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After directing this turkey, it would be another four years until Hawks' next movie (the superior 'Rio Bravo'). There's very little to recommend this one and the other positive comments are surprising. That William Faulkner worked on this one has to be considered one of his most embarrassing moments. Even some of Hawks' lesser movies (i.e. 'Monkey Business') had something to recommend them. The dialogue is atrocious. At one point Joan Collins' character says 'It's like that OLD [and this is supposed to be ancient Egypt no less] saying, like someone walking over your grave'. Didn't they have tombs then (the tombs and the pyramid were actually the whole point of the movie!) Her performance was more like Batman - style villainy and holds up in that campy respect I suppose, but is hardly something to hold something supposed to be an epic. A low point for all involved.

'Bhowani Junction' was one of the few movies where Ava Gardner was allowed to be more than just a beautiful, but inanimate statue. As Victoria Jones, she emotes in ways that one rarely sees her do. Like her character Julie in 'Showboat' Victoria is bi-racial, which is the main theme of the movie. The Pakistani backdrop is gorgeously photographed and it's certainly a testament to location shooting as opposed to studio backdrops. Unsurprisingly, it was well directed by Cukor, especially the interior, dramatic scenes that he is so famous for. The final sequence is a break from that, however, with darkly lit chases and murder. An entertaining diversion; certainly one that fans of Gardner would want to catch.

Great fun all around here. The plot revolves around the death of a secretary whose boss goes missing shortly after. Oh, and of course she had gangster connections as well. As with other 'Thin Man' movies, many of the characters featured have motives and justifications for the crime, and the ending is genuinely unpredictable. I don't think that it's the funniest of the series, but the story is superior and compensates for that. And, of course, there's the inimitable chemistry between Powell and Loy. The perfect marriage, indeed.