9/10
A strange murder of a dead man creates a flocking crowd of intrigues
9 May 2020
This is an ingenious criminal comedy with great show numbers sprinkled into it - the main highlight being a grandiose performance by Dorothy Dandridge at a night club, which by the way is the funniest scene in the film, as there is a tremendous amount of confusion here which mainly afflicts the waiters, while June Allyson and Van Johnson just have their first great evening together. There is an impressing amount of very original scenes here, and the dialogue is virtuoso crossfire all the way - I don't think I have ever seen June Allyson in more splendid form, and yet she was always better than most. Here she even sings, while Van Johnson desperately shows off as a drummer. The crime business here is also quite a confusion, as the great mystery unfolds of a man already dead being stabbed, and it is never quite clearly explained why - it must seem a bit weird for someone to stab an already dead body and difficult to find a reason for it. By all means, he appears to have been an abominable person, June Allyson is his heiress and hates him for it even after his death, while the news of his death is the best news she ever got, while she considers the inheritance the worst. It's June Allyson's film more than any of the others, although Angela Lansbury also plays an awesome character, but she is the one who most remains to be seen. It's a gloriously witty dark comedy of very much hilarious fun, and it is strange that it hasn't been much appreciated and observed and paid more attention to for its remarkable originality.
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