Out of the Blue

George brent, in a bedroom farce, about halfway through his film career. He had just finished making a slew of films with miss davis in the 1930s and early 40s. The storyline has a bit in common with rear window. When olive gets stuck in arthur's apartment, he must go to great lengths to keep it secret, and try to get rid of her, or the gossip-y neighbors will all find out. Not to mention his wife. Some big name co-stars ... virginia mayo, ann dvorak. And hadda brooks actually sings "out of the blue" in the bar, about 45 minutes in. And turhan bey looks a lot like brent. That must be why they have brent wear glasses for most of the film. And if the nosy spinster miss patterson looks familiar, she was also miss trumble on "i love lucy", who would frequently babysit for lucy. And probably wore the same dress! It's an okay comedy. During the first half, they are all working so hard, so much bickering and not having fun. Things move a lot faster in the second half. Directed by leigh jason. He had also directed "the bride walks out" and "love on a bet", which are both so much more fun than this one. And both star gene raymond. See those two, if you can find them; they show on tcm now and then.

Ann Dvorak carries the film. The rest of the cast are merely adequate and are not adept at comic timing and delivery.

The film fails as a true screwball comedy because the pace is too slow. Had the pace been a bit more frenetic, it might have succeeded. This was the director's fault more than anything.

Ann Dvorak's career peaked in the 1930s. Some of her best work came after that. Most of it was in dramas. It was a delight seeing her do a comic role. I urge those not familiar with her to do more research and check out some of her 1940s and 1950s performances. One that comes immediately to mind are The Secret of Convict Lake and A Life of Her Own.

What makes this movie so remarkable is that all the actors are cast against their type. Romantic lead George Brent plays a henpecked hubby in this film. Glamor gal Carole Landis plays a prissy mouse of a housewife. Turhan Bey doesn't wear a turban in this film, but plays a cool and wise-cracking New York man-about-town. And drama queen Ann Dvorak plays a screwball drunk lady with more than one screw loose. It's a gem. Then add to this the remarkable supporting cast, a script with some zingers I can still remember after not seeing this for 40 years. And it gets great Cool Points for having legendary jazz artist Hadda Brooks play the piano and sing in this film (she also performed in the Bogart / Grahame film IN A LONELY PLACE; and had one of the first regular TV shows ever broadcast in Los Angeles in the late 1940s).

This film stars George Brent, Turhan Bey, Virginia Mayo, Ann Dvorak and Carol Landis. The Earthleigh family (Brent and Landis) are a couple very annoying people. Mrs. Earthleigh is highly annoyed by everything and is as much fun as jock itch. Mr. Earthleigh is a wimp and puts up with his wife's bully behavior towards him as well as their neighbor, Mr Galleo (Bey). She insists that Galleo MUST get rid of his dog and sics her husband and their lawyer on the guy.

One day, Mrs. Earthleigh leaves to go on a trip. When she's gone, her husband meets a very strange alcoholic, Olive (Dvorak) and she follows him home and WON'T leave no matter how hard he tries. Eventually, she appears to have died and falls onto Galleo's property! Well, Earthleigh can't find this narcoleptic alcoholic...and later Galleo decides to pretend he found this lady DEAD on his terrace...and enlists Earthleigh to 'dump the body'. Galleo knows there is no body but figures this is a chance to blackmail Earthleigh into dropping his lawsuit and letting him keep his dog. What's next? Well, Olive appears to die several more times and suddenly lots of people are being accused of killing her!

This is a cute little comedy and I might have scored this very original film higher had Dvorak's performance been a bit less broad and silly. Subtle definitely would have worked better...but it still worked and is a cute little situation comedy. Worth seeing.

If any other studio but Eagle Lion had released OUT OF THE BLUE, it would still be listed as one of the best of the zany screwball comedies that still were being produced in the 40's. What is even more interesting is that all of the main stars play AGAINST TYPE, and the result is not only funny but a pleasant and welcome surprise...even today. A madcap comedy, OUT OF THE BLUE focuses on a henpecked husband, the ditzy lady he picks up in a bar, and assorted others who provide ammunition for a comedy of mistaken identity, blackouts, suspicious women and henpecked husbands. The most wonderful surprise of all is the hilarious performance by Ann Dvorak as the tipsy and zonked-out cause of all of the fracas. She is a riot, a shocker for fans who knew her only and always as a DRAMATIC actress. Another key surprise is George Brent as a put-upon hubby of a domineering wife, played expertly by Carole Landis. Add Turhan Bey as a sophisticate (!!!) and Virginia Mayo as his current lady friend. Leigh Jason is the director, and his work, too, is "out of the blue". This film should not be a forgotten little gem... it has been available, briefly, on VHS. Try to catch it.