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Cross Country Cruise
USA 1934
produced by Carl Laemmle jr for Universal
directed by Edward Buzzell
starring Lew Ayres, June Knight, Alice White, Alan Dinehart, Minna Gombell, Eugene Pallette, Robert McWade, Henry Armetta, Arthur Vinton, Hugh Enfield (= Craig Reynolds), Jimmy Conlin, Jane Darwell, Jean Fenwick, Peggy Terry, C. Montague Shaw, Wini Shaw, Ann Shoemaker, Ara Haswell, Kay Lavelle, Herta Lynd, Will Stanton, Lee Phelps, Eddy Chandler, Harry C. Bradley, Rolfe Sedan, Walter Brennan, Eddie Kane, Charles C. Wilson, Harry Strang
story by Stanley Rauh, screenplay by Elmer Harris, special photography by John P. Fulton
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Rather by chance, Norman (Lew Ayres), son of a senator, crosses paths
with lovely Sue (June Knight), and when he learns she's heading from New
York City to San Francisco by bus, he decides to buy a ticket for the same
bus - much to the distress of his chaperone Murphy (Arthur Vinton), who's
sole purpose it is to keep Norman from womanizing. What Norman of course
doesn't know is that Sue is only going to San Francisco to be with her
lover Steve (Alan Dinehart), who's on the same bus. However, Steve's on
the bus with his wife Nita (Minna Gombell), which forces Sue to lay low -
and thus be all the more exposed to the advances of Norman, which are a
bit bumbling and annoying at first, but gradually she falls for his charms
- much to the distress of Steve. Eventually, Nita finds out about his
affair with Sue, so during a stop at a Denver department store, he shoots
her with bow and arrow, then places her in a store window as a mannequin
to make sure the body isn't found till much later. When asked about his
wife, Steve says she has stayed behind in Denver to visit friends - but
it's not long before Nita's body is found and she's traced back to the
bus. The bus is stopped by police and an inquiry is made. Unsurprisingly,
Steve tries to throw Sue under the bus as she has not only had a motive
but is also an expert archer, as she has demonstrated during an earlier
stop. And now it's up to Norman's unexpected ingenuity to prove her
innocent and prove Steve's guilt - which has much to do with his past as a
shop window dresser. And in the end of course Norman gets the girl. Despite
a vicious murder at the center of it, this is actually a rather
lightweight movie with a very comedic tone and many humourous subplots and
is really centered more around the journey itself - with the many sights
seen along the way (including Niagara Falls) - than around the crime. And
as it is, the film's mildly amusing and carried by a likable ensemble for
sure. Now true, the film is hardly memorable and doesn't stick out from
too many other similar films of its time, but it's at least an
entertaining time capsule.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
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