Sometimes a good noir film will sneak up on you when you're not expecting it. The presence of Lucille Ball is a tempting inducement to catch this flick with it's questionable characters and compelling story line that forces one to pay attention or you'll miss out on why Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) wound up on the wrong side of so many precarious situations. I thought secretary Kathleen Stewart had her boss pegged pretty well when she told him, "You should have William Powell for a secretary".
As a product of it's times, I couldn't help wonder what most passersby on the street would do today if they saw someone run down by a vehicle in broad daylight. Probably pull out the camera phone and post the video on youtube. Either that or just walk right over the body if it's in the way. Lucky for Galt it was 1946. Speaking of which, recall right after Galt had the scuffle with Jardine (Kurt Kreuger) (featuring a great backward tumble over a desk and right into a chair!), Kathleen notes that his jacket was torn, but it was ALREADY torn from hitting the pavement to get away from Foss's/Stauffer's (William Bendix) car. How did she miss it the first time?
Something else curious caught my eye as well. How about that newspaper ad touting the Cathcart Galleries exhibition - it was by Invitation Only. Why then would it be mentioned in the paper?
OK, here's one more. After the William Bendix character worked over both Jardine and Galt in Jardine's apartment, Kathleen Stewart arrives and in helping Galt straighten up a bit, she places a lighted lamp back on a table, but when Foss/Stauffer ransacked the place and left, the room was dark with no lights on anywhere.
None of these little inconsistencies really bother me, it's just that it's fun to pick up on them when they show up in a picture. They all take a back seat in this instance though to the story's mystery, masterfully filmed with what most would consider a great example of glorious black and white cinematography. I had to groan however when Stauffer placed himself right in front of that wide open window when he met Hardy Cathcart (Clifton Webb) for his payoff. If you didn't see that one coming, a few more films might be in order.
I caught this picture on one of the cable stations and perhaps the real puzzler was why the Donatello statue had the breasts obscured. You know, the one Galt told the museum staffer to wrap up. I mean really, it's now more than a half century later and you're bound to see more suggestive material on most any other channel. On that score I have to agree with William Bendix, that was a real busto-crusto.
As a product of it's times, I couldn't help wonder what most passersby on the street would do today if they saw someone run down by a vehicle in broad daylight. Probably pull out the camera phone and post the video on youtube. Either that or just walk right over the body if it's in the way. Lucky for Galt it was 1946. Speaking of which, recall right after Galt had the scuffle with Jardine (Kurt Kreuger) (featuring a great backward tumble over a desk and right into a chair!), Kathleen notes that his jacket was torn, but it was ALREADY torn from hitting the pavement to get away from Foss's/Stauffer's (William Bendix) car. How did she miss it the first time?
Something else curious caught my eye as well. How about that newspaper ad touting the Cathcart Galleries exhibition - it was by Invitation Only. Why then would it be mentioned in the paper?
OK, here's one more. After the William Bendix character worked over both Jardine and Galt in Jardine's apartment, Kathleen Stewart arrives and in helping Galt straighten up a bit, she places a lighted lamp back on a table, but when Foss/Stauffer ransacked the place and left, the room was dark with no lights on anywhere.
None of these little inconsistencies really bother me, it's just that it's fun to pick up on them when they show up in a picture. They all take a back seat in this instance though to the story's mystery, masterfully filmed with what most would consider a great example of glorious black and white cinematography. I had to groan however when Stauffer placed himself right in front of that wide open window when he met Hardy Cathcart (Clifton Webb) for his payoff. If you didn't see that one coming, a few more films might be in order.
I caught this picture on one of the cable stations and perhaps the real puzzler was why the Donatello statue had the breasts obscured. You know, the one Galt told the museum staffer to wrap up. I mean really, it's now more than a half century later and you're bound to see more suggestive material on most any other channel. On that score I have to agree with William Bendix, that was a real busto-crusto.