Yvonne de Carlo gets one of her best roles as a slightly shady lady in 1865 New Orleans who decides to impersonate a woman who has died and is the widow of a man from a rich San Francisco family. Rock Hudson is the former blockade runner who gets swindled by de Carlo then chases after the debt. Do they fall in love? What do you reckon?
Hudson is a little too nice for the buccaneering character he plays but he has charisma and he and de Carlo team well - even if they can't quite crack the Rhett Butler-Scarlett O'Hara vibe the film is going for (he even has a "I get you baby" speech). It does help that both of them have a mercenary side - he doesn't turn her in so he can benefit financially, she's out for money too, which makes it fresh. I like the fact that they both clearly like money, sex and a good time and they aren't punished for it. (She takes part in a brawl and he laughs, delighted).
Helping the film age well is the greed of the support characters - a relative wants to prove she's a liar to get money, a man romances de Carlo to get money, an old saloon owner and private investigator try to blackmail her for money. I maybe wanted more resolution of De Carlo and the kid - I think they could have found a way for her and Hudson to raise him.
It was written by Oscar Brodney, a bit of an unappreciated filmmaker - he did a bunch of enjoyable unpretentious entertainments for Universal like this one. It's got pleasing set design and great colour. A fun movie.
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