Frank Capra's last movie (though he didn't intend that to be the case at the time) is a remake of his earlier hit Lady for Day. It has bright, garish colours, as if set in toy town, and is an alright time-filler. I have memories of it being on TV on Sunday afternoon.
Peter Falk shines in an early role. It was Ann Margret's first movie and she's lovely - always better as a good girl. She sings a song. At times watching this I wondered if it could be a musical - I think other people had the same idea after Guys and Dolls. Some random handsome American plays her Italian fiance. He warbles a tune too.
I quite enjoyed the family of pan handlers - the little person, the mute girl. I know it was hokey but it worked.
Glenn Ford is miscast as a gangster hero, though not as much as Hope Lange who plays his dancer girlfriend. Bette Davis is also miscast playing "old lady" (a few years down the track it wouldn't matter) though I got more used to her.
In the second half the story kicks in and it became especially watchable (though Ford disappears from the action). But then at the climax I watched Davis introducing all these New York figures be introduced to the Italian count I went "who cares if the count approves or not... like he's an Italian count, Italy got smothered in the war and depended on American kindness". That's when it hit me the story didn't update that well.
Maybe it should've been set in Las Vegas - but do they have panhandlers. More could've been made of Davis' alcoholism... that's a ticking clock that was never used. Ditto Mitchell's drinking problem. No romance between her and Thomas Mitchell?
No comments:
Post a Comment