WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

gerrythree TCM had "The Hoodlum Saint" on August 8, 2016, the first of a series of movies starring Esther Williams. Williams was 24 when she co-starred in this movie and she looked great. Star William Powell looked like he was just earning a paycheck, he had the most script lines and this script was a disaster area, completely unreal. This movie had fine stars and character actors at every turn: James Gleason, Frank McHugh, Angela Lansbury, Rags Ragland. All try hard but who is really interested in a story that revolves in part on the story of Saint Dismas, the good thief in the New Testament who becomes the "hoodlum saint." Greenlighting movies like this turkey paved the way for MGM production head Louis B. Mayer's dismissal.Cliff Reid was the producer of this movie, his first and last for MGM. Reid had worked as a producer or assistant producer at RKO from 1934 to 1942, according to IMDb. If the movie was low budget, like RKO movies starring Lee Tracy, Reid was the producer. These RKO movies are mostly unwatchable, badly written and with bad production values. For a bigger budget movie like "Bringing Up Baby," Reid was the associate producer. Reid is the one who deserves all the blame for how bad "The Hoodlum Saint" is, it has a low budget script tagged to the high production values MGM gave its movies.Further, William Powell was miscast as the star, he sleep walked through most of the movie. You have Esther Williams full of vitality playing against a very dull William Powell. Producer Cliff Reid imbued this movie with "B" movie values. You know, MGM would have been better off making this movie starring Lee Tracy in William Powell's role as a former newspaperman who sells out at first to get rich on Wall Street before the crash.

Seltzer The Hoodlum Saint has a cobbled-together feel. Too many plot lines, and most lack interest. Characters change personalities, then change again, as if the writers were not certain what to do with their creations. The normally excellent William Powell seems to be phoning in his performance. Even the stalwart supporting actor James Gleason does a pale imitation of himself. He has a religious conversion at one point that is unbelievable and embarrassing in its ham-handedness. Neither leading lady (Esther Williams and Angela Lansbury) has the star quality or acting ability to lift the proceedings a notch. Miss Lansbury sings (dubbed) several torch songs that are fastforward-worthy. I recommend you skip The Hoodlum Saint.

MartinHafer The only reason I watched this film was for William Powell. He's one of my favorite MGM leading men and he usually is so charming and charismatic that he can make any ordinary film shine,...except, perhaps, this one!!! I should have just trusted the Maltin Guide--after all, it said that apart from Powell it was a bad film. But, being a fan, I unfortunately watched this very convoluted and sappy mess.The film's biggest problem is that the plot just seems to have 1001 loose ends to the plot. Again and again, the film just looks very incomplete and the pieces seem disjoint and there is no overall vision for the film. We have some assorted "mugs" thrown in for comic relief, Powell's character who is sometimes a nice guy and other times a thoughtless jerk, an ultra-sappy plot about some patron saint of thieves (it is PAINFULLY BAD), Esther Williams who is radiant but her part is flat and one-dimensional, we have the other woman (Angela Lansbury) who sings with a voice that isn't even close to being her real voice (I think Louis Armstrong's wouldn't have been any less convincing) and a plot that is just plain dull and meandering. There is no pay-off for all this--just a dull as dishwater film.

wazzy-1 This was one of the finest Gentile movies with a superb cast of characters. I believe it rates up with "Bells of St Mary's" and other great classic movies of its type. Wm. Powell rates an Academy award nomination and Esther Williams demonstrates her finest acting, and is more beautiful than I have ever seen her. She equals and exceeds most actresses of her day. The story moves along very smoothly, with excellent dialog and is a natural for the great cast of characters like James Gleason. My hat is off to the writers and director. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to be truly entertained without the conflict and violent movie making of today. This is truly a MUST see.