The other day my order from Sinister Cinema arrived, so this last few nights I’ve been enjoying the pleasures of B-movies.
The other night I saw a corker: “The Mysterious Miss X.” Two out-of-work ham actors get involved in a murder, blah blah blah. You can predict the villain the instant they’re introduced
It’s the lawyer. Surprise!
And yet, and yet, this fairly routine movie has a little gem of a performance in it. The woman who plays the second female lead, a dimwitted hotel manager/switchboard operator, does a bang-up job.
The character is comic relief, and it could be excruciating; but the actress, Mabel Todd, who plays her puts just a bit of goofy spin on everything. It’s hammy, perhaps, but it’s also a lovely bit of acting, and a pleasure to watch–I chortled with glee every time she appeared.
There’s a cute little throwaway bit that charmed me, too; She’s discussing something with the second banana, and holds a magnifying glass up in front of her mouth. The camera cuts suddenly to a view through the glass of her hugely magnified and distorted teeth; the second banana blanches a little, and off we go again. A nice little comic bit.
So, was it worth the $13 to buy this movie? Absolutely–it was worth every penny to see Ms. Todd’s wonderfully off-kilter performance. 