30 May 2020

Midnight Intruder (1938)

While some comedic lines tickled my fancy, I only enjoyed the first half of this comedy crime thriller focusing on two petty criminals who accidentally land in a con and decide to go with it as far as they can. In the first half, the characters and the unfolding of the con held my attention easily. The second half jumped around too much, skipping large chunks of time, making assumptions about how well the audience could follow the plot, and desperately trying to tie up every little plot twist introduced in the first half. The actors were fine, especially the lead Louis Hayward, who was handsome in a boyish scoundrel sort of way.
Some fun lines: 
Doc: Are you sure she was a lady, Willetts?
W: Can one ever be? [sniffs!]
W leaves.
D: He probably only saw her from the back.

"Baby, your worries are over!" [Famous last words. This assurance was absolutely untrue.]

Q: "How does it feel to make an honest living?"

A: "Awful! Don't ever try it."

"It's cheap sensational scandal mongering." [Describing a newspaper story ... Ah, nothing ever changes.]

One aspect about this movie I really appreciated was that the writers knew how to use the subjunctive. How refreshing. I'm such a word nerd.
Louis Hayward

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