Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

mark.waltz Homicide detective Melvyn Douglas is determined to make good in his chosen career, but his long-time girlfriend Joan Blondell would rather him retire and push baby carriages, the thought of which makes him wince. She is tired of his being pulled away from their romantic evenings out on the town, so she begins plotting ways of getting him to either be fired or resign. "I'm more interested in making Kenny a good cop rather than a good husband", police chief Clarence Kolb tells Blondell after she inquires if he's been fired. But once a cop, always a cop, and even after he does resign, circumstances change which keeps him working much to Blondell's frustration.A funny subplot involves an ill-fated romance between Blondell's co-worker Ruth Donnelly whom Douglas sets up with Edward Brophy. All would be fine if Brophy didn't have a 40 year sentence waiting for him upstate. "Age before beauty", he tells her, allowing her to go in front of him. Blondell comments, "Your friend doesn't waste much time" to which Douglas replies, "He hasn't got much time to waste". Brophy proves to be a rather dashing dancer, hoofing with both Blondell and Donnelly, promising her, "I'll never look at another dame as long as I live." It seems that the biggest challenge in police chief Kolb's job is to find a police officer willing to dress in women's clothing to trap a killer. Guess who ends up in drag! "Good grief, you look like my Aunt Nellie!", Blondell exclaims upon seeing him. Of course, he doesn't remove his mustache, covering it instead with a flowered see-through veil. Blondell follows him, is attacked, and through guilt, Douglas promises to marry her, much to Kolb's dismay. A smart and funny script keeps the wisecracks flowing, while the action comes fast and furious, giving enough mystery both for the murder and whether or not Douglas will ultimately commit."Congradulations! I hope all your kids have flat feet!", Donnelly tells Douglas after he stands Blondell up at their city hall marriage for police business. Eventually, like Nick and Nora (and many other "Thin Man" knock-off couples), Blondell joins Douglas in helping him in his investigation in order to save him from going to jail, and this leads to a more serious last quarter. Even though Blondell may seem a bit one sided in her determination to grasp onto Douglas and take him away from his career, she does seem to come around and understand why he has to do for a living what he does. So in the end, this is less about a clinging, manipulative woman, but about two people in love coming to an understanding and how they deal with their differences.

gridoon2018 Although made one year later than another Melvyn Douglas - Joan Blondell pairing, "There's Always A Woman", "The Amazing Mr. Williams" can be taken as more of a prequel than a follow-up to that earlier film, in which Douglas plays a retired detective who has gone private and Blondell is his wife who has already discovered her knack for crime-solving. Here, Douglas works for the police force, Blondell is the mayor's secretary, and they haven't even gotten married yet. While Blondell is always a delight to watch and the film definitely has its moments (especially near the end, when her role becomes more active), it is burdened by an episodic story that jumps from subplot to subplot (first, it's a locked-room mystery; then a false identity farce; then a hunt for a serial killer; and finally, a bank-robbery-and-murder story). All in all, it's pleasant but unremarkable. **1/2 out of 4.

gmboothe The only other review of this movie as of this date really trashes the stars and the movie itself. I usually like to read the user comments to give me an idea of what to expect from a movie I don't know much about. It's unfortunate when there aren't many comments for a certain tile, because when there is only one review and it unreasonably trashes the movie and cast, you don't get an idea of what to expect. I read the review before watching this title and I don't know where all the venom for this movie and the stars came from. Douglas and Blondell were both very talented and attractive people who usually delivered, even when the material was not the greatest. I found the movie and the performances fun and enjoyable. It isn't one of the great all-time classics, but a pleasant and funny diversion-much more than you can hope for in most newer movies. If you are a fan of these stars, you will not be disappointed.

F Gwynplaine MacIntyre There's nothing amazing about 'The Amazing Mr Williams'. Part of this movie's problem is its lead actor Melvyn Douglas. He was a lousy actor and lazy with it. For most of his career, he allowed his good looks, a glib manner and (usually, but not in this movie) some fine scriptwriting to make up for his lack of acting ability. I disliked Douglas as an actor before I knew anything about him as a person; I've learnt enough about him to know that I also despise his politics. I'll give Melvyn Douglas credit for one thing: his chromosomes did produce the incredibly talented and sexy actress Illeana Douglas.Melvyn Douglas made this movie right after the brilliant 'Ninotchka' ... talk about a comedown! 'The Amazing Mr Williams' is allegedly a comedy, but I never laughed. Douglas plays a plainclothes detective on the homicide squad, named Kenny Williams. I never heard of a police detective named Kenny, but if they called him Kenneth Williams ... well, what a carry-on. The whole city is in a panic because a serial killer is going about, killing women. No motive is given for this; he just likes to kill women. The mayor (Jonathan Hale, better than usual) calls Williams on the carpet to account for his failure to catch the killer.SPOILERS APPROACHING. The cheap, vulgar, untalented and unattractive Joan Blondell plays the mayor's secretary. (She doesn't sound literate enough to file a letter, much less type one.) Blondell and Douglas squabble like a cat and a dog, so it's blatantly obvious they're going to end up together.At this movie's lowest point, Melvyn Douglas decides to draw out the killer by dressing up as a woman. You do NOT want to see Melvyn Douglas in drag! He's well over six foot, and he doesn't even shave off that annoying moustache. The similarly-'tashed William Powell was an actor very similar in type to Melvyn Douglas (but much more talented). When Powell disguised himself as a woman in 'Love Crazy', he had the integrity to shave off his moustache: a genuine sacrifice, as Powell needed it to grow in again for his next role. But Melvyn Douglas brings nothing whatever to his role in this movie, not even a razor. He plays his drag scenes with the same annoying smirk he used throughout the bulk of his career.On the plus side, 'The Amazing Mr Williams' has several of those splendid supporting players who made Hollywood's movies of the '30s so delightful. Edward Brophy is brilliant here, touching and funny as a criminal who gets an unlikely furlough from his life sentence. The dyspeptic Donald MacBride is fine as a cop who gets mistaken for the killer, and is nearly lynched by a mob. Ruth Donnelly is splendid: as usual for her, but here she gets a chance to show her talents away from her usual orbit on the Warner Brothers backlot. Jimmy Conlin, Luis Alberni and the grinning Dave Willock are all fine in small roles. Barbara Pepper (whom I usually dislike) is good here too. The grossly unpleasant Maude Eburne gets some screen time; I always loathe her, and she gives the same performance in every film ... but some audiences enjoy Eburne's one-note performance very much, for reasons I can't fathom.If you're familiar with Hollywood character actors of the 1930s, and the roles they tended to play, one glance at IMDb's cast list will tell you who the murderer is. That's the problem with 'The Amazing Mr Wiliams': everything is too obvious. I'll rate this movie 2 points out of 10.