A fairly light, insubstantial comedy-drama about a good natured hoodlum wanting to improve himself who falls for a bored, broken society girl looking for 'a bit of rough.' Sounds like a perfect match? Well it could have been if it had been directed with a bit more sparkle.
The provision of sparkle is solely by the presence of Mae West. Nobody else seems to have any depth, their characters aren't three dimensional, they don't seem real, you can't relate to them or care about them.
Although I've tried to find out, I have no idea why on earth Archie Mayo was brought over from Warners to direct this. He was competent enough but hardly anything special. Paramount had plenty of better directors in their own stable who could have done a far better job. Mayo's pedestrian direction takes a reasonably promising premise and turns it into something you just know could have been so much better. It's watchable, it's reasonably entertaining and quite well made but if you were half way through and had to answer the door, you'd probably forget you were watching something.
Apart from appealing to fans of Mae West (who inexplicably still seem to exist), there's really nothing about this which makes it stand out. The leads are ok, just not directed with enough zing. George Raft seems to enjoy himself which does imbue a bit of much needed energy but he's not brilliant (yet). Audiences back then would have just seen him in SCARFACE, they probably expected to see what new characterisation that their young moody, complex and sinister new star would bring to his first staring vehicle. They must have been quite disappointed.
Constance Cummings, who a few years later in England became a very good actress doesn't seem to have mastered the art of making make-believe believable yet either. She's plays someone who wants more thrills, more excitement, she wants more than her shallow, fake existence... a feeling I think every viewer of this film will experience!
The provision of sparkle is solely by the presence of Mae West. Nobody else seems to have any depth, their characters aren't three dimensional, they don't seem real, you can't relate to them or care about them.
Although I've tried to find out, I have no idea why on earth Archie Mayo was brought over from Warners to direct this. He was competent enough but hardly anything special. Paramount had plenty of better directors in their own stable who could have done a far better job. Mayo's pedestrian direction takes a reasonably promising premise and turns it into something you just know could have been so much better. It's watchable, it's reasonably entertaining and quite well made but if you were half way through and had to answer the door, you'd probably forget you were watching something.
Apart from appealing to fans of Mae West (who inexplicably still seem to exist), there's really nothing about this which makes it stand out. The leads are ok, just not directed with enough zing. George Raft seems to enjoy himself which does imbue a bit of much needed energy but he's not brilliant (yet). Audiences back then would have just seen him in SCARFACE, they probably expected to see what new characterisation that their young moody, complex and sinister new star would bring to his first staring vehicle. They must have been quite disappointed.
Constance Cummings, who a few years later in England became a very good actress doesn't seem to have mastered the art of making make-believe believable yet either. She's plays someone who wants more thrills, more excitement, she wants more than her shallow, fake existence... a feeling I think every viewer of this film will experience!