Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

mark.waltz A clever mix of comedy and crime drama turns this B programmer into a unique film experience. There's sparks between federal agent Brian Donlevy and reporter Gloria Stuart as she exposes him for a phony on a long train trip where they encounter criminals Douglas Fowley and Isabel Jewell and assorted other characters, including bumbling criminal Warren Hymer, process server James Burke and slow drawl porter Stepin Fetchit in their efforts to crack the crime ring and get the scoop. It's entertaining but insignificant, although a real treat to see the young Gloria Stuart 60 years before she reboarded "the Titanic". Everybody gets to share in the pratfalls and wisecracks, although I could have done without the cloying cuteness of Little Miss Moppet, as played by Gloria Carpenter and Stepin Fetchit's overly stereotypical subservient slow thinking black man.

tedg I watched this in preparation for "Europa." Both are essentially railroad movies.This is about a gangster who has come out of hiding to take a train trip to from Los Angeles to Chicago to collect on a sweepstakes ticket. On the train, several disguises become apparent among other passengers as well. It is not remotely interesting except for one actor, the Pullman Porter. He is Stepin Fetchit, a man who in later years became reviled for his scraping and bowing, his complete acceptance and deserving of the bottom class. I've seen him and his cohorts before. There was one in almost every movie of this era. They make me squirm, not so much for what they are but because it makes me wonder what I easily accept now that my grandchildren will revile.But here, my god, he is a blast. He had me rolling on the floor and I have to actually send you to this for a masterful performance.Yes, he plays a stereotype. But it has a few mitigating factors. First, every soul in the thing is a comic stereotype, from the pug, the palooka, moll, Irish copper, German sanatorium doctor and so on. The big thing is that Fetchit's acting is what I call folded. He plays a moron, with a vocal rhythm that bests today's rappers. Sure he plays a moron. But the character is constantly talking to himself about what morons the other characters are. And the fold — he knows he is playing a fake being and opens a separate channel with the audience, winking at himself and you for going along.The US has a strange racial history, and there is much to be ashamed of. But talent is talent and this guy is good.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

guint-1 Eugene Forde directs this low budget "gangster" gem which proceeds predictably enough until we get to the climax which has sufficient twists & turns to separate it from the norm & maybe even satisfy a Hitchcock fan or two. But what really separates this film from not only the B film but any film is the abundant use of humor. In addition to some pretty corny but ofttimes amusing gags involving Warren Hymer as Hazy (aka Mr Metropolitan to the little girl who wants to be read to) we have what I would call a runaway Stepin Fetchit. Mr Forde lets him have his way as the Pullman porter mumbling through scene after scene trying to accomplish his job while others have different ideas of what he should be doing. In fact, I would recommend this film to anyone who has not seen Stepin Fetchit or anyone who enjoys a laugh or two while digesting their gangster/romance/drama film appetite.

Michael_Elliott 36 Hours to Kill (1936) ** 1/2 (out of 4) I had never heard of this film before seeing it but I noticed it had Brian Donlevy and Gloria Stuart so I decided to record it off FMC. A fugitive thief (Douglas Fowley) boards a train in L.A. so that he can get to Kansas City to collect $150,000 that he won in a jackpot. Hoping to evade the police who are looking for him, he gets to know a reporter (Donlevy) and a woman (Stuart) who is also running from the police. To say anything else would ruin a few surprises the film has to offer. This is a pretty good little thriller that has plenty of turns in the screenplay but all of this is ruined by some incredibly bad comic relief in the form of a retarded (or just plain stupid) black operator on the train. I'm not sure if this guy was suppose to be retarded or if its a black stereotype of a really dumb guy but this humor really kills the mystery of the film. The three leads are in very good form and director Eugene Forde, who also did some Chan films for Fox, keeps things moving nicely.