High Pressure (1932)

(On Cable TV, August 2020) It’s amusing that the two kinds of roles in which William Powell did best were either amateur sleuths or fast-talking hucksters. High Pressure is one of the best of the second type: Powell plays a loquacious promoter who has specialized in giving legitimacy to high-risk investment schemes, not quite resorting to fraud but not quite doing things the most orthodox way. (Or what we’d call today a serial start-up entrepreneur.) The latest venture is about synthetic rubber and it seems to work well until the protagonist meets the “inventor” of the product and concludes that he’s made a terrible mistake in trusting a crackpot. But plotting his overseas exit isn’t so simple when romance with his long-suffering girlfriend is involved. High Pressure isn’t that good, but it does sport rather wonderful art deco sets, a very charismatic Powell spitting one convincing pitch after another, and moves forward rather amusingly thanks to director Mervyn LeRoy. The satirical look at the exaggerations required for success in business remains evergreen. (Why bother having a hiring process for a president when you can just hire someone who looks the part?) Since the same theatrical play was adapted four years later as Hot Money, it’s easy to see both films and appreciate just how much Powell brings to the result. Powell fans will love High Pressure, and those who don’t know Powell just may become fans.

(Second viewing, On Cable TV, February 2022)  William Powell is usually a delight to watch, but his early-1930s films have him going back and forth between the kind of villains he played in the 1920s, and the suave urban charmer he would go on to play for the rest of his career.  In High Pressure, we get him as a borderline cad – a fast-talking hype man for speculative business ventures, this close to a huckster without quite losing our sympathy along the way.  Much of the story has him trying to drum up interest for a synthetic rubber business venture, while navigating the rocky straits of his romantic relationship and learning more about the genius inventor who came up with the product he’s trying to sell.  The business satire is obviously coming from the depths of The Great Depression, but could play just as well with twenty-first century crypto-nonsense.  There’s at least one big laugh in the last third as our protagonist can prove beyond any doubt the false credentials of the inventor.  Otherwise, this is a rather amiable and typically zippy (72 minutes!) early-1930s film – already self-assured in its use of fast-paced dialogue and generous in allowing Powell to take centre-stage.  There’s much better out there, but any Powell fan should have a look at High Pressure.