Protraph
Lack of good storyline.
InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Darin
One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
charles-p-hall
I normally wouldn't bother saying bad things about a 1933 movie, heck talkies were just getting started. But despite what other reviewers are saying, this movie is really bad. Even Herbert Marshall, an impeccable actor, can't save this thing. Elizabeth Allen is also terrible, but she went on to do better stuff.First, it's based on a stage play... and it shows. Lots of standing around talking. Lots and lots. Then it has some of those 30's themes where the woman loves one man, who won't tell her he loves her too, while stringing along some other poor fellow. All three in evening dress and talking, talking, talking.When Lionel Atwill shows up and they all board the plane it gets even worse. The plot is crazy with people posing as Scotland yard inspectors one minute, and as a crook the next.The only interesting thing about this movie are the airport scenes and the giant biplane these folks board to cross the channel. Super wide-bodied if you believe the set, with parachutes for every passenger and windows and doors you can open in flight. In fact about three times the passengers open the door and peer out for long seconds after someone has jumped out (or they think he has). This is at night, in the clouds, over the channel, so I don't think there would be much to see.Other than the plane itself, there's just nothing interesting here.
MartinHafer
I almost always like Herbert Marshall films and "The Solitaire Man" was a huge disappointment. While it started off well enough, it really became a boring and highly clichéd movie when it came to the airplane sequence.The film begins with an elaborate flim-flam scheme in which some rich lady buys a necklace she THINKS is worth a fortune. You then learn that these two women are in league with Oliver (Marshall). However, Oliver and the young lady crook have decided to marry and she assumes this means an end to their lives of crime. However, Oliver wants a final big score and as he's sneaking in to steal a valuable necklace, a murder occurs! Another thief is there and shoots a detective who's waiting for him...and Oliver uses the confusion to get the necklace.When the film switches to the airplane on which Oliver and his two friends are traveling, the film grinds to a halt. Much of the next 20- 30 minutes consists of folks talking and talking and you learn that a detective or police informer is among the passengers. None of this is really interesting or worth seeing...and it's filled with so many silly clichés. I really HATED how Oliver kept making brilliant educated guesses based on no evidence whatsoever! It's a shame, as this final portion seems like it's from a cheap Monogram or Grand National film...not a picture from a quality studio like MGM!
klarkash
This is one of those little MGM quickies that is unfairly overlooked by both film fans and historians. Without giving anything away, the plot involves a jewel theft and murder, with the suspects aboard a plane flying from France to England. There are several plot twists before and after the plane lands. It may not be hard to guess who the villain really is, but the film maintains a good level of suspense and is well acted. It's not without a major goof, at one point in the film Lionel Atwill calls Herbert Marshall "Wallace", the name of Atwill's character. How MGM let that get by is a mystery. This film is a good example of what could be done on a limited budget.
znowhite01
Just what I wanted to see: a stage play masquerading as a movie. It's one of those few times in which you forget the entire content of the film just minutes after watching. Most of us get into movies to be visually and emotionally stimulated, but this MGM cheapie fails on both fronts, at times even daring the viewer to stay awake with its endless dialogue and overblown theatrics. A caper plot about a stolen necklace on an airplane could and should have been better than the nonsensical soap opera mechanics on display here. The old hags were not only rude and insulting, but they practically beg the viewer for a well placed slap across the mouth. Given the technical limitations of 1933, the plane set where most of the film takes place looks like a kindergarten stage with a few random chairs spread around for good measure. Thankfully, this wretched excrement of old cinema remains unreleased on video; those that get TCM may have to suffer a terrible ordeal, though.
