Who would believe that a film like this with such hard-boiled and often sexual dialog (as well as a baby murder!) would have been approved by the overly censorious Hays code in the mid 1930's? I sat there stunned by the witty dialog that seemed closer to things that Mae West or Jean Harlow might have said to Cary Grant three years before than Joan Bennett did to him here. The result is one of the most delightful surprises and a film that is certainly worthy of re-visiting just to catch everything each of them says to each other in this delightful screwball comedy with a touch of social relevance tossed in.
Yes, Cary Grant plays a cop here, and Joan Bennett seems to go from every occupation from waitress to reporter to manicurist in less than 90 minutes. She's so hard boiled that it is surprising that Grant is able to crack her shell. The film surrounds a series of jewel robberies (a plot favorite in the 1930's), and in order to catch a thief, Grant utilizes Bennett's position on a big New York city paper that seems to focus more on scandals than detailing world news. Bennett, obviously in love with him, is jealous of his connection with robbery victim Marjorie Gateson, and obviously for no reason. Walter Pidgeon is a private investigator involved in trying to get to the bottom of the robberies, so it is no surprise when it turns out that he is involved! There's also Lloyd Nolan as a gangster whose shoot-out with fellow gangsters ends up with an innocent baby being killed in Central Park.
Bennett helps crack the case by getting one of the witnesses to crack in fear of his own life. Her way of doing this is ingenious, and I will not spoil that by revealing it here. Let me just say it is brilliant. If the murder of the baby isn't shocking enough, then there's the trial of the accused and the inevitable betrayal of each gangster from the other, indicating that these criminals are fine as long as each racket is going along swimmingly, but they are the first to either point the finger at the other or wipe them out when things start to fall apart.
As for that crackling screenplay, I wanted to start writing down each of Bennett's great lines, but no sooner had I started writing down the first line, she was on her third, then fourth crack, which made it impossible for me to continue that task. It's great to see these veteran stars whom many younger viewers may only remember from their later parts (in Ms. Bennett's case, either "Father of the Bride" or the TV soap "Dark Shadows"), and that deep, haunting voice of hers is a delight to behold. Grant, too, gets a lot of great retorts to each of her remarks, and their sexual chemistry is undeniable.
Pre-Greer Garson leading man Walter Pidgeon is as far from Mr. Miniver or Mr. Parkington or Monsieur Curie as he can be here, a villain that seems so sure of himself that he'll never get caught. Marjorie Gateson is very amusing as the Billie Burke society matron and gets to recite some hysterically funny malapropisms. Why this film hasn't become better known among the screwball comedy's of this era is beyond me. This is the type of film that while not excellent is certainly worth many repeat viewings and one I wouldn't mind seeing shown as part of a big screen revival house.
Yes, Cary Grant plays a cop here, and Joan Bennett seems to go from every occupation from waitress to reporter to manicurist in less than 90 minutes. She's so hard boiled that it is surprising that Grant is able to crack her shell. The film surrounds a series of jewel robberies (a plot favorite in the 1930's), and in order to catch a thief, Grant utilizes Bennett's position on a big New York city paper that seems to focus more on scandals than detailing world news. Bennett, obviously in love with him, is jealous of his connection with robbery victim Marjorie Gateson, and obviously for no reason. Walter Pidgeon is a private investigator involved in trying to get to the bottom of the robberies, so it is no surprise when it turns out that he is involved! There's also Lloyd Nolan as a gangster whose shoot-out with fellow gangsters ends up with an innocent baby being killed in Central Park.
Bennett helps crack the case by getting one of the witnesses to crack in fear of his own life. Her way of doing this is ingenious, and I will not spoil that by revealing it here. Let me just say it is brilliant. If the murder of the baby isn't shocking enough, then there's the trial of the accused and the inevitable betrayal of each gangster from the other, indicating that these criminals are fine as long as each racket is going along swimmingly, but they are the first to either point the finger at the other or wipe them out when things start to fall apart.
As for that crackling screenplay, I wanted to start writing down each of Bennett's great lines, but no sooner had I started writing down the first line, she was on her third, then fourth crack, which made it impossible for me to continue that task. It's great to see these veteran stars whom many younger viewers may only remember from their later parts (in Ms. Bennett's case, either "Father of the Bride" or the TV soap "Dark Shadows"), and that deep, haunting voice of hers is a delight to behold. Grant, too, gets a lot of great retorts to each of her remarks, and their sexual chemistry is undeniable.
Pre-Greer Garson leading man Walter Pidgeon is as far from Mr. Miniver or Mr. Parkington or Monsieur Curie as he can be here, a villain that seems so sure of himself that he'll never get caught. Marjorie Gateson is very amusing as the Billie Burke society matron and gets to recite some hysterically funny malapropisms. Why this film hasn't become better known among the screwball comedy's of this era is beyond me. This is the type of film that while not excellent is certainly worth many repeat viewings and one I wouldn't mind seeing shown as part of a big screen revival house.