The White Cockatoo (1935) User Reviews

Familiar yet still intriguing and well done

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 11 February 2017]

There's a comforting familiarity about small mystery thrillers from the 1930s, such as this one. It has a lot of the usual plot elements: mysterious tavern setting in an isolated part of the country (in this case France), a girl (Muir) waiting there to inherit a fortune, shots in the dark, a body found, the usual red herring suspects (almost everyone in the cast) and the police inspecting the case who are every bit as hopeless at solving a crime in France as they are in American set thrillers of the same nature.

This Warner Brothers affair is directed with efficiency by old pro Alan Crosland, the film further benefiting from some wonderful tavern sets (probably left over from some bigger budgeted productions but every bit as effective here), all beautifully photographed.

And the cast is an engaging one. Ricardo Cortez, second billed, is really the lead in this film, as an American tourist who becomes involved in the mysterious tavern happenings, and largely takes over as amateur detective in trying to crack the case (since it's apparent the police here will never be able to do so). And Cortez is solid in his part, as well as showing some smooth charm, which was his trademark.

I happened to find the book of that title by Mignon Eberhart - a great mystery writer of the 30's and 40's - in a used bookstore. The film pretty much adheres to the story.

Giving the old dark house movie the bird.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 8 April 2015]

Some young actresses are just too good to really be film stars, and in the 1930's, such Broadway stars as Helen Hayes, Lynn Fontanne, Judith Anderson and Tallulah Bankhead made an attempt to move to the big screen with limited success. One of the less remembered of these names was a Warner Brothers contract player named Jean Muir, and for several years in the 1930's, the studio tried to make her a star. As talented as she was, she was never given the right role to really explode her film career, although some of these films are quite enjoyable. An attractive blonde, she certainly wasn't a sexpot like Jean Harlow, nor a clothes horse like Constance Bennett or Miriam Hopkins. She comes closer in looks to the very regal Ann Harding or a young Alice Faye, both actresses of different types who were perfect for one type of part but never given the opportunity to move past the types of roles they were given. Muir, like Harding, appeared in mostly dramas, and for some of them, she often supported such major stars as Ruth Chatterton or Kay Francis, and in most of them was overshadowed by her leading man.

In "The White Cockatoo", she is given a standard film heroine role, the alleged heiress to a fortune, here in "The Cat and the Canary" territory as the apparent victim of a scam which leads to several murders. Having been separated from her wealthy father and brother as a child, she has been notified that her brother is on his way to give her a bequest from her recently deceased father, and this leads to the killings. The hotel owner's pet cockatoo may just be the witness to the crime, as guest Ricardo Cortez reveals, pets and children are better judges of character than adults. Minna Gombell and Walter Kingsford are instantly suspicious as the hotel owners, while there's no doubt that the eccentric American guest (Ruth Donnelly) is simply there for much needed comic relief. Muir insists to several witnesses that she is not the woman they spotted in another part of the hotel, and that leads to even more mystery which the local police appear to be too stupid to solve. If only Inspector Clouseau was around, they might actually get something done! Atmospheric and thrilling on a technical level, this still has a familiar ring to it as entertaining as it is, but there's something about those lush Warner Brothers sets and that acerbic dialog that makes for exciting film viewing. The clue club series at Warner Brothers was a mixed bag, but this was a good entry to get the series off the ground.

A fascinatingly atmospheric mystery thriller!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 17 August 2017]

Associate producer: Henry Blanke. Copyright 29 January 1935 by Warner Bros Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Astor: 15 January 1935. Australian release: 8 May 1935. 7 reels. 73 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: An American heiress is marked for murder at a lonely French hotel.

COMMENT: Although the film starts far more promisingly than it finishes, "The White Cockatoo" is a fascinatingly atmospheric mystery, superbly enacted by a fine cast of players, including the lovely Jean Muir as the vulnerable heroine, dashing Ricardo Cortez as the helpful hero, shady Gordon Westcott as a mysterious "doctor", eccentric Ruth Donnelly as a matronly guest, and Minna Gombell as a conspiratorial inn-keeper.

Most of the action takes place at night, enabling director Alan Crosland and photographer Tony Gaudio many dramatically atmospheric effects, all artistically framed, such as the shot of Jean Muir against the sea.

OTHER VIEWS: A nicely complicated mystery, its atmosphere somewhat undermined by the casting of Walter Kingsford as a French inn- keeper, of all things. He mugs and over-acts atrociously. Fortunately, the rest of the players, including blonde charmer, Jean Muir, equally attractive Pauline Garon, suave John Eldredge and brusque Gordon Westcott make valiant efforts to save the picture from Kingsford's clutches. Thanks to Crosland's skillful direction and Gaudio's tingling photography, they succeed. - JHR writing as George Addison.

A Wee Windy

[GManfred · 10 February 2016]

Wind whistles throughout this picture from start to finish, presumably to bring some much-needed atmosphere and an aura of mystery to a pedestrian WB second feature set in an empty seaside hotel on the French coast; see other reviewers for a plot summary. It gets off to a good start but falters halfway through and becomes a potboiler-style drama, relying shamelessly on contrivance before stumbling to a questionable conclusion.

