KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Tayloriona
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Casey Duggan
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Zlatica
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
gkeith_1
Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Jack's being in it gives it a 4 for me. Otherwise, it looked pretty lackluster. I couldn't watch all of this. The Nazi element started kicking in, and I lost it. These people unsmiling, speaking German in the room with Walter during the time period of World War Two, were really scary and offputting. I realize that they were supposed to be actors for Walter's use, but at that point I stopped watching. Bosley Crowther was right, in his 1940s critique of this film, in that there is not much to redeem it. I did like Jane Wyman's hair, hat and other costuming in the earlier scenes. Of course, I always like Jack. If not for Jack, I would have given this film a 2 or 3 — I think my lowest of any of the around 374-ish number of films I have reviewed on this site since 2002. I did like seeing Irene Manning, Fay Templeton from Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942, two years earlier). I always enjoy seeing Alan Hale, Sr. I hate the black and white!Jack, I still love you. I am a degreed historian from the university, actress, dancer, singer, makeup artist, film critic and movie reviewer.
LIND77777-1
Exhibit A that the screwball comedy was still alive in 1944. Maybe not exactly well, but energetically kicking. Jack Carter's dynamism and Jane Wyman's comic versatility keep one involved in this fast-paced romp, even though the plot is nearly incoherent. The framing device is a wealthy December-May couple, delightfully played by Alan Hale & Irene Manning, desperate to obtain household help for their country estate. Throw in Jack Carter as an incompetent & feckless would-be detective, stringing along his quizzical fiancée Jane Wyman.Carter & Wyman's bumbling as butler and cook are hilarious, underscored by Manning as their ditzy boss. A comical, but not exactly comical development involving Nazi spies--or are they?--gets hopelessly garbled. A strange plot device in 1944. Yet the charm of the principal actors makes for an entertaining time.
David (Handlinghandel)
This movie has at least four plots going on at once. They really don't work well together and none on its own is plausible.The direction is at a frantic pace. It's forced and charmless and it looks as if everyone involved knew this. The pace is like a Looney Toons cartoon but neither that nor sound effects nor zany music helps.I found joking about Nazis in so offhand a manner in 1944 shocking. One of the plots involves radio actors who pretend to be real Nazis and then turn out in fact to be real Nazis. The word is pronounced by almost all the actors so that the first syllable sounds like that of the word nasty.Maybe the movie was made before its year of release but if so, it ought to have been scrapped altogether. There was nothing remotely funny about Nazism in 1944 (nor was there or will there ever be.)about Nazism in 1944 (nor was there or will there ever be.)
Bob F.
Good comedians like Jack Carson, Jane Wyman and Alan Hale make this little film funny for those who don't demand high art. Would-be detective Carson, and girlfriend, Wyman take on jobs as domestics to a wealthy businessman (Hale). The fact that it's World War II, and servants are supposedly hard to get, is the meat of the story line. Wyman can't begin to cook a decent meal,and Carson is worthless as a man servant. Despite this, the desperate Hale won't fire them -- lousy help is better than no help. Eventually, bumbling detective Carson, finds out that Nazi spies are house guests, and despite almost getting Hale and Wyman killed, captures them. This film is funny, and that's enough for me.