a mystery (but there are still many laughs mixed in for fun!)

 

Franchot in a hilarious swimming scene.

Franchot Tone was gifted at bringing a lightness to his detective/investigative roles and would go on to play several clever private detectives in the 1940s.

The characters of Joel and Garda Sloane shared laughs and solved crimes in three separate movies. Each time, the characters were played by different actors: by Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice in Fast Company (1938); Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Fast and Loose (1939); and Tone and Sothern in Fast and Furious (1939). Warner Archive has released the set as a triple feature DVD. It is available for purchase through:

Amazon

WBShop

TCM Shop

Clifford Odets on Franchot Tone

"We suffered that season very seriously from the loss of our leading man. This was a great blow. Toward the end of the summer, Franchot Tone, after being quite erratic in his relationship to the company—he was a spoiled boy in many ways—decided to leave the Group, and everyone was sick. He was very gifted. The two most talented young actors I have known in the American theater in my time have been Franchot Tone and Marlon Brando, and I think Franchot was the more talented. And when he lost what he did, I think a very valuable gift was lost to the American theater. He was our leading man. It was like a beehive had lost its queen. And what do we do? Later we got an actor named Alexander Kirkland, who at least in terms of outward looks could replace Franchot, but not in terms of Franchot's talent."

Source: Hethmon, Robert. Days with the Group Theatre: An Interview with Clifford Odets. Michigan Quarterly Review. Volume XLI, Issue 2, Spring 2002
Permalink: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.act2080.0041.201

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Impossible Dream (1959)

In 1959 at the age of 54, Franchot stars as an aging actor who is relegated to brief, minor roles in motion pictures in The Impossible Dream episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. As Oliver Mathews, he is hardened, irritable, and aware of his descent into mediocre roles.

Even more an aggravation to him is his overly attached, constantly present personal assistant. Miss Hall (played by Carmen Mathews) babies him, preparing a sedative for his plane travel, making sure his clothes are properly folded and packed, and hanging on his every word.

Franchot Tone and Carmen Mathews

But she's not the only female who has her claws in Oliver. Grace Dolan (played brilliantly by Mary Astor) holds a secret about Oliver Mathews, one that could ruin his career once and for all, and she uses this information for blackmail.

Franchot Tone and Mary Astor

Just as Oliver believes he's dealt with these nuisances, a classic Hitchcock twist shows otherwise.

The Impossible Dream is Episode 28 of Season 4. 

The Season 4 DVD is available from:

Amazon

At the time of this writing, the episode is also available on Hulu Plus.