I've tried watching a number of Sturges films, but am always left bored.
Here's my breakdown:
STORY: The story is quite flat: rich male is sought after by women for his money. Sounds pretty dull.
Woman catches the rich guy's eye and romance ensues ... still, this isn't interesting.
A few more conversations, some scene changes, and it's ... just as dull.
This story reminds me of the old "Juke" / music boxes in an old diner. You put a nickel (that's a coin) in, pick a song, and it plays. Same machine, same coin, and you'll hear the same songs over and over.
This offers a little bit of spice, but for the most part it's just conversation, talking ... taking ...
ACTING: Fine, but placing the burden on Stanwyck to add life to an otherwise lifeless tale was unfair. Without her this film wouldn't get past 5 minutes. Shame.
ENTERTAINMENT: Low value
TEMPO: Pace is OK, but the endless talking ...
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Very closed sets that creates the wrong feel here (yes, even in '41 they could have done better)
MUSIC / SOUND: In sync with the talking, and in typical signal for a dull story -> continuous dripping of background music
DIRECTING / WRITING: Director: I'm not a fan of Sturges as a director or writer.
Writers: Perhaps because they were "really old school," but neither Hoffe or Sturges' writing has interested me.
By contrast, I'm a huge Frank Capra fan.
Is it a good film? No, but it could have been
Should you watch this once? No
Rating: 5.0 (for Stanwyck)
Here's my breakdown:
STORY: The story is quite flat: rich male is sought after by women for his money. Sounds pretty dull.
Woman catches the rich guy's eye and romance ensues ... still, this isn't interesting.
A few more conversations, some scene changes, and it's ... just as dull.
This story reminds me of the old "Juke" / music boxes in an old diner. You put a nickel (that's a coin) in, pick a song, and it plays. Same machine, same coin, and you'll hear the same songs over and over.
This offers a little bit of spice, but for the most part it's just conversation, talking ... taking ...
ACTING: Fine, but placing the burden on Stanwyck to add life to an otherwise lifeless tale was unfair. Without her this film wouldn't get past 5 minutes. Shame.
ENTERTAINMENT: Low value
TEMPO: Pace is OK, but the endless talking ...
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Very closed sets that creates the wrong feel here (yes, even in '41 they could have done better)
MUSIC / SOUND: In sync with the talking, and in typical signal for a dull story -> continuous dripping of background music
DIRECTING / WRITING: Director: I'm not a fan of Sturges as a director or writer.
Writers: Perhaps because they were "really old school," but neither Hoffe or Sturges' writing has interested me.
By contrast, I'm a huge Frank Capra fan.
Is it a good film? No, but it could have been
Should you watch this once? No
Rating: 5.0 (for Stanwyck)