I give this film a "7", though it was a temptation to give it an "8", but a "7" is my highest rating, unless we are talking one of the great films of all time. And this film is not that, but it is darned good.
It is darned good because it is darned different. I can't think of another film that is at all like it (except perhaps the recent remake). It's a rather unique plot with a unique character (Charles Laughton) and a unique setting.
The story begins via flashback. As it unfolds, Ray Milland's character (editor-in-chief of a crime magazine) inadvertently gets tied into a murder of a woman he met...who just happened to be the girlfriend of the magazine's's owner (Charles Laughton) -- a real sleaze bag...and the real killer! All the cards are stacked against Milland, however, and his desperate task is to clear himself and implicate the real murdered (whom he thinks is Laughton's assistant). What happens in between all this is clever and different, with a host of odd characters.
Milland, whom I've come to respect more lately as I've seen some films of his of which I was not previously aware, is excellent here. So is Charles Laughton, although this is another role of Laughton's where we love despising him. And incidentally, Laughton's mustache here may be one of the worst in any film in cinema history! The other main character is Maureen O'Sullivan as Milland's wife, though this is quite a step down from her as she plains a supporting, rather than a starring role. You'll recognize quite a few other characters, though none is memorable, despite each being key to the plot.
The ending is a total surprise, although it happens just a tad too quickly to savor.
That's all not to say that there aren't some problems here. We all have had jobs we don't like. Why exactly are this husband and wife so thrilled to be without and income? At 58 minutes into the film you can clearly see the shadow of the boom mic. Why are Elsa Lanchester's children from 3 different marriages all approximately the same age?
Nevertheless, this may very well be one for your DVD shelf!
It is darned good because it is darned different. I can't think of another film that is at all like it (except perhaps the recent remake). It's a rather unique plot with a unique character (Charles Laughton) and a unique setting.
The story begins via flashback. As it unfolds, Ray Milland's character (editor-in-chief of a crime magazine) inadvertently gets tied into a murder of a woman he met...who just happened to be the girlfriend of the magazine's's owner (Charles Laughton) -- a real sleaze bag...and the real killer! All the cards are stacked against Milland, however, and his desperate task is to clear himself and implicate the real murdered (whom he thinks is Laughton's assistant). What happens in between all this is clever and different, with a host of odd characters.
Milland, whom I've come to respect more lately as I've seen some films of his of which I was not previously aware, is excellent here. So is Charles Laughton, although this is another role of Laughton's where we love despising him. And incidentally, Laughton's mustache here may be one of the worst in any film in cinema history! The other main character is Maureen O'Sullivan as Milland's wife, though this is quite a step down from her as she plains a supporting, rather than a starring role. You'll recognize quite a few other characters, though none is memorable, despite each being key to the plot.
The ending is a total surprise, although it happens just a tad too quickly to savor.
That's all not to say that there aren't some problems here. We all have had jobs we don't like. Why exactly are this husband and wife so thrilled to be without and income? At 58 minutes into the film you can clearly see the shadow of the boom mic. Why are Elsa Lanchester's children from 3 different marriages all approximately the same age?
Nevertheless, this may very well be one for your DVD shelf!