This movie works mainly thanks to Byron Foulger as the shy and insecure Everett P. Digberry. Around him revolves a somewhat diffuse plot, and the straight man Sidney Blackmer as Police Commissioner Thatcher Colt, sturdy as a rock, a good contrast to the fragile Digberry. Both are good character actors who stand out among a cast that is otherwise anonymous or downright bad.
And that summarizes the movie pretty far. Digberry's confused reasoning, how he messes up his situation, is pretty fun. The plot overall is not so good with several plot holes. Two characters are annoying, and shows the age of the movie: Thornton Edwards makes the cliché italian Enrico Lombardi, and Billy Mitchell is downright embarassing as the cliché black man Nicodemus J. Brown, complete with "black language". I guess that was acceptable back then.
This sounds like a pretty bad movie, but it is worth watching for the best actors. But it also loses some stars due to a weak plot and some less enjoyable characters.
And that summarizes the movie pretty far. Digberry's confused reasoning, how he messes up his situation, is pretty fun. The plot overall is not so good with several plot holes. Two characters are annoying, and shows the age of the movie: Thornton Edwards makes the cliché italian Enrico Lombardi, and Billy Mitchell is downright embarassing as the cliché black man Nicodemus J. Brown, complete with "black language". I guess that was acceptable back then.
This sounds like a pretty bad movie, but it is worth watching for the best actors. But it also loses some stars due to a weak plot and some less enjoyable characters.