THE SOLITAIRE MAN from 1933 is a B picture, but because it was made at MGM, it's really a B+. The studio used these Bs as a training ground for their up and coming young stars and even more established character actors. Herbert Marshall is Oliver, who heads up a family of con artists, except they're not related. His "son" steals a necklace that Oliver attempts to return because he knows the young man would be the first person they would suspect.While he is in the home, a burglar enters, and a policeman sees him. The second burglar kills the policeman, and Oliver is a witness. However, he can't see the murderer. Realizing things will get mighty hot, he and his crew try to leave the country by plane. During the flight, much is revealed. Mary Boland and May Robson also appear in this film, and they're great. Boland plays a mouthy, wealthy American, and May Robson, as a cultured society woman. matches her excellence. Herbert Marshall's elegant type of leading man has gone out of style, but he handled his role very well.See it for Boland and Robson.

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!

While it has its moments, I'm on the negative side of things with this film.It's another of a sub-genre of films I've always disliked. The primary genre was very common in the early to mid 1930s -- how the upper class lived. I always found the emphasis on that to be rather a bore. The sub-genre I like even less -- jewel thieves stealing from the upper class.Having said that, I will give the film a few points for casting...and few subtractions for casting. First, there are two actors in the film that I always enjoy, and here is no exception. Herbert Marshall was a fine actor, and here he plays a jewel thief desiring to get out of the racket and marry. I also always find May Robson a welcome addition to almost any film. Elizabeth Allan does well enough here as the romantic interest. Mary Boland is a hoot as the loud-mouthed American on the plane. On the negative side -- Ralph Forbes, the third of the thieves. Wow, could that man act! Well, no, not really...at least not in this film. But he certainly could overact! More than a third of the way through the film, Lionel Atwill comes on-board (literally on a plane)...but is none to impressive here.In terms of the story, like any number of early-1930s films, this script has some holes in it, including sudden plot changes that don't quite make sense. At one point, Atwill even calls Herbert Marshall by the name of Atwill's own character (how did that get by Hollywood's most prestigious studio?). Frankly, once on the plane, the writers tried to get rather clever with the story line, but ended up making the film rather inane at points.So my advice? Well, if you have a specific reason for wanting to watch the film (as I did, being a bit of a fan of Herbert Marshall), do so. Otherwise, pass it by...there's lots better from the early 1930s.

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.