Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

morrison-dylan-fan Discovering the Warner Archives label with the 1931 Pre-Code delight Flying High,one of the first things that I saw on the disc was an enticing clip of a rather obscure Cary Grant movie.Keen on picking up the movie,I was disappointed to find that the DVD was only out on import at an expensive price. Taking a look to see what titles have been put on BBC iPlayer,I was surprised to see this film appear!,which led to me getting set to finally meet Mr.Lucky.The plot:Always on the wrong side of the law,Joe Adams is constantly on the move with his pal Zepp.Getting a draft notice,Adams dodges it by taking the identity of a dead guy. Interested in funding an gambling ship,Adams finds that he is unable to raise all the funds in the underworld (!) so he decides to get help from a War Relief organization for a "charity casino." Receiving approval for the idea from main fund raiser Dorothy Bryant ,Adams soon finds his plan to gamble with cash to change,when he starts thinking about gambling with his heart for Bryant. View on the film:Looking out on a sea of rough waves and thick fog,director H.C. Potter & cinematographer George "Spellbound/Rebecca" Barnes whip the Hollywood glamour with shards of Film Noir. Restricted by the Code, (which led to the originally written Noir ending of Adams being left dead being changed) Potter and Barnes give the title a glossy caper shine,where Adams sly gambling tricks are followed by smooth camera moves. Digging under Adams easy-going charm,Potter and Barnes unveil a draft dodging Film Noir loner,whose attempts to keep his un-"Mr" Lucky past hidden leads to Potter looking into Adams eyes in cold,hard camera moves,as ultra-stylish clouds of smoke cover the screen,and Bryant looks down to her Adams hands covered in dirty money.Based on a real event that co-writer Milton Holmes had read about,Holmes and the 6 other writers (!) keep the flirting between Adams and Bryant popping with Adams teaching Bryant "street slang" allowing the movie to have some shots of Screwball Comedy.Peeling some of the glamour away,the writers make Adams Film Noir past an oncoming storm that cuts his "cheeky" image,with Adams care-free loner life changing from the first sight of Bryant,but being unable to pull himself from the circle of draft-dodging wise guys.Joined by an elegant Laraine Day as Bryant, Cary Grant gives a wonderful performance as Adams,whose charismatic nature allows Grant to lay on the charm whilst keeping Adams murky regrets bubbling away,as Mr Lucky's luck runs out.

mark.waltz The suave Cary Grant goes out of his way to be dramatic in this slight disappointment about a conman who is part of a plot to try and swindle a war charity but changes his mind when he falls in love with one of the charity's top workers (Laraine Day). He uses gambling as the tool, charmingly teaching the head (Gladys Cooper) how to fling dice and flirting with the portly Florence Bates. Of course, he could charm the rattle off of a snake and the shell off of an armadillo, so that's not a difficult task when it comes to these well-meaning social butterflies.Grant had proved during the 1930's that he was capable of being as dramatic as he was humorous, but by the early 40's, comedy was his forte, and even in tearjerkers like "Penny Serenade" and dramatic comedies like "The Talk of the Town", his light side always came out. (One misfire was his casting as a Revolutionary War hero in "The Howards of Virginia"). That's partially the case in "Mr. Lucky", but it's difficult to fully trust him, even when he stalks Day to a blood bank and agrees to make a donation. Of course, with the even more dramatic "None But the Lonely Heart", he took melodrama to a new level, so fortunately, this isn't as heavy as that over-rated classic.The film on occasion does move at a snail's pace, but Grant and Day (Laraine, not Doris, just to doubly confirm!) are nicely paired, and character performances are fine too, although Charles Bickford is wasted as a ship's captain who helps Grant out. The film's serious narrative makes it difficult to classify this as a drama with comical moments, but those moments manage to sneak out in spite of its sordid tale.

abcj-2 Cary Grant is my favorite actor. I've had a crush in him since seeing his movies on TV as a little girl. Most of my very favorite movies star the great Cary Grant and his plethora of beautiful leading ladies. So with an almost 40 year crush on Cary Grant and having seen almost all of his films, imagine my surprise when I discovered a new Cary Grant film which jumped near the top of the list of my favorite Grant movies of all time on my first viewing!MR. LUCKY is a delightfully complex film. It has crime, drama, war, con-artists, socialites putting on charity balls, gambling, drama, romance, comedy, knitting, cockney rhyming slang, and most of all, heart. It's a redemption story told against the backdrop of the home front efforts in World War II. The men have a plan and the women have a plan. You'll have to watch to see who prevails, but it is a romantic comedy after all, so the answer is pretty obvious.What isn't so obvious is Mr. Cary Grant. If you think you know Grant from his numerous comedic and occasional tough guy roles, then you're in for a real treat as you experience this film for the first time. It's one of those movies that is so good, I wish I could see it again for the first time. Grant is spot-on perfect as the crooked gambler Joe. Laraine Day is unusually perfect as his leading lady. I wasn't sure how I'd like her paired with Grant, but they have marvelous chemistry and delightful repartee. Two of my favorite character actors are Charles Bickford and Gladys Cooper who shine in their supporting roles. But ultimately, Cary Grant, as he always does, steals the show. He can't help it. He's Cary Grant. However, he's not playing the perfectly suave ladies' man. He's a tough guy who learns through his crooked dealings with some kindhearted women that he has a heart, too.As a drooling admirer, I'm not sure he ever looked as good as he does in this film (especially in his early years as an actor). He also let's a little bit of his Mid-Atlantic accent go and gives us a touch of his British side. It's endearing and unusual for Grant. If anyone ever thought Grant was underrated as an actor, then here is a case for it. You don't even realize you're watching Cary Grant, and that's hard for almost any fan to forget despite his wonderful acting and diverse roles. He's fully transported into the character and he brings us right along for a real surprise.

wes-connors Poor boy turned suave gambler Cary Grant (as Joe Adams) evades service in World War II by assuming the identity of a deceased sailor classified "4-F" (unfit for military service). Then, he joins a New York women's group supporting the war effort from the home front. There, he learns to knit, and flirts with sophisticate Laraine Day (as Dorothy Bryant). At first, Ms. Day is wary of Mr. Grant, who uses slight-of-hand to fill the war relief group's coffers. But, Day falls in love with Grant, unaware he is planning to bilk the ladies' war relief organization.RKO put a lot into "Mr. Lucky", and it pays off handsomely. Aside from a violent streak (once slugging his leading lady), Grant turns out to be much less of a heel that you're led to believe; and, he is thoroughly charming. The direction (H.C. Potter), camera-work (George Barnes), design (William Cameron Menzies), and supporting cast are outstanding. The film is bracketed with a moody atmospherics.The ending could have been better. But, mainly, "Mr. Lucky" is great for watching Grant work wonders with his conflicted character. Grant is so convincing that, when he looks in his car's rear view mirror, you're almost sure the car's mirror hasn't actually been removed by the studio (they blocked actors' faces and were too reflective). There was no mirror there, or was there? ******* Mr. Lucky (5/28/43) H.C. Potter ~ Cary Grant, Laraine Day, Charles Bickford, Gladys Cooper