Clevercell Very disappointing...

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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

Sue Blankenship Don't waste your time on this. Irene Dunne could do much better. As for Richard Dix, he looked like a combination of a poor man's John Barrymore and Clark Gable who was trying to act like Douglas Fairbanks. Spoilers follow: They would have the audience believe that Hilda would throw away a career as the 19th century equivalent of a rock star, staying at luxury hotels with her personal maid and her manager--a nice guy who loves her and wants to marry her--to go off and live on the lam with a convicted felon who escaped from prison and his idiot sidekick, setting herself up as an accomplice and risk going to prison herself. What a load of crap! I finished it only because I was waiting for him to get killed so she would come to her senses, since the 30's were full of "crime doesn't pay" movies, but the last scene was so awful it was funny and I don't think it was intentional.

jarrodmcdonald-1 This RKO picture benefits from William Wellman's direction, the re-teaming of Irene Dunne and Richard Dix, and a nice blend of music, adventure and romance. Miss Dunne is particularly suited to play an opera singer, and only MGM's Jeanette MacDonald could have performed the lead nearly as well. As for the love interest, Mr. Dix essays the title role of a dashing bandit, the first time he has worked with Miss Dunne since the studio's earlier hit, Cimarron.Mary Boland does a fine job as an obnoxious snob, proving her worth as a would-be member of the cultural elite who makes things a bit difficult for Dunne. And don't miss Andy Devine turning on the charm as Stingaree's high-pitched loyal sidekick (what else?).

mark.waltz This rare RKO film from their golden age is an above average operetta that only suffers from the casting of its very American and British cast as Australians. Irene Dunne and Richard Dix, reunited from the western epic "Cimarron", play star-crossed lovers, a promising singer and the wanted outlaw she falls in love with. Dunne has been taken in by the outrageously vain Mary Boland who keeps singing whether anybody wants to hear her or not (presumably the latter). You soon realize that every time she starts chirping, "Yo Ho! Yo Ho! Yo Ho!" she's really shouting out of frustration of her lack of discovery. Boland, who played a nag better than anybody in the films of the 30's (just ask Charlie Ruggles' characters who were paired with her in a dozen films), emphasizes this female's phoniness, her constant cheeriness as a total fraud. When Dunne finally has enough and starts imitating this fish-wife, you can see why producers started looking at her for screwball comedies rather than the soap opera she had been playing for several years.Dix, as the titled character, is a bit over the top, his acting more out of a silent film with characteristics that most silent film stars still working in movies in 1934 had gotten rid of. He's also less romantic than the character should be. Andy Devine is always good for a laugh, and there are some good moments for the British Henry Stephenson and Reginald Owen as well. As always, Una O'Connor is a delightful screechy presence, her Irish maid not afraid of putting the boorish Boland in her place.This isn't a film for purists, but as entertainment, it really shines brightly among a few newly discovered "lost" films that even diligent collectors had been searching for over decades.

MartinHafer This month (April 2007), Turner Classic Movies has re-introduced six old RKO films that were presumed lost. Nearly all of them were very good, but STINGEREE was a dog--a film better left lost! Unless you are a rabid fan of the Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy style operatic movies, this movie will probably annoy you with its very old fashioned and horrid singing. In addition, the plot is pure 1930s corn--completely lacking in realism and full of silly clichés that make decent actors look really, really bad.In addition to horrid opera-style singing, the film was saddled with some weird miscasting. As for the Irene Dunne, she was just fine. Her horrible warbling is exactly what the producers were looking for and back in 1934 it would have gone over quite well at the time--after all, she could sing, though in a style that is so out of style today that many will find the singing quite painful (my ears are still bleeding). But for the leading role, "Stingeree", they poorly chose Richard Dix who was unable to effect any sort of an accent. It seemed very odd that although the film was set in Australia and he was supposed to be English, he sounded exactly like an American! They should have instead given the part to cute old Snub Pollard, an Australian who played a tiny bit part in the movie (so you know he could effect a convincing accent of at least an Australian) but who used to be an amazing comic with Keystone Studios.Now for the incredibly silly plot: Irene wants to be a professional singer, but the nasty old crow who took her in is jealous of Irene's talent so she is planning on keeping Ms. Dunne from meeting a famous English musician and producer. But, quite by chance, the famous bandit Stingeree hears Irene and does everything he can to make her dream come true--even if it means him being caught. He is, but she is discovered in the process. After traveling the world and gaining great fame, Irene is determined to go back to Australia, as she knows she loves him and must marry him--even though they barely know each other and he is currently on the run again. In the end, just like in the campy MacDonald-Eddy operettas, they live happily ever after and the audience is thrilled that the singing is finally completed! They don't make movies like this any more--and for once, I am quite happy about this! What a load of hooey!PS--Late in the film, Ms. Dunne is braiding her very long hair. If you watch closely, you'll see an editing error, as her hair goes from just beginning to being braided to almost completed in a blink of an eye.