Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

LeonLouisRicci Although not Evident at the Time (1949) this has an Eerie Feel of a TV Sitcom in Bizarro Land. All the Trappings are there, Suburban Family of Four with Mom, Dad, One Boy, and One Girl. They Gather Round the Breakfast Table and Talk about what the Day has In Store. Mom Cooks and Dad Reads the Paper. It's All so Quiet and Reassuring. But Wait.This isn't a TV Sitcom, that would be in a Few Years, and this isn't Springfield. Because Dad's Assistant Accounting Job doesn't Pay Enough to Support this Nuclear Family, there is Financial Strife. Mom tells Dad to ask for a Raise. He does and then is Fired. Then Things Spiral out of Control with a Payoff to Dad for a Little Help Pulling off a Suicide by His Boss to Collect the Insurance for His Family. Enter Super-Cop, Ex-OSS Officer Harry Morgan who is a Police Chief with a Shattered Leg (what?) and He is not so Convinced it's Suicide. Uh Oh, Dad gets Nervous.This isn't a Bad Little B-Movie from RKO and is Well Acted with Enough Mystery to Keep it Going for just Over an Hour. Nothing too Special Except the Beneath the Surface Financial Struggle of the Post-War Suburban Family that by Most Accounts were Supposed to be in Boom Times. Or so We were Told. But Not if You Looked Closely at Film-Noir and Other Cutting Edge Truth Tellers. Bring on the 1950's and Everybody Don't Worry Be Happy, and if there be Any Doubt, Watch the Sitcoms.

judy t Because it's only 68 minutes and has no Big stars or director, it's a B film, but it's better than many an A film that it shared billing with. The story, though lacking suspense, is engrossing, and Lynn, Scott, and Morgan are superb. The best part of the movie for me was seeing suburban family life in 1949. Lynn and Scott are happily married and have 2 happy children. Scott volunteers at church and Lynn says grace before meals. But their happy home is threatened because Lynn's salary is insufficient to support a wife and 2 school-age children. Scott tells Lynn to ask for a raise, after all, he's been with the company for 12 years (he didn't serve 4 years in WW2?) The option of Scott getting a job occurs to neither of them, but then, this was years before the feminist revolution.The script is excellent. Dialogue supports characterization so that we 'know' all of these people. I liked Lynn. He's a decent man, one who on the spur of the moment makes the wrong choice. His mistake in judgment ensnares him in a tightening web of trouble. I liked Scott, who exemplifies the perfect mate. I liked Morgan, who always gets his man, but who makes sure that he gets the right one. The ending is a surprise, though once revealed, seems obvious. I liked the director's touch at the finish of having Morgan's cane disarm the murderer just in the nick of time. In fact, I liked everything about this little B film.

RanchoTuVu A financially struggling family man (Jeffry Lynn) gets involuntarily involved in the apparent suicide of his boss (Richard Gaines), a failure as a business man, who has lost all of his inheritance, and whose accounting firm is rapidly going bankrupt. When his body is found in the library of his swank Beverly Hills mansion, it looks like a murder, which is what Gaines supposedly wanted, in order for his life insurance money to go to his social-climbing wife (Katherine Emory), whose performance is worth watching, and son. The strong point of the film is Lynn's character's anguish, now leading a double life of sorts as he has to keep everything a secret from his wife (Martha Scott) and two kids. His performance is not half bad, and makes watching the film worth the effort. Henry Morgan's part as a tough wounded WW2 vet and now a star LAPD detective who walks around with a cane is undermined by too many one-liners, although he and Lynn's son (Michael Chapin) make a few references to the gas chamber, letting us know what whoever does get caught will be facing.

bmacv A sedate thriller built upon the insecurities of the newly emergent white-collar class, Strange Bargain offers solid production values and brisk direction. Jeffrey Lynn (who looks like a solution of Ray Milland and Bruce Bennett) is a hard-working family man who earns his keep as an accountant. One morning when the milk bill comes due he screws up his courage to ask for a raise; when he does, his boss tells him that the firm's at the brink of bankruptcy, and lets him go. But wait -- there's more! The boss plans to kill himself but make it look like murder so his wife can collect the insurance; for helping, he offers Lynn $10-grand. Lynn tries to prevent the suicide but arrives too late, finding his boss already dead. Enter a police detective (Harry Morgan) whose instincts tell him all is not as it seems (not only to him, but to us as well). Morgan aside, you're not likely to recognize any of the cast, but the story works itself out neatly and holds your interest. Too polite and middle-class to be true noir, Strange Bargain nontheless delivers what it promises.