The ever affable Warren William stars as the title character, a traveling carny who engages in crooked confidence scams with his colleagues Frank and Sam (Allen Jenkins and Clarence Muse). He falls for one of his victims, a charming young thing played by the beautiful Constance Cummings, who gets her man back on the straight and narrow--only to find him falling off the wagon when a new job hawking brushes door-to-door doesn't quite pan out. Thanks to Stephen Sondheim, this classic 'B' feature returned to television recently, and it's quite a revelation. Filled with pre-Code flavor, including references to the Mann Act, drug abuse, and oodles of adultery, The Mind Reader is far from being a one-trick pony: it also features a well developed screenplay by Robert Lord and Wilson Mizner, impressive expressionistic photography by the reliable Sol Polito, and some stunning art deco set design by Robert Haas. It all comes together beautifully thanks to director Roy Del Ruth, but the real revelation for me was the acting of Ms. Cummings--still with us as I write this! Besides looking radiant, she delivers a tour-de-force performance as the put upon Sylvia, whose innocence soon turns to anger and resignation when she realizes the true nature of her husband's work. As would be expected, William and Jenkins are both excellent, and Muse gets a sizable and generally dignified role as well. For any number of reasons, this is a wonderful relic of 1930s cinema that needs to get a DVD release. Happily, TCM's print has been well preserved and looks as good or better than any big budget classic from the period.
Review of The Mind Reader
