THE FAT MAN (1951)

Universal Pictures released this crime film noir based on the five-year radio drama of the same name. It was directed by William Castle. There is not much excitement in the film and the pacing is slow. As imagination can do wonders over radio waves, this film is perhaps best heard and not seen. Theater attendance did not signal a follow-up movie. 

J. Scott Smart reprises and finishes his role as the well-known private detective with a commonality with Rex Stout's, Nero Wolfe---both have a passion for food with waistlines as proof. Smart is not nearly as smart, however. Simple investigative logic seems to be all he needs to solve crimes. He can really “cut a rug” on the dance floor and has a habit of calling several people, female or male, “sweetheart.” His assistant is the befuddled and persnickety, Clinton Sundberg, who is responsible for shuttling him around and designing his meals. He is very fastidious when it comes to the detective's meals. The movie could not be fully clarified without multiple flashbacks. Nearly the entire supporting cast is awarded at least one, perhaps to simplify the screenplay by Harry Essex and Leonard Lee.

The "Fat Man" is about to partake in a sizable gourmet lunch. A most inopportune time for Jayne Meadows to seek his counsel. She initiates the first flashback to help him understand her backstory. They become somewhat of a team in tracking down the murder of her boss, a dentist, and a missing set of X-rays. Thus begins the usual questioning of intertwined characters. Smart meets with Julie London on more than one occasion. She provides flashbacks about her husband, Rock Hudson, and his prison stretch from a million-dollar robbery organized by John Russell. Hudson's cellmate, Emmitt Kelly, learns of the heist and wants Hudson's share of the loot. 

The performances sway like a pendulum. Meadows seems near-comatose throughout. London is in the same coma ward though her coma breaks early. Russell is fine as a gangster with one of the film's better efforts. He looks shady, unlike Hudson, who is miscast as a gang member. Teddy Hart steals his two scenes with Sundberg as, “Shifty,” a short, weaselly, high-voiced Brooklyn informer. He teases Sundberg because he knows it exasperates him. But without a doubt, Marvin Kaplan's brief scene as “Pinkie” swings the pendulum far into the hilarity region. His distinct Brooklyn accent and his melancholy delivery were legendary. He and his brother-in-law and trucking firm boss, Edwin Max, dislike each other immensely. Max thinks Kaplan is a dimwit and incapable of a solid day's work. Kaplan's sarcastic banter with Max is delightful. It is not just for laughs, either. They do provide the final clue for Smart to pinpoint the murderer, drawing the film to a close. It is noted that a couple of characters never see "The End" of this film.

Note: Screen Gems created a second potential television series starring Robert Middleton. The never-aired 1959 pilot movie was a lackluster fifty-eight minutes, despite Middleton's suave and commanding performance and a fine turn by his crackling assistant, Tony Travis. This private detective charged $200 a day which indicates Jim Rockford was not keeping pace with inflation.