Despite the best intentions of all concerned, "Pardon My Past" emerges as a tired and tiresome comedy of errors with every player trying to make up for the lack of wit in the dialogue and absence of comic inventiveness in the plot by overplaying his or her part to the hilt. True, Dewey Robinson's bungling detective does manage to bring a touch of genuine humor to the proceedings; and even overly repetitious dialogue cannot completely take the edge off Tamiroff's smooth portrayal. There's also no doubt that Miss Chapman makes an attractive heroine. But gross overacting by most of the other players overwhelms the viewer. Unimaginative direction doesn't help. Although MacMurray has a dual role, there are no special effects, except in the one mildly effervescent shot in the entire film: The camera, tracking with MacMurray and Demarest as they flee across the lawn, picks up a cab which it follows back to the house where it closes in on MacMurray emerging. A rather neat trick certainly, and it's all delivered in the one shot without a cut. Metty's photography is consistently glossy, but other credits are undistinguished. Production values are no more than fair. Most of the action takes place in the one set. Dimitri Tiomkin composed and conducted the music score. Make-up was supervised by Otis Malcolm. The production manager was Scotty Rankin. Otho Lovering is credited as supervising film editor. (This means that he was present on the set and advised the director on camera set-ups).
Review of Pardon My Past
