SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

MikeMagi Despite the title, the Secret Six (a group of masked crime-fighting citizens) don't have much to do in this gangster thriller. On the other hand, it's a chance to see a young Clark Gable just a few years before MGM promoted him to super-stardom. As a probing newspaperman, he's billed way down in the cast list but gets more than ample time to show off his acting chops. Another surprise is Ralph Bellamy before he was sentenced to a life of losing the girl in countless comedies as an urbane mobster -- and he's surprisingly menacing. The star of the movie is Wallace Beery as a slaughterhouse worker turned mob boss and he does his usual job, growling, grimacing and chewing the scenery. Well worth watching in a genre that MGM usually left to Warner Bros.

bkoganbing The Secret Six, produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Pictures for MGM, has an interesting message about extralegal means to bring down systemic corruption. The title figures are six notable citizens who are all masked, representing all kinds of interests who come together when organized crime takes over a city. We never see The Secret Six, they only come in the last third of the film. But we do see how they operate.The films is the story of the rise and fall of Wallace Beery who becomes an Al Capone like figure, the real brains of the outfit however is the mob's lawyer Lewis Stone. With Stone pulling the strings and polluting the justice system, Beery rises to power in a typical gangland battle. When the regular law enforcement channels don't work, The Secret Six start working with the federal government to bring Beery down. Working with them are a pair of reporters Johnny Mack Brown and Clark Gable. A key witness in the events is Jean Harlow in her first MGM film.For those who are used to seeing Lewis Stone as the rock of integrity as Judge Hardy, Stone as a bottom feeding shyster lawyer will be quite the revelation. Maybe because he's cast against type he's so good, he just oozes sanctimony in front of a jury.One character I wish that we'd seen a bit more of is Paul Hurst who is Beery's friend and whom the gang elects mayor of a small town. Once doing that the gang moves on to a big city where they take down top gangster boss John Miljan. The situation parallels Al Capone's takeover of Hawthorne, Illinois. I wish Hurst hadn't just disappeared from the story after his election.The Secret Six was the first of six films that Clark Gable and Jean Harlow worked in. Next to Joan Crawford, Gable teamed with Harlow more than any other leading lady. Neither of them however are the stars here, they are billed way down in the cast list. Marjorie Rambeau also has a nice role as a good time girl who Beery uses as a doormat, but Rambeau has the last laugh on him.Although Warner Brothers was the gangster studio with their emphasis on working class films, The Secret Six could give any of the Warner products a run in quality.

Michael_Elliott Secret Six, The (1931) ** 1/2 (out of 4) MGM gangster film should have been better under George Hill's direction with an amazing cast including Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Johnny Mack Brown and Ralph Belamy. Mastermind Stone sets up a gang led by Belamy but after a frame up goes wrong Beery takes over with a vengeance taking out anyone who gets in his way. Gable and Brown play reporters wanting to bring the gang down and Harlow is her usual mole sell. The film starts off with a terrific bang and gets off to a great start but things go way off track during the middle act when the gang tries to get elected into office. This here slows the action down and the other problem is that there are just way too many characters doing way too much for a short running time. However, even with all that said, it's impossible not to enjoy the movie due to the terrific cast with Stone stealing the way in a role, which is a lot like we saw from Brando years later in The Godfather.

drednm Rather trite and confusing gangster story that nonetheless boasts some good performances by Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Marjorie Rambeau and Lewis Stone. I have no clue who the Secret Six (they wear little What's My Line masks) are supposed to be, but the cast is game and the story bumps long nicely. Beery plays a thug who rises in the gangster ranks after killing rival Ralph Bellamy (with scars and blacked out teeth). Gable and Johnny Mack Brown play rival news men. There's a good scene while both men phone in their stories and flirt with Harlow at the same time. Very funny. Stone is the elite lawyer/head of the gang. Rambeau is a floozy who hates Beery. Somehow it all comes together more or less, but never quite makes sense. The parts are sometimes more than the whole. Harlow is quite good. Carol Tevis is funny as the manicurist. John Miljan, Murray Kinnell, and Paul Hurst have co-starring parts. Harlow is a scream as the floozy with the MGM fine-lady accent! And Gable is definitely the star on the fast rise.