This film turned up as a surprise, like so many of Ben Hecht's films do - he had his hand in almost every quality film of the 40s-50s, and this was not only written by him but also directed and produced, so it's one of those very rare films that is more or less completely Ben Hecht's own.
The story is typical of his going to extremes about everything - there is a suicide candidate, a drunk, a reckless adventurer, a gang of gangsters setting up poker games to kill the victim, a loose young lady, a loser playwright, and a lot of intrigue. It rains almost throughut the film to make matters worse, so most of the action is indoors, in a night club (of course), in a shabby hotel with a poker room dense with smoke, and the obligatory window exit of someone getting out at any cost, like in almost every one of his films.
Although the character of the film is dark like an early noir, it's actually a charming comedy. The protagonists get together in a cozy kind of way, there is no hostility or quarrel but rather the opposite, they keep warming up to each other through the entire film, until the weather clears and the drama is over, actually to the satisfaction of everyone. Douglas Fairbanks gets a plastered nose, but that is about all the bloodshed. Nothing serious, although it's dead serious all the way, but things get sorted out more or less by themselves.
The story is typical of his going to extremes about everything - there is a suicide candidate, a drunk, a reckless adventurer, a gang of gangsters setting up poker games to kill the victim, a loose young lady, a loser playwright, and a lot of intrigue. It rains almost throughut the film to make matters worse, so most of the action is indoors, in a night club (of course), in a shabby hotel with a poker room dense with smoke, and the obligatory window exit of someone getting out at any cost, like in almost every one of his films.
Although the character of the film is dark like an early noir, it's actually a charming comedy. The protagonists get together in a cozy kind of way, there is no hostility or quarrel but rather the opposite, they keep warming up to each other through the entire film, until the weather clears and the drama is over, actually to the satisfaction of everyone. Douglas Fairbanks gets a plastered nose, but that is about all the bloodshed. Nothing serious, although it's dead serious all the way, but things get sorted out more or less by themselves.