"The White Cockatoo" features an attractive cast, though, and stars genial, good-natured Ricardo Cortez (he of the sunny disposition), and lovely Jean Muir. On hand also are Ruth Donnelly as a ditzy schoolteacher, as well as Addison Richards, Minna Gombell and Walter Kingsford. The cockatoo in question is hardly noticeable, which makes you wonder why it's used in the picture's title. The main takeaway is the lack of suspense and tension, which detracts greatly from the overall enjoyment of a picture designed to mystify and frighten.

there's been a moidah!

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 27 November 2023]

Jean muir, john eldredge, ricardo cortez. Sue talley is waiting for her brother to arrive at a hotel en france; when a dead body appears, they send for the gendarmes. Lots of talking, and walking around the hotel. Then more bodies! Great, scary atmosphere.... the wind is howling and whistling the whole time. The accusations fly, lots of walking and talking, no-one can leave. But we don't find out what really happened until the very end. It's pretty good. Those hoping for early clues as to the murderer's identity will probably be disappointed. Ruth donnelly, who plays mrs. Byng, was in so many HUGE films from the 1930s and 1940s. Directed by alan crosland. He had directed al jolson in jazz singer. This film based on the book by mignon eberhart. One of the "clue club" mysteries from warner brothers in the 1930s.

Efficient Mystery

[boblipton · 6/10 · 17 November 2023]

American engineer Ricardo Cortez has been working in Russia. Now he's on his way back to the US. First, though, he's stopping at a French chateau-turned-hotel, where the wind always whistles and the manager and his wife have a pet bird to justify the movie's title. There are several other guests, including Jean Muir, who is set to inherit a million dollars, Ruth Donnelly, who is wasted in a nothing role, Gordon Westcott, a grumpy doctor, and several others. Their numbers drop when one of them is killed. In all there will be three murders.

There was a shake-out of actors in Warner's stocl company about this time. While the Irish Mafia (Cagney, O'Brien, McHugh, etc) mostly survived, the carnage among other players was considerable, and resulted in a general loss of quality for everything except the A movies. This one looks like management trying to get some value for their money out of people whose contracts would not be renewed. As a result, while the mystery from a Mignon Eberhart story is intact, the short length of this movie doesn't leave time for the niceties of character exposition. "Efficient" is the nicest thing I can say about this movie, and a good mystery. With Minna Gombell, Walter Kingsford, and Pauline Garon.

Clever Gothic whodunit

[AnnaBulic · 8/10 · 1 March 2015]

The White Cockatoo is a well-paced and well-plotted old dark house mystery starring Ricardo Cortez (very good as usual) and pretty Jean Muir, an all-but-forgotten actress who bore a striking resemblance to Gloria Stuart. Set in a remote French hotel (on the Warner's back lot), and utilizing several authentically French actors in minor roles, the story involves an attempted kidnapping, a stolen inheritance, several impersonations and a couple of murders. Though typical of the second feature crime dramas of the era, it's a much-better-than-average version of that genre and makes for an enjoyable 73 minutes of intrigue, with hidden rooms, stolen papers, long-lost siblings and some genuine surprises.

The main attraction here is the strong supporting cast of Warner's stalwarts: Addison Richards, Ruth Donnelly, Minna Gombell (more glamorous than usual), Walter Kingsford, John Eldredge and Gordon Westcott. Oh, and there's also a nice little performance by Poochie, the titular white cockatoo. They all manage to bring some dimension to the characters, a quality which--along with a well-constructed story and better pacing than the average film of this ilk--elevates the picture to what I would call a B+. Highly recommended for fans of the genre.

Better than most films in this crowded genre....

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 18 March 2016]

In the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made approximately 400,038,823 films similar to "The White Cockatoo". Murder mystery/whodunnits were a dime a dozen back then and because of this, I wasn't too interested in watching this film though I did because I usually enjoy Richardo Cortez films. Fortunately, it's better than I expected.

The film is set in a bizarro version of a French hotel. In other words, practically no one (other than the police who show up later) speaks with the least hint of a French accent! This isn't really a major problem...and it's common during this era of film making. Sue (Jean Muir) has come here from the States to meet her step-brother to settle their father's estate and they've never met each other. Jim (Cortez) is another American who just happens to be there and gets pulled into the murders...yes, murders. When the first body appears, the French police tell everyone that they must remain in the hotel until the case is solved. However, when more bodies start appearing you wonder who is going to buy the farm next and who is behind it all.

Overall, despite being talky (very common to all these sort of films), this one is well acted, well made and has a genuinely interesting story. Well worth seeing and among the better whodunnits I have seen.

Turgid Mystery

[dougdoepke · 10 March 2016]

Routine whodunit, more complex than most. Seems Sue (Muir) travels to a French village to meet her long lost brother, so that once their identities are confirmed, they'll share a big inheritance. Trouble is people start turning up dead at their hotel, while Sue seemingly overcomes physics by appearing in more than one place at the same time. So what's going on.

Unlike the Hollywood custom of the day, there's no amateur sleuth operating here. Instead guest Sundean (Cortez) stumbles around along with the French cops. Reviewer GManfred is right: the narrative lacks suspense. I think it's mainly because there are too many angles at play at the same time. In short, too many subplots detract from needed whodunnit focus. Instead, there's dark Gothic atmosphere, along with a single wind recording that blows throughout. Anyway, Muir looks pretty, Donnelly acts ditzy, while the Cockatoo qualifies for SAG membership. But anything memorable, it's not.