Two Smart People (1946)

Wow! Such a good movie.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Somewhere during the formation of the Film Noir cult somebody decided to include Two Smart People in the Genre and that has hobbled it's reputation ever since. Sure, it is Directed by Jules Dassin and had two of the great stars of Noir, the indispensable LLoyd Nolan and John Hodiak, who had teamed in the great Noir Somewhere In The Night just prior to this film. But none of that means it MUST be Noir and it isn't, nor was it intended to be.What it is is a bit of a charming Romantic Fantasy inside of a Morality Play wrapped in a minor Crime Drama. In feel it very much reminds me of Remember The Night. Lots of smiles, no belly laughs. There is a small bit of violence, but other than that it's a fantasy.Hodiak is great as a charming rogue with a heart of gold and penchants for fraud and gastronomics. He is perfect for the role and plays it with great amusement. Someone else had said that this is the nadir of Lucille Ball's days at MGM and I couldn't disagree more...if they had been giving her roles like this right along she would have been a major Star, something which would have to wait for television. Nolan steals the picture which is to be expected from one of the very best character actors Hollywood has ever been fortunate to have.Lloyd Corrigan is in it but if you blink you miss him, Elisha Cook is the real bad guy and is terrible, which makes it so much better when he gets his. Solid supporting cast including Hugo Haas who has a nice turn and Vladimir Sokoloff playing yet another ethnic part...this time he's French! I liked it, glad I saw it and it's going to be on my favs list...I was lucky enough to recognize it for what it is early in and settled down to enjoy it. Wouldn't make a bad double bill come Christmas with Remember The Night. If you want Noir. look elsewhere.

Two Smart People (1946)An odd, charming, crime romance with a series of great locales and a real sense of love triumphs over everything. You might expect this from MGM somehow--it lacks the intensity we think of with Warner Bros. crime flicks--but it has more warmth and aura that critics give it credit for. And when it gets to the crazy Mardi Gras scenes, it's really pretty fun.The star here is Lucille Ball. Yes, the comic queen of the 1950s in a dramatic role, and she's convincing, despite the fact that she was unhappy to be in the film (she knew it was her last with MGM). Ball actually made a lot of films before television took her to the top, and she's always really good if never quite sizzling or memorable. She (and everyone) blames the weak script for her lackluster appearance here, but I thought the whole mood of the movie took on its own life and it worked well. The cinematography is led by legendary Karl Freund who later filmed 149 "I Love Lucy" episodes and who had already shot classic movies like "Metropolis," "Dracula," and would later do "Key Largo."Across from Ball in the romantic male lead is John Hodiak, who tries to light up the screen but seems to be slightly trying, as if he knows the kind of charming con man he is meant to be and can't quite "become" it. Still, he's likable, and his chemistry with Ball isn't bad. A third lead has to be mentioned, Lloyd Nolan, because he's the laid back cop who is the most at ease in the film, and who is used to bounce the romance off of.It's true, the script, both the dialog and plot, are routine stuff. But don't let that worry you. The ploy of the stolen bonds hidden in the book (seen in the first scene) is a little overdone as it goes (with a small twist in the final minutes), but it's really just a way to keep a slight suspense going. As the two leads fall for each other in the most impossible circumstance, there is the feeling that maybe the bonds are really the goal, and not true love. Great character actor Elisha Cook Jr. is creeping around in the background, waiting for the money to turn up.Like many post-war films, the filming here is intensely moody, sharp, and filled with moving camera. It's a pleasure just to watch. Director Jules Dassin has several truly great films to his credit, and this one is usually brushed off as a failure of sorts, but I wouldn't do that. I enjoyed every minute. Even when there were cracks in the plot, I still wanted to be there, to go along for the ride. And that's good enough!

Bob Simms (Lloyd Nolan) accompanies fraudster Ace (John Hodiak) to prison via Mexico and New Orleans. They share their journey with Ricki (Lucille Ball), another fraudster who is up to tricks of her own. Ricki and Ace fall in love but fellow crook Fly (Elisha Cook Jnr) is tracking her and wants something from her. The film builds to it's climax at Mardi Gras..........everyone gets what they deserve....This film is quite boring. Nothing really happens and the whole Mardi Gras sequence drags on and on and isn't at all interesting. It provides one good moment when Ricki steals the cook book behind Fly's back. The cast are OK but Elisha Cook Jnr is as awful as always - he is a very unconvincing tough guy. More like a pip-squeek. The love affair between Ace and Ricki is also a bit suspect. The film is watchable and ticks by but when it finishes, it leaves you with a feeling of absolutely nothing. The film is OK if a little dull. No need to see it again.

This obscure B-movie was Jules Dassin's last film before embarking on a series of classic noir and crime films--and actually it's the first of his crime films and shows his interest in developing the genre. As another critic reports in a previous post, this film is NOT a comedy (as Maltin's book describes it) about two con artists mixed up "in art forgery." Actually, it's a crime/road movie about stolen bonds, co-written by the creator of "The Saint." True, Lucille Ball co-stars, and she and John Hodiak meet cute in a TROUBLE IN PARADISE manner, blowing each other's cons with a mutual pigeon. But from the first shot, Dassin reveals his interest in crimeLike Dassin's forgettable comedy A LETTER FOR EVIE, this film is shot by the great Karl Freund, in decline from his silent heyday and not yet arrived at his groundbreaking I LOVE LUCY three-camera period. He gives us expressionist shots aplenty, and such privileged moments as a pan shot with window reflection from outside a train, a cactus-by-moonlight scene, and a chiaroscuro moment when Ball is menaced by Elisha Cook Jr lighting a match. The presence of Cook, Lloyd Nolan, and Hugo Haas (on their way to being entrenched noir icons) also counts for something. The road trip plot (on a train) allows stops in Mexico and New Orleans. The last third (set at Mardi Gras) is suspenseful and colorful, with Cook in fool's motley.In conclusion, if this 1946 film doesn't hold up as well as Dassin's later, truer noirs, we can still see it's an early step in the development of that genre.