Monday, October 26, 2015

Movie review - "Footsteps in the Dark" (1941) **1/2 (another viewing)

I thought I'd give this movie another go - it's a sweet, amiable enough B movie which gave Errol Flynn a change of pace. He goes at the comedy boots and all, and is full of energy and spark - he even tries a Southern accent. He's not entirely comfortable as a comic actor but it's very endearing, and he has that charisma and charm.

It's a B but a Warners B which means decent production values and cast - Alan Hale (I wish his part had been bigger), Allen Jenkins, Lee Patrick, Ralph Bellamy as a dentist who you presume is the killer otherwise why is he in the film (I love the scene in the dental surgery where he and Flynn smoke cigareets).

It could have done with some more spooks and shocks a la Cat and the Canary because those bits it has along those lines are quite effective (Turhan Bey pops up). There's also some songs and a particularly bland performance by Brenda Marshall as Flynn's dim wife.

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