Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

LeonLouisRicci Edgy Pre-Coder with a Number of Memorable Scenes and Some Interesting Camera Shots. Warren William Plays a Sleazy Huckster who Could Con the Feathers off a Pigeon but Could Not Sell a Brush to Keep from Starving.A Fine Cast and a Carnival Atmosphere with a Second Act Demeaning Rich Folks as Adulterous Asses (typical for Films in the depression) and Deserving of the Exposing that the "Mind Reader" Lays Out for the Suspecting Wives.In Support, there is the Beautiful Constance Cummings as the Love Interest and Allen Jenkins as a Bombastic and Loud Mouthed Sidekick. It's a Good Entertainment with a Sombre Theme and Enough Angst to Make it a Winner. Most of the Pre-Code Stuff comes from Implication and Dialog. References to Underage Girls being Preyed Upon and Other Nastiness. The Ending is a Double Edge Contrivance and may Sit Differently Depending on Personal Expectations. A Powerful Movie but there is One Similar Film that is even Better, Creepy, and Navarious. Nightmare Alley (1942), One of the Best Film-Noir and Starring an Unlikely Tyrone Power.

mukava991 A trio of con artists (Warren William, Allen Jenkins and Clarence Muse) travels from city to city in middle America swindling suckers with a bogus mind reading act featuring William as "Chandra the Great," complete with turban and crystal ball. We the screen audience get to see the trickery behind his apparent clairvoyance, but a pretty, unemployed stenographer (Constance Cummings) is not so fortunate, and besotted with William's talents, joins his itinerant enterprise. Eventually she finds out what is really going on, but by then it's too late because she has fallen in love with her employer, and he with her. To elaborate further would spoil the impact of this unusual pre-Code film, but I will say that its chief problem is that Cummings is just too smart to be as innocently unaware of certain things as the screenplay tries to make her, so we stop taking the story seriously. However, there remains much witty and mature dialogue, striking cinematography, and this interesting group of performers. William gets the opportunity to play the on- and offstage modes of his character and also makes the most of an extended drunk scene. Cummings, largely wasted here, projects a tart intelligence that is probably more than the role deserves. Jenkins, the eternal sidekick, gets a generous share of the verbal zingers and Muse's role goes beyond the subservient nonsense usually assigned to black supporting players at that time. Mayo Methot, the future Mrs. Humphrey Bogart, appears briefly as a grief-deranged victim of Chandra's charlatanry.Like so many feature films of the early 30's, this one moves along briskly so that none of its improbabilities have time to sink in and ruin the fun.

jotix100 This early film is rarely seen these days. Thanks to TCM, we had the opportunity to watch it. As directed by Roy Del Ruth, the film tackles the problem of the itinerant con men running wild all over the country peddling home remedies and even serving as dentists to a naive public that were easily swindled.At the center of the story, we see a man that discovers how to make a fast buck by giving readings to unsuspecting folks for a dollar. It's the cruelest of the scams because unsuspecting people put faith in the predictions these charlatans have to offer. We get to know the fate of one woman who comes back to tell Chandra how his reading turned to be a tragedy for her.Warren William plays the great Chandra with charm. He is totally convincing as the person who has the solution for every problem, for a price. Constance Cummings is Sylvia, the young girl whose life is changed by Chandra. Allen Jenkins plays Chandra's assistant in one of his best roles. We get to see briefly Mayo Methot in the pivotal role of Jenny.

Neil Doyle WARREN WILLIAMS stars as a man who is a charlatan mind reader, eventually redeemed by the good woman who becomes his wife--and who remains loyal to him even after she learns that he has returned to his old ways while making her believe he has a respectable job. Constance Cummings does a nice job as his love interest.It's a sort of time capsule for the way things were back in 1933. Allan Jenkins does a standout job as the charlatan's foil, closing the film with a line delivered in tough Jenkins style: "Too bad you're going to the slammer just when drinkin' is okay again." A fast moving little programmer, easy to watch and just as easy to forget.Trivia: Watch for Humphrey Bogart's first wife, Mayo Methot, as an overwrought young woman who lashes out at the charlatan before jumping into an open elevator shaft.Another point of interest for me: The romantic theme played beneath much of the tender dialog between Constance Cummings and Warren Williams is the dance theme used years later in TO EACH HIS OWN ('46). I always thought Victor Young was the creator of that dance theme, but apparently not. The score here is listed by IMDb as an original one.