'They Met in Bombay' had a lot going for it. Having Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell and Peter Lorre in the same film, a really conceptually interesting story and a talented director being the primary ones, plus MGM were responsible for many classics of all genres (especially musicals) that are too numerous to list.
On the most part, 'They Met in Bombay' doesn't disappoint. Not quite one of those completely living up to high expectations and exceeding them, but it nearly does and in no way a waste of potential. 'They Met in Bombay' is not necessarily great. It is uneven and disjointed for reasons that will be explained later and actually have been covered already in previous reviews. 'They Met in Bombay' having said that is also very entertaining, would classify it as a good film that is hard to dislike and with nothing to be offended by.
Good things are a great many. Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell are terrific in the lead roles, particularly Gable. Lots of charm and with great comic timing, their chemistry sparkles. Peter Lorre, Reginald Owen, Matthew Boulton and Jessie Ralph give nice support, Lorre and Boulton coming off most memorably.
Production values are lovely to look at, particularly the crisp photography. The score is suitably peppy and the direction sees someone with a lot of talent doing a more than solid job. 'They Met in Bombay' goes at a snappy pace, the script is funny, witty and surprisingly sophisticated and the story for the near-perfect first two thirds is immensely engaging with plenty of well done scenes (including a hilarious scene in a beauty parlour).
It is a shame that the last third is not as good. The pace slackens, the wit and sophistication disappears and the patriotic element that is introduced feels heavy-handed and almost tacky, it just felt very misplaced. With the more action-heavy and political edge 'They Met in Bombay' did feel like a completely different film, and one that wasn't near as interesting or entertaining as the first two thirds (which only had the predictability to fault it).
Also thought that Gerald's character went through a character change to a more heroic personality trait that also jarred, almost like there were two different Geralds.
Concluding, a good and entertaining film let down by a disappointing final third that was enough to bring the film's quality quite a bit. 7/10 Bethany Cox
On the most part, 'They Met in Bombay' doesn't disappoint. Not quite one of those completely living up to high expectations and exceeding them, but it nearly does and in no way a waste of potential. 'They Met in Bombay' is not necessarily great. It is uneven and disjointed for reasons that will be explained later and actually have been covered already in previous reviews. 'They Met in Bombay' having said that is also very entertaining, would classify it as a good film that is hard to dislike and with nothing to be offended by.
Good things are a great many. Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell are terrific in the lead roles, particularly Gable. Lots of charm and with great comic timing, their chemistry sparkles. Peter Lorre, Reginald Owen, Matthew Boulton and Jessie Ralph give nice support, Lorre and Boulton coming off most memorably.
Production values are lovely to look at, particularly the crisp photography. The score is suitably peppy and the direction sees someone with a lot of talent doing a more than solid job. 'They Met in Bombay' goes at a snappy pace, the script is funny, witty and surprisingly sophisticated and the story for the near-perfect first two thirds is immensely engaging with plenty of well done scenes (including a hilarious scene in a beauty parlour).
It is a shame that the last third is not as good. The pace slackens, the wit and sophistication disappears and the patriotic element that is introduced feels heavy-handed and almost tacky, it just felt very misplaced. With the more action-heavy and political edge 'They Met in Bombay' did feel like a completely different film, and one that wasn't near as interesting or entertaining as the first two thirds (which only had the predictability to fault it).
Also thought that Gerald's character went through a character change to a more heroic personality trait that also jarred, almost like there were two different Geralds.
Concluding, a good and entertaining film let down by a disappointing final third that was enough to bring the film's quality quite a bit. 7/10 Bethany Cox