Another reviewer referred to this as late night TV watching, and that's exactly the circumstances under which I saw this. Maybe at 1:00 my critical faculties are dimmed, but I quite enjoyed this little movie. I believe the "That Man" in the title refers as much to Hugh Herbert himself as the character he played. Though largely forgotten now, he was enormously popular in his day, and Daffy Duck is said to be based on him and his trademark "Woo hoo." He's a supporting player in most of his movie appearances, several in Warner Brothers musicals of the 1930s, but this film is really built around him. So if he's someone whose shtick you can only take in small doses, this is not the movie for you. But if you find him funny, this will be a field day.
I found Tom Brown and Mary Maguire appealing as the romantic leads. She's very pretty and has a soft, vulnerable presence that is quite different from any other actress I can think of. She was only 18 when she made this movie and had waif like quality. Her scene with her baby can't help tug at your heart strings, even though the kid seems to want to be anywhere but there. Give her credit for soldiering on with her lines while the kid squirms up a storm. (Not sure why they didn't do another take. Budget?) In the few movies I've seen her in she always makes an impression. She apparently did not have a happy life, and in a sad irony, her own baby died if SIDS.
The movie's plot machinations are somewhat silly and predictable, but in a movie that doesn't take itself seriously, I didn't really care. The point is that young love triumphs in the end, thanks to guardian angel Hugh Herbert. And a wackier guardian angel you will never find. (What if he'd played Clarence in "It's A Wonderful Life?" Now that would've been a different!)
I found Tom Brown and Mary Maguire appealing as the romantic leads. She's very pretty and has a soft, vulnerable presence that is quite different from any other actress I can think of. She was only 18 when she made this movie and had waif like quality. Her scene with her baby can't help tug at your heart strings, even though the kid seems to want to be anywhere but there. Give her credit for soldiering on with her lines while the kid squirms up a storm. (Not sure why they didn't do another take. Budget?) In the few movies I've seen her in she always makes an impression. She apparently did not have a happy life, and in a sad irony, her own baby died if SIDS.
The movie's plot machinations are somewhat silly and predictable, but in a movie that doesn't take itself seriously, I didn't really care. The point is that young love triumphs in the end, thanks to guardian angel Hugh Herbert. And a wackier guardian angel you will never find. (What if he'd played Clarence in "It's A Wonderful Life?" Now that would've been a different!)