The script by Ben Hecht and the performances of Thomas Mitchell and John Qualen make this sardonic drama of clichéd Manhattan types all the more fun to follow. It is the old con game where the innocent is used to fleece the guilty. Qualen has written a suicide note after stealing $3000 from his partner, and with the help of a down on his luck playwright, a con man and a chorus girl, he discovers a possible way out of his predicament. This leads Qualen to end up in a card game with a group of serious gamblers, and with Mitchell, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Rita Hayworth, he has the possibility of not only paying back his partner but also making a bit of a profit.
The leads are Fairbanks and Hayworth, but it will be the two supporting characters that you will remember. Mitchell is the play-writer and Qualen, every bit as pathetic here as he was in His Girl Friday, is the embezzler without an escape plan. Mitchell is initially seen in a lavish nightclub, drunker then a skunk, spitting out acerbic comments about everything going on around him and regretting a divorce which lead to his current unhappy marriage. Fairbanks has a great opening scene, being sort of a Greek chorus to the common folk around him but becomes so self-serving as the plot develops. Hayworth, not quite yet established as a bombshell cover girl, does a fine job of exploring this character's innocence and is lovely, if not yet magnetic.
A card game between Qualen and a serious group of gamblers is truly intriguing and it is interesting to see if Qualen will get out of this without being beaten into a pulp. There are some great camera shots of the game going on as the camera looks from above them, and Qualen a expresses his fear over being caught with great expertise. However it is Mitchell who gets the best dialogue, and a scene where he contacts his unseen ex wife is very emotional. While the plot isn't 100% believable, it is done with fine acting, a script that keeps you interested, and a direction that helps the movie flow perfectly. as dark comedies go,this is Hollywood at its wittiest and most intelligent, and that's where the high rating for this forgotten classic comes in.
The leads are Fairbanks and Hayworth, but it will be the two supporting characters that you will remember. Mitchell is the play-writer and Qualen, every bit as pathetic here as he was in His Girl Friday, is the embezzler without an escape plan. Mitchell is initially seen in a lavish nightclub, drunker then a skunk, spitting out acerbic comments about everything going on around him and regretting a divorce which lead to his current unhappy marriage. Fairbanks has a great opening scene, being sort of a Greek chorus to the common folk around him but becomes so self-serving as the plot develops. Hayworth, not quite yet established as a bombshell cover girl, does a fine job of exploring this character's innocence and is lovely, if not yet magnetic.
A card game between Qualen and a serious group of gamblers is truly intriguing and it is interesting to see if Qualen will get out of this without being beaten into a pulp. There are some great camera shots of the game going on as the camera looks from above them, and Qualen a expresses his fear over being caught with great expertise. However it is Mitchell who gets the best dialogue, and a scene where he contacts his unseen ex wife is very emotional. While the plot isn't 100% believable, it is done with fine acting, a script that keeps you interested, and a direction that helps the movie flow perfectly. as dark comedies go,this is Hollywood at its wittiest and most intelligent, and that's where the high rating for this forgotten classic comes in.