While the Patient Slept (1935)

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

The presence of the wonderful Aline MacMahon makes this old chestnut of a plot line more tolerable. Of course, it involves an aging wealthy patriarch, an eccentric greedy family (one of them practices playing the funeral march on the piano as the old geezer listens in seclusion), mysterious servants, and bumbling detectives, lead by the pompous Guy Kibbee and the foolish Allen Jenkins. In one of their many teamings together, MacMahon and Kibbee play old rivals. The script gives the indication that this is a reunion for their characters from another film, but other than two films where Ann Sheridan played the same character MacMahon is playing here, research shows otherwise. One of Sheridan's films, "Mystery House", seems to be a remake of this film with an extremely similar plot line. The attractive MacMahon is the epitome of an untraditional leading lady, but there is something about her that is absolutely fascinating. She delivers her dialog (both wisecracks and wisdom) with a very arch, knowing attitude, obviously aware that she's probably the smartest person in the room, and determined to prove that the inmates have been running the asylum far longer than they should have been.

"While the Patient Slept" is a strange film. Through much of the film, many of the actors say their lines way too quickly and there are few pauses in the conversations. It's as if the director realized that plot was too long for a B-movie (which usually clock in at between 55 and 70 minutes at the most) and told folks to talk very rapidly in order to obtain the 66 minute runtime! And, it is like a "Reader's Digest" condensed version of a movie!The plot is a pretty standard B-movie whodunnit. While an old rich man is dying, various family members come to attend him. However, his disreputable son (Robert Barrat) is shot and killed during the night and it's up to an amateur detective (Aline MacMahon) who also happens to be the old man's nurse as well as a dopey detective (Guy Kibbee) and his even dopier assistants (Allan Jenkins and Eddie Shubert) to get to the bottom of it.I have a particular fondness for these sort of murder mysteries and have seen just about every Charlie Chan, Falcon, Saint and Mr. Moto film. However, I must say that "While the Patient Slept" is a very poor one--even if it was made by the premier studio of the day, MGM. It's mostly because of the direction. In addition to most of the folks talking too fast, they often yell, over-emote or talk very loud for practically no reason. The pacing is awful and the performances are among the worst of the actors' careers--and the director is the one to blame. Additionally, the character Jenkins plays is too annoying and one-dimensional--much like the super-annoying detective he played in "Sh! The Octopus". He's meant to be funny...he isn't. Overall, the film comes off as shrill, loud and awful.Incidentally, it is interesting that the film seems to strongly imply that Eustace is gay. See the film and see if you agree.

This is a good old-fashioned Thirties mystery, with comic turns from Guy Kibbee, Aline MacMahon, and Allen Jenkins doing his usual Sheldon Leonard- like one-step-behind sidekick cop. It's based on an early novel by Mignon G. Eberhart, who had a knack for implausible plotting that didn't matter because the action spun everything along at a nice clip. Nice to see Kibbee taking the spotlight, even if in a B movie, because he was such a stalwart supporting player, a familiar face in so many movies of the era. He and MacMahon play well off each other, even creating a bit of a romance, though MacMahon's Nurse Sarah Keate isn't quite as acerbic and witty as the character in the novel. However, the movie has its own charm, spiced with a bit of wackiness, and is a pleasant way to while away a little more than one hour.

This is probably the first entry in the "Lance O'Leary/Nurse Keat" detective series; in subsequent O'Leary films, he was played by much younger actors than Guy Kibbee.A group of relatives (all played by well-known character actors) gathers in an old house (on a rainy nite, of course!) to speak to a wealthy relative, who goes into a coma.While they wait for him to recover, all sorts of mysterious goings-on happen, including a couple of murders.A creepy film; worth seeing!