Friday, March 26, 2021

Movie review - "Step by Step" (1946) ***

 A true surprise - RKO had Lawrence Tierney under contract, he had a hit playing Dillinger, so they tried him as a star. I thought he was only in crime stuff but this is a Hitchcockian thriller with elements of The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps. He's a veteran who hits on Anne Jeffreys on the beach, follows her up and finds she's vanished and been replaced by another secretary. He's stumbled on some international intrigue.

The film doesn't entirely work TBH - it lacks Hitchcock's vision and probably should have been all from Tierney's POV - but I gave it three stars because it was such a surprise. Jeffreys is a delight, warm, funny and sexy. It's odd to see Tierney's physicality exploited - he runs around just in swimming trunks for around ten minutes (he was a former model). Strong support cast, decent handling.

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