Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

vogun-17563 Most of the best parts are in the second half (as another reviewer states). It opens well, which includes a great exchange at the prison gates. It then settles into an English 1930's type film that is slightly askew, in that the crook is accepted back into the Middle Class family fold, and not much is said about the miscreant.The plot develops, and could be quicker, but then by half way through the film, it takes off in style. It involves counterfeiting, mountain scenery, a love interest and general chicanery. It must be important case I thought, as there were undercover policemen operating in the UK as well as in Switzerland. The Swiss scenes fooled me, as it looked like most of them were shot on location in Switzerland (?). Yes, there were backdrops but there were none for the marvellous ski chase scene, which was very realistic in that skiers fell over, unlike the Olympic skiers in Jame's Bond's OHMSS. It all moved along at a very entertaining pace in the second half and for me was worth the first half. It must be said that the acting is staid in parts (it is the 1930's after all), and very warm in others thank goodness.For me? I like this kind of film, and my time was not wasted here, as it unlike other movies of this period. I hope that I have given you an idea whether to view or not (I leave the finer details to others to identify).

Leofwine_draca Ignore the rubbish title, DUSTY ERMINE is an intriguing little crime potboiler made in Britain in 1936. It features an entirely stodgy and studio bound first half which gives way to a rather exciting action-adventure second, with location photography in Austria and the Swiss Alps, no less. The storyline is about a likable old-time forger who's just been released from prison. Although his family welcome him back with open arms, he soon falls into his old ways and becomes involved with a criminal gang whose main hideout is in the Alps.After a while, the action thankfully shifts to this exotic locale, building incident upon incident until the picture closes with a large-scale skiing set-piece that brings to mind the likes of the Bond pic THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. Seriously, the skiing action is out of this world and ahead of its time; DUSTY ERMINE must have had a decent budget for once, because I haven't seen much like this in a 1930s B-movie before. The cast is rather below-par (although Margaret Rutherford has a hilarious supporting turn) but when this film hits the mark it really works.

writers_reign In recent years I've endured some truly dire British films from the 1930s, often from the likes of Carol Reed, so it's a welcome change to stumble across one that strains credulity only marginally and boasts a cast that will interest anyone interested in early sound films from both sides of the Atlantic. Margaret Rutherford, for example, is widely if erroneously believed to have begun her career with the play version of Blithe Spirit, produced in 1940 whilst Dusty Ermine, produced in 1936, finds her already well established and enjoying a meaty supporting role as a key member of a ring of forgers. The plot sees another forger, Ronald Squire (totally unconnected to the ring) returning from prison to the home of his brother and finding that his nephew, Arthur Macrae, has become involved with the forgers. The main thrust of the plot concerns Squires' efforts to save his nephew from a life of crime which involves a journey to a Switzerland ten times more convincing than the one to which Carol Reed transported Michael Redgrave and Jessie Matthews. With people like Katie Johnson and Anthony Bushell along for the ride this is a pleasant enough diversion.

russell-16 For a British film of this period it has a very fast pace, albeit mostly due to rear screen work. The performances, although a little theatrical, are very good for the time. Margaret Rutherford is particularly entertaining. I found the film thoroughly enjoyable, but then I like that kind of thing.