GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Alex da Silva Like all good teachers, Heather Angel (Anne) prefers the naughty children to the well-behaved children. She returns home from school one day and decides to take the naughty direction in life for herself. She gets a new wardrobe, lets the pet budgie fly out of the window and goes out "on the pull". Emma Dunn, her grandma, is shocked! We then watch a pretty peculiar day unfold, as she breaks the law several times and demonstrates a knack for lying and keeping calm in the face of danger. Can she find love
.and what will happen to the budgie
? I have to agree with other reviewers who felt let down by the implausibility of the whole story. It's easy to watch but makes no sense, especially the main story that involves a car with a dead body. Just abandon the thing! As things go, the film ends up as a car chase. The cast are all fine with Miss Angel and idle rich Constance Collier (Mrs Breckenridge) as the standout characters. There are some comedy characters on show – the police and the hoodlums – but these comedy characters don't, thankfully, get in the way. In fact, some of the dialogue is quite funny as are a couple of situations, which, for me, is a far preferable form of humour. The film resolves itself in a ridiculous manner
you think "that was fun/stupid" and then you go and do something else.
MartinHafer This was a low-budget B-movie--hence the mostly unknown cast as well as the relatively short running time. And, like many Bs, the film appears to have been hastily written and could have really used some editing and changes--and the plot, at times, makes absolutely no sense. It's a shame, as the basic story idea is great.The story begins with a spinster teacher (Heather Angel) lamenting that she's getting older and she doesn't want to have life pass her by. So, she gives herself a makeover and new outfit and voilà--she's a pretty young lady (with an inexplicably British accent). So far, I liked the story and thought it has promise Soon after leaving her home for a day of fun and adventure, she is approached by a masher and he won't take no for an answer. To get away, she jumps into his car and drives off. So far, all this COULD plausibly happen. But, when she continues driving this car and shows no inclination to ditch the car, the film started losing me. But it soon gets a lot worse. Despite having stolen a car, she soon stops to help a seemingly stranded man (the minor cowboy star, Dusty King). Now who, after stealing a car, would stop to pick up a passenger?!? This idiot, apparently, would.The problems for both of them are a lot more serious than either imagines. This is because there is a dead body in the back of the car--and the mobsters who killed him are sure to be looking for them. And, hilarity (?) ensues.Because the film relies on character behaving inexplicably, it is already compromised from the start. In order for a comedy to to work, people can do the inexplicable...but the audience needs to believe it or drop all sense of disbelief. With this one, however, no attempt it made to make any of this impossible events seem possible..and the film suffers significantly even with some decent performances. Only of interest if you have insomnia or relatively low standards (like me, as I watched this thing).
classicsoncall Well hold on to your hats folks, I think even the Three Stooges might have had a hard time keeping up with Heather Angel in this feisty romp. Twenty five years old and getting older every day, her character Anne Gladden decides to live it up for a day and ends up in a stolen limousine with a dead body in the back seat. It's pretty incomprehensible for most of the story why a young man she picks up along the way gets involved in the escapade, but it's later revealed that the vehicle actually belongs to Larry Cameron (John King).If you're like me, you'll find yourself scratching your head over a number of scenes. Like society matron Mrs. Breckenridge - how is it she was holding a pet dog when a cop pulled her chauffeur over, but didn't have one earlier when she had tea with Anne at the filling station? And how about Cameron bringing Anne into his home - didn't it look like they stepped into a bright and shiny TV commercial for modern kitchen appliances of the day? But the best was the final scene when Anne brings Larry home to meet granny, and even though they're still at the front door, granny greets them from the comfort of her bed. Where exactly was that, in the living room?Yes, movie viewers, this one truly defies classification. Not exactly a murder mystery, and not exactly a comedy, but you'll probably think you've seen elements of both. It's certainly entertaining in an odd sort of way, but you'll have to leave your thinking cap at the door.
John Howard Reid Comedy noir would seem to be a contradiction in terms, but there are in fact movies in this vein that deserve serious attention, particularly The Ladykillers (1951). A much lesser entry, however, is Universal's 1940 release, Half a Sinner, in which a none-too-flatteringly photographed and costumed Heather Angel is pursued not only by comic cops and comic crooks but by smiling bland man, John King. The second last of over 400 films (many of them shorts) directed by comedy giant, Al Christie, this Trouble with Harry/Midnight Manhunt effort is somewhat repetitious but pleasant enough to talk during and even come late for. The players do what they can with their something-borrowed (cf. the overcoat device in Manhattan Melodrama), something-thin material, but only Clem Bevans, Tom Dugan, William B. Davidson and ever-reliable Constance Collier really shine.
