I'm used to seeing Ann Dvorak in dramatic roles like "Scarface', "Three on a Match" and "A Life of Her Own", all of where she met dramatic endings. But in this 1947 farce, she's both very much alive as well as the model for a dummy, made to resemble her corpse after she passes out drunk at the luxurious Fifth Avenue apartment of staid George Brent. Rather than being barefoot in the park (as this is right off of Washington Square), she's hiding out in the next door neighbor's apartment, playboy Turhan Bey's. He's getting even with neighbor Brent over his huge dog's behavior. Brent is married to clueless Carole Landis, while Bey's latest flame (Virginia Mayo) gets her fill of getting rid of bodies and eventually Bey.
The wacky performance by Dvorak is something that Joan Davis might have done, and it's a nice change to see the other side of a usually very serious actress. As the socialite who came out at 38 and hasn't returned home, she's an absolute hoot. Brent is a great reactor, and suave Bey seems to be having a ball instigating the prank. Elizabeth Patterson and Julia Dean are funny in bit parts as nosy spinster neighbors. Flame, a popular German Shepard, is well trained as Brent's bone loving dog. The laughs are fairly frequent and often over the top, but never too ridiculous in spite of the outrageous situation. I've seen several films about some not quite dead bodies, and this could be the funniest.
The wacky performance by Dvorak is something that Joan Davis might have done, and it's a nice change to see the other side of a usually very serious actress. As the socialite who came out at 38 and hasn't returned home, she's an absolute hoot. Brent is a great reactor, and suave Bey seems to be having a ball instigating the prank. Elizabeth Patterson and Julia Dean are funny in bit parts as nosy spinster neighbors. Flame, a popular German Shepard, is well trained as Brent's bone loving dog. The laughs are fairly frequent and often over the top, but never too ridiculous in spite of the outrageous situation. I've seen several films about some not quite dead bodies, and this could be the funniest.