I wanted to but couldn't!

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

"The Fat Man" was a radio program that was eventually brought to the big screen. However, only two movies were made--this first one starring J. Scott Smart and another made at the end of the decade by another actor. Apparently, the radio success couldn't be translated to the silver screen.When the show begins, Jane Adams (Jayne Meadows) approached Brad Runyan ('the Fat Man') and begged him to look into the death of her boss, a dentist. The death was ruled an accident or a suicide but she knows it was murder. The trail then leads to a guy named Roy (Rock Hudson) as well as a clown and along the way, other folks meet the same fate as the dentist.The biggest reason to see the film is to see a couple actors before they were stars--Rock Hudson and Jayne Meadows. Julie London, Emmett Kelly (not surprisingly, as a clown) and John Russell also appear in the film--giving it a few more quality actors than you'd expect in such a movie. Aside from that, it was a decent enough mystery but also one that had some stupid clichés. The worst was when Jane called Runyan and said "I need to see you right away...I know who killed Dr. Bromley"....and you KNOW what's going to happen to her very, very soon!! Why didn't she just tell Runyon OVER THE PHONE who the killer was?!?! Duh!! It also was rather low energy and not exactly exciting compared to other films in the genre. Worth seeing if you love these detective films, otherwise very skippable.By the way, the film like MANY Bs was directed by William Castle-- before he became inextricably associated with horror films.

I might get into some hot water here because the value of film adaptations from popular radio serials are held high for many. I am admittedly not familiar with the radio show to which this Castle film was based. In all honesty, I am quite convinced that it played better without the visual component. There are too many flashbacks that slog and mire the plot progression. The effect is an instability of mood throughout the film. Castle's direction is plodding and does little to compensate. There are some good moments of mobile framing and blocking/staging, however, most often Castle relies on simple short pan reframes and frontality in his staging. Not only does this strategy limit auteurship but also prevents provocative psychological portrayals of the characters. This film is carried literally and figuratively on the weight of the reputation of the titular character. The fat man has his moments - corny, quaint and digressive. That being said, his dancing number should become a contemporary viral meme - hashmark Twinkle Toes. Clown of renown, Emmett Kelly makes an appearance and the climax of the film is set around the circus grounds. You might think fun times but don't forget that impressionable Kelly hobo long face.

The Fat Man opens with the murder of a dentist. We spend a good chunk of the next hour wondering not so much who did it, as why. It's a fairly straightforward plot, but one with many threads and characters, including a clown, some dental records, a just-released convict who comes into some money and then disappears, and a police detective who—unusually for private eye movies—is open, cooperative, and even intelligent! J. Scott Smart looks comfortable in the role of Brad Runyan, aka the Fat Man. Familiar faces fill the rest of the cast, including Jayne Meadows in a good serious role as the dentist's nurse; Jerome Cowan as the helpful if bemused policeman; Clinton Sundberg as a kind of goofball assistant; and an eager-looking young Rock Hudson as the con and Julie London as his sometime girlfriend.The Fat Man was apparently a radio detective making a jump to movies that didn't take; not having any familiarity with the radio program, I can only say that this portly detective is considerably more physically active than the obvious comparison: whereas Nero Wolfe rarely emerges from his brownstone on 35th Street, Brad Runyan thinks nothing of hopping a flight to California, risking life and limb in a shootout, or even dancing in a nightclub. (He does, however, share Wolfe's passion for fine food.) To put it another way—Smart as Runyan is easily closer akin to William Conrad as Cannon than Conrad as Wolfe.The film as a whole offers bits of humor, some action, and a pretty fair mystery with quite a well done climactic scene. If they had indeed turned this into a series, I would seek out the other entries; however, I'm afraid 1951 was not the right time to start a detective series—at least, not one for the big screen.

Curiosity picture mainly because it is one of Rock Hudson's earlier films. I won't bother going over the film's many faults except to note the awkward humor. For example, after the nurse was killed, I couldn't believe the joking around. Also, why was she killed in the first place? It was never explained. This bummed me out because she was very attractive even if she couldn't act. It was obvious that this supposed to the first of a series of "Fat Man" detective movies, ala the "Thin Man" movies, but fortunately we are still waiting for the second one.