"Behave Yourself" has two things going for it – a big cast of recognizable character actors, and a very good plot that makes it quite funny. The lead actors are just OK, but neither Shelley Winters nor Farley Granger seem quite right for their parts. I can think of a number of actors who may have carried off the role of Bill Denny much better. Tony Randall would get huge laughs. Danny Kaye would have turned it into a laugh riot.
The fact that this was a B movie by RKO shouldn't weigh against it. RKO made some excellent films in its day, with cast-offs or leading actors on lay-off from their major studios over rifts. But, this film didn't get the right mix of leads to make it the hit it could have been.
So, my high score for the film rests mostly on the brief appearances of a host of wonderful Hollywood character actors of the time. And for the plot. Francis Sullivan, Lon Chaney Jr., Marvin Kaplan, Hans Conried, Elisha Cook, Henry Corden, and Allen Jenkins are faces that movie-goers of the mid-20th century would know from the many films they made. They were usually cast as heavies, buffoons, cads, or nervous or frightened characters. In this movie, each has his familiar place.
And, as the plot develops, we see one "con" group knock off a couple crooks, then another group get the next one, etc. The plot was so solid, I wonder why it wasn't picked up after that and made into a smash comedy with the right lead actors and supporting team.
The fact that this was a B movie by RKO shouldn't weigh against it. RKO made some excellent films in its day, with cast-offs or leading actors on lay-off from their major studios over rifts. But, this film didn't get the right mix of leads to make it the hit it could have been.
So, my high score for the film rests mostly on the brief appearances of a host of wonderful Hollywood character actors of the time. And for the plot. Francis Sullivan, Lon Chaney Jr., Marvin Kaplan, Hans Conried, Elisha Cook, Henry Corden, and Allen Jenkins are faces that movie-goers of the mid-20th century would know from the many films they made. They were usually cast as heavies, buffoons, cads, or nervous or frightened characters. In this movie, each has his familiar place.
And, as the plot develops, we see one "con" group knock off a couple crooks, then another group get the next one, etc. The plot was so solid, I wonder why it wasn't picked up after that and made into a smash comedy with the right lead actors and supporting team.