This is one of my favourite Alan Ladd films and one I can watch over and over - has some great one liners. It shows that Ladd was very good at comedies and its a shame he didn't do more - my favourite line is where his lawyer says he tried to get him out of the army draft as 4F which meant "socially undesirable" - Ladd isn't impressed and with an indignant shrug of his shoulders says "Whadaya mean socially undesirable? Dames like me!" Ladd plays Lucky who is a charming, good looking and very successful racketeer who is trying to avoid the draft. However even with the drunk "old bag" (Lucky's words) pretending to be his dependent Ma he is called up. So he ends up in the army but after a spell in the cooler for insubordination he escapes by nicking the car and coat of an army scientist along with, inadvertently, secret tank drawings. It then transpires that Lucky's sidekick Slip Moran has got involved with foreign spies who will pay a fortune for the tank plans. What follows is a tale of double dealing (by Slip), romantic entanglements with Helen Walker ("cute eyes" as Lucky calls her) and Lucky's partial redemption when he realises just how bad the Nazis are (when they beat up his "ma"). There is a really good chase scene when the baddies are after Lucky in the gardens. Lucky of course does the right thing in the end but he isn't overly gushy about why and there aren't any long winded patriotic speeches - he just doesn't like men who beat up old women. The film ends on a funny note too because despite being a good guy and going back to the army a hero, the film ends with Lucky back in the cooler for yet another act of insubordination making it clear that even his goodness/patriotism has its limits. All in all a funny, entertaining film with a great cast.
Review of Lucky Jordan
