William Powell is so dashing and such a romantic in appearance, and clearly at heart, that it is hard to see him as anything but. "Private Eye 62" is not a special treat in Powell's filmography but I wouldn't write it off either. Some occasionally pungent dialogue and some stylized moments give it some weight to make it a slight cut above the usual mediocrity.
Starting off with a visually pleasing and foggy view of the Eiffel Tower, we are introduced to Powell as Donald Free, a State Department diplomat who is caught stealing some French government papers. Free is deported to the U.S. until he gets wind that the French want him back (an extradition despite being deported that quickly?) so he jumps off a boat to swim to NYC. Before you start being inquisitive on the movie's plot, Free is in New York and injects himself as a partner for a failing detective agency called "Peerless." Dan Hogan (Arthur Hohl) is the main detective who is more than a mite incompetent and completely unethical. Nevertheless, a sassy socialite, Janet Reynolds (Margaret Lindsay), is making huge cash winnings at Bandor's Club. Is Janet really winning based on luck or is she cheating? The movie never quite answers that and assumes we will just buy that she has exorbitant luck. The detectives are hired to check on her and there is more than meets the eye.
A Depression-era and Pre-Code crime drama that seems more comedic early on than dramatic, "Private Eye 62" is consistently engaging. Arthur Hohl shows the corruption seeping into Dan's veins and Margaret Lindsay holds her own as Janet, though whether she's duplicitous or not is questionable. William Powell is so damn good that it almost doesn't matter whether the story pays off. Frivolous Michael Curtiz movie yet you'll have a good time.
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