Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Dynamixor
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Numerootno
A story that's too fascinating to pass by...
MartinHafer
Humphrey Bogart plays 'Mr. Grasselli'--a man who is sick and living in a rooming house while supposedly recuperating. In reality, he's Chips Maguire-a wanted thug who is hiding from the law. This sort of role is hardly surprising for Bogart in 1940, as he'd been playing gangsters in a variety of Warner Brothers films during the last few years. What is surprising, though, is that this film is a light comedy--with Bogie playing a less menacing sort of thug. While it's not a great film, considering that he'd been playing so many mobsters , it was nice to see a bit of a change.Despite Maguire wanting to remain alone in his room all the time, the two nice old ladies who run the place urge him to come out and meet the other tenants. Eventually, he slowly emerges and begins socializing--and makes friends with the harmless residents and vice-versa. One of them, Ann Sheridan, however, knows who he is and you'd expect her to turn him in to the police. However, she doesn't and what she and this thug have in mind is something you'll need to see for yourself. It's all a little ridiculous, but also great fun.With such residents as Felix Bressart, Una O'Connor (in one of her more restrained roles)and Zasu Pitts, the movie has a lot of colorful characters and give the film a certain charm and likability. This, combined with an unusual script make this film well worth seeing--especially people who love classic Hollywood or the films of Bogart.
classicsoncall
File this one under films you probably never heard of, but once you've seen it, it occupies a nice warm place in your movie library to help remind you of a simpler time and place. The title comes from Mrs. Nora Taylor's (Jessie Busley) romantic dream of having her son return home as a rich man to marry his childhood girlfriend. The happy ever after ending takes some time getting there, but it's fun to see how things work out, especially since it's gangster Chips Maguire (Humphrey Bogart) who helps make it all come true.The movie gets it's energy from free spirited Sarah Jane Ryan (Ann Sheridan), displaying her usual sassiness and snappy banter - "Why I've been discovered so many times they call me Miss America". Like Tommy Taylor (Jeffrey Lynn), the breaks in life haven't come her way just yet, but there's always tomorrow. That break might become a reality when Maguire, on the run from the law at the Taylor/Ryan boarding house, gets a little bored and comes up with the idea of turning it into a 'Roaring 90's' style night club. Under cover as Graselli, the gangster ingratiates himself with the elderly ladies who operate the home, gradually coming out of his seclusion to become their angel in disguise (a tune by the way coming out of the film).The boarding house features it's own cast of memorable characters as well. There's The Great Baldini (Felix Bressart) doing magic assisted by Fanto the Wonder Dog, and Zasu Pitts, on the run from imaginary assailants who winds up smoking out Maguire after seeing his picture in a "Perfect Detective" magazine. You'll really sit up and take notice though when on opening night at the boarding house, a group of nine elderly ladies takes the stage and breaks into a spirited song and dance routine.Hey, remember that great old Warner Brothers cartoon that features Bugs Bunny and a whole bunch of musical numbers? - 'Rosie O'Grady', 'Pretty Baby', 'Oh You Beautiful Doll', 'Ain't We Got Fun', 'Just an Angel in Disguise' and 'When Irish Eyes are Smiling'. This has got to be the film that's being parodied. Even Bogey gets into the act with a few lines from 'Strolling Through the Park One Day'. Now I've got to get my hands on that cartoon again! Ultimately, Bogart's character is caught dead to rights, and does the honorable, if not realistic thing of giving himself up without any further ado. His earlier plan of fingering Tommy for a gambling murder goes by the wayside, under the spell cast by Sally/Sarah and the boarding house citizens. OK, so it's not an award winner, but there's enough entertainment here to brighten your day and provide an hour and a half of music and fun. Even if you have to force yourself through Salmon's poetry reading.
CatTales
Noticeably very well-filmed, edited, and acted comedy-drama-romance-gangster picture. Menacing gangster Bogart, sexy wise-girl Ann Sheridan, her family and quirky peripheral characters make this situation comedy more than the sum of it's parts. Very funny, touching, unpredictable, and a cultural time-capsule. 10 thumbs up! I'd rather not spoil the movie but IMDb requires more lines...one interesting scene is the initial intimacy (the intensity is as close as we get to romance/sex) between the love interests: it's musical in nature and their only way to bond. It's not performed as yet another tiring duet but a rehearsal with mistakes. That's another example of what makes this movie refreshing and quite different from movies of then and now.
didi-5
Would this work? Well, of course it does. Ann Sheridan is charming, Bogart is same as ever, Jeffrey Lynn is slightly irritating in a cute kind of way, the character actors are impeccable and the film moves along at a good, relaxing pace. One of those late night weekend films to watch with a sherry and a box of chocs.
