Blu B
It's BARELY ok. Acting isn't bad. Hayworth & Mitchell are good but the rest is just ehh kind of wooden and stock. Qualen is just so forgettable and has one mode of depression in this. The dialouge isn't that special in this and the only line I remember is Hayworth at the end which was a good sincere line about people. That stuck with me and really the only thing in this. Music isn't bad either but it isn't anything unique or that catchy. Everything else is just ok. It's a comedy (I think) and a drama mixed together in a VERY complex plot almost like a borderline noir which was suprising. But Kiss Kiss Bang Bang this isn't. The main problem is the main plot this starts out with about the insurance fraud divides into like 3 different subplots that is just straight hard to follow. This also gets very boring in the middle because it's just scenes of people talking nonstop at tables most of the time. And because the dialouge isn't that special it just gets so uninteresting. The romance subplot feels so unneeded also. This can't decide who the main focus is either. Qualen at first, than Mitchell, and Fairbanks Jr/Hayworth by the end. And there really isn't any setup to much of these characters either, were just thrown right into the complex plot. I guess the other issue is I didn't really laugh once in this and I think it was trying to be funny but it just is so boring and flat the entire time. Skip This unless your like a hardcore Hayworth/Mitchell fan as they are the only good things in this.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/05/25
Full Review
Georgan G
The acting and dialogue are pretty good. Rita Hayworth in her first "A-movie," keeps her character going. The plot is about poor people with bad luck, but considering that, the main characters end up making out well.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
09/15/24
Full Review
Steve D
I found it contrived and ridiculous.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/17/24
Full Review
Audience Member
This was a fun watch, included in my oddly-titled yet truly economical Mill Creek 'Classic Romances' 8-pack, which I purchased because I love old movies and it was only $10. Though if you really stretch the definition of 'romance', the designation fits, that aspect is but a very minor component of this, and the other films', workings. The 2-time Oscar winner (both wins, and all six nominations, were for screenwriting prowess) Ben Hecht directed this, and he did a decent job, even throwing in the odd bit of idiosyncratic flair. I must admit though I admire him more for his writing--he's made such a mark on cinema with simply the handful I'll casually mention here (Underworld--an Oscar-winner, The Front Page, Scarface, Nothing Sacred, Angels with Dirty Faces, Gunga Din, His Girl Friday, The Shop Around the Corner, Foreign Correspondent, Lifeboat, Spellbound, Gilda, Notorious, Rope) from ones I have personally seen and adored.
I must admit I'm more familiar with Douglas Fairbanks Sr.'s work than that of his son here, and it's really different watching Rita Hayworth at this stage of her career, playing a shy, naïve waif--nothing like the force of nature she would become just a few years later with 'Gilda' and her short, tempestuous marriage to Orson Welles.
In short, the story works for me, that of a boozing playwright, struggling actress and hustler helping a suicidal man out of a jam. It's a sweet little movie that's worth owning and rewatching. I honestly wish they still made little wonders like this these days. Not everything has to be either Star Wars or Hamlet.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This was a fun watch, included in my oddly-titled yet truly economical Mill Creek 'Classic Romances' 8-pack, which I purchased because I love old movies and it was only $10. Though if you really stretch the definition of 'romance', the designation fits, that aspect is but a very minor component of this, and the other films', workings. The 2-time Oscar winner (both wins, and all six nominations, were for screenwriting prowess) Ben Hecht directed this, and he did a decent job, even throwing in the odd bit of idiosyncratic flair. I must admit though I admire him more for his writing--he's made such a mark on cinema with simply the handful I'll casually mention here (Underworld--an Oscar-winner, The Front Page, Scarface, Nothing Sacred, Angels with Dirty Faces, Gunga Din, His Girl Friday, The Shop Around the Corner, Foreign Correspondent, Lifeboat, Spellbound, Gilda, Notorious, Rope) from ones I have personally seen and adored.
I must admit I'm more familiar with Douglas Fairbanks Sr.'s work than that of his son here, and it's really different watching Rita Hayworth at this stage of her career, playing a shy, naïve waif--nothing like the force of nature she would become just a few years later with 'Gilda' and her short, tempestuous marriage to Orson Welles.
In short, the story works for me, that of a boozing playwright, struggling actress and hustler helping a suicidal man out of a jam. It's a sweet little movie that's worth owning and rewatching. I honestly wish they still made little wonders like this these days. Not everything has to be either Star Wars or Hamlet.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
Full Review
Audience Member
An odd, sometimes interesting movie - written and directed by Ben Hecht, whose dialogue is often more compelling than the storyline, which drags a little. Thomas Mitchell, as a drunken playwright on the skids, steals the show. The scene where he calls his estranged wife from a hotel room - not noticing a young Rita Hayworth, watching over him like a guardian angel - is pure cinema.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/16/23
Full Review
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