Review of True Confession

In its attempt to touch several different subjects, from the rise of the working girl in the 1930s to lecherous male advances and from the paradoxes of law and justice to the benefits and the consequences of lying, "True Confession" ends up feeling unfocused and maybe even a little pointless. In my opinion, John Barrymore's "great criminologist" character is more weird than funny, and gets too much screen time, sometimes in scenes separated from the main story. Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray are perfectly okay in their roles, but for me the revelation of the movie is Una Merkel, who plays Lombard's level-headed best friend. Her bewildered facial expressions are both adorable and funny, and she makes particularly witty use of her eyes. Having recently watched the "Torchy Blane" film series, she reminded me of Glenda Farrell - she even wears the same type of hat! The "Carole Lombard Glamour Collection" on DVD features a stunningly fresh-looking print of this movie. ** out of 4.