Daffy bit of nonsense that benefits from the perfectly matched leads. Big, brawling, braying Broderick Crawford and the divine Claire Trevor at her brassy, sassy height. As a hood and his wife/moll longing to go straight and enter high society for the sake of their daughter the pair tear it up, Broderick with his over the top performance, which is just right for the material and Claire's more shaded but equally well measured work.
Joining them in the fun are several distinguished character actors, Ned Glass, Sheldon Leonard, Harry Morgan, Margaret Dupont etc., all doing some variant of their patented shtick and adding to the jolly nature of this black comedy.
The only place where this fall short is in the casting of the secondary leads. Neither Bill Hayes, who went on to decades of fame on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives, nor Virginia Gibson make much of an impression against the colorful juggernaut and polished scene stealing of the stars.
Joining them in the fun are several distinguished character actors, Ned Glass, Sheldon Leonard, Harry Morgan, Margaret Dupont etc., all doing some variant of their patented shtick and adding to the jolly nature of this black comedy.
The only place where this fall short is in the casting of the secondary leads. Neither Bill Hayes, who went on to decades of fame on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives, nor Virginia Gibson make much of an impression against the colorful juggernaut and polished scene stealing of the stars.