''The League of Frightened Men'' is a 1937 American

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

based on the 1935 novel of the same name, the second Nero Wolfe novel by

Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...

. Directed by Alfred E. Green, the Columbia Pictures film stars

Walter Connolly Walter Connolly (April 8, 1887 – May 28, 1940) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 50 films between 1914 and 1939. His best known film is ''It Happened One Night'' (1934). Early years Connolly attended St. Xavier Coll ...

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street in Ne ...

, a role played by Edward Arnold in the previous year's ''

Meet Nero Wolfe ''Meet Nero Wolfe'' is a 1936 mystery film based on the 1934 novel '' Fer-de-Lance'', written by Rex Stout. Set in New York, the story introduced the detective genius Nero Wolfe ( Edward Arnold) and his assistant Archie Goodwin (Lionel Stander). ...

''. The role of Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin was reprised by

Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television. He is best remembered for his role as majordomo Max on the 1980s mystery television series ''Hart to Hart''. Early ...

Plot

Professor Hibbard (

Leonard Mudie Leonard Mudie (born Leonard Mudie Cheetham; April 11, 1883April 14, 1965) was an English character actor whose career lasted for nearly fifty years. After a successful start as a stage actor in England, he appeared regularly in the US, and made ...

) requests detective Nero Wolfe's assistance in tracking down the sender of a few sinister letters, which killed two of Hibbard's acquaintances. Prominent author Paul Chapin (

Eduardo Ciannelli Eduardo Ciannelli (30 August 1888 – 8 October 1969), was an Italian baritone and character actor with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals. He was sometimes credited as Edward Ciannelli. Early life Ciannelli ...

), who is a cripple, is pinpointed by Wolfe as the culprit. Wolfe rationally deduces that Chapin is out for payback — decades ago, a prank then-Harvard University scholar Hibbard and a group of chums played on Chapin went awry, causing him to be in his current state. Hibbard shares with Wolfe that his daughter (

Irene Hervey Irene Hervey (born Beulah Irene Herwick; July 11, 1909December 20, 1998) was an American film, stage, and television actress who appeared in over fifty films and numerous television series spanning her five-decade career. A native of Los Angeles ...

) is romantically involved with Chapin's elder brother, Mark (Joseph Allen). With that, he quietly makes a move. Wolfe arranges for all of Hibbard's surviving Harvard pals to gather at his residence. All agree to, except for taxi driver Pitney Scott (

Victor Kilian Victor Arthur Kilian (March 6, 1891 – March 11, 1979) was an American actor who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s. Early life, career, and homicide Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Victor Kilian began his ...

). Wolfe later learns that the two friends of Hibbard's were experiencing financial difficulties. Meanwhile, Wolfe's partner Archie Goodwin (

) is sent to guard Chapin's house. Chapin is also invited to join the meeting at Wolfe's house. Just as he arrives, Dr. Burton (Kenneth Hunter) is shot by a hidden assailant. Wolfe, seeing the direction the shot came from, vouches for Chapin's innocence. Some time later, both Goodwin and Wolfe are captured by Mark, who despises them for initially accusing Chapin of the wrongdoing. They manage to break free and Inspector Cramer (

Edward McNamara Edward James McNamara (August 13, 1884 - November 10, 1944) was an American Broadway and Hollywood actor. He appeared in several films between 1929 and 1944. Early life He was born on August 13, 1884, in Paterson, New Jersey. Rotund in bui ...

) promptly arrests Mark for kidnapping. Wolfe suddenly cracks the case, after much thought into it. He concludes that Chapin had indeed sent those letters, but they were just meant to frighten the recipients. Instead, the actual murderer of the men is found to be one of Hibbard's friends, banker Ferdinand Bowen (

Walter Kingsford Walter Kingsford (born Walter Pearce; 20 September 1882 – 7 February 1958) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early years Kingsford was born in Redhill, Surrey, England. Career Kingsford began his acting career on the Lo ...

). Bowen was the one who told Wolfe about the two men being in debt. In actuality, Bowen had stolen their money and made up the tale himself, as a spot-check on the men's backgrounds showed.

Cast

as Nero Wolfe *

as Archie Goodwin *

as Paul Chapin *

as Evelyn Hibbard *

as Pitney Scott *

Nana Bryant Nana Irene Bryant (November 23, 1888 – December 24, 1955) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1955. Biography Bryant was born 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She appeared in ...

as Agnes Burton * Joseph Allen (Allen Brook) as Mark Chapin *

as Ferdinand Bowen *

as Professor Hibbard * Kenneth Hunter as Dr. Burton * Charles Irwin as Augustus Farrell *

Rafaela Ottiano Rafaela Ottiano (4 March 1888 – 15 August 1942) was an Italian-American stage and film actress. Early life Rafaela Ottiano was born in Venice, Italy. She immigrated to the United States with her parents and was processed at Ellis Island in 1 ...

as Dora Chapin * Edward McNamara as Inspector Cramer * Jameson Thomas as Michael Ayers *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as ...

as Nicholas Cabot *

Jonathan Hale Jonathan Hale (born Jonathan Hatley; March 21, 1891 – February 28, 1966) was a Canadian-born film and television actor. Life and career Hale was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Before his acting career, Hale worked in the Diplomatic Co ...

as Alexander Drummond * Herbert Ashley as Fritz *

James Flavin James William Flavin Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose career lasted for nearly half a century. Early life The son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English descent,Flavin's obituary, distributed by United ...

as Joe

Production

The novel ''

The League of Frightened Men ''The League of Frightened Men'' is the second Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story was serialized in six issues of ''The Saturday Evening Post'' (June 15–July 20, 1935) under the title ''The Frightened Men''. The novel was publish ...

'' by Rex Stout was adapted into the film by script writers Eugene Solow and Guy Endore. The film was directed by Alfred E. Green. Edward Chodorov was in charge of production for Columbia Pictures. William Whitley signed on as cinematographer, while Gene Milford edited the film. Walter Connolly was eventually chosen to play the protagonist detective Nero Wolfe. Stout had personally wanted

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future w ...

to take up the role, but Laughton had other commitments at that time. Lionel Stander returned as Wolfe's right-hand man, Archie Goodwin; Stander previously portrayed the character in ''Meet Nero Wolfe'' (1936).

Reception

Rex Stout, the author of the original novel, was reportedly unsatisfied with the film, particularly criticising Stander's portrayal of Archie Goodwin. Thus, he objected to any more future adaptations of his works. Film critics generally found Connolly's depiction of Nero Wolfe to be bad. A reviewer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' commented that the film was "a well-knit mystery, and well played out." ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

s review of the film found that " ere is a grim problem facing the desperate member of ''The League of Frightened Men'', but somehow this Columbia story, which brings that amiable detective, Nero Wolfe, to the screen again, fails to be convincing". In his book ''The Detective in Hollywood'', Jon Tuska wrote, "Unhappily, Lionel Stander's Archie in ''The League of Frightened Men'' is far too much of a bungler. The plot follows the novel, which ran initially in ''The Saturday Evening Post''. A group of ten men is threatened by one of their number, and murders begin. Eduardo Ciannelli is the logical suspect, since he was crippled in a hazing while the men were all in college. ..The film was in no way the equal of its predecessor."

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:League Of Frightened Men, The 1937 films 1937 mystery films Columbia Pictures films Films based on American novels Films based on mystery novels Films directed by Alfred E. Green Nero Wolfe American mystery films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films