A Very Honorable Guy

The general impression I have of this movie is that it has a good cast but they are undercut by a script that seems wooden. As actors they either flew through this one without a second thought about it or they knew going in that the script was weak.

But they script has fun moments, enough to make this movie watchable, but it certainaly won't be one you will add to your list of favorites.

Some minor trivia on this movie, in the scene that shows a gossip column mention of Feet's attempt to sell his body to science, the by-line is by "Waldo Witchem", a sly take-off on real-life columnist Walter Winchell, who was a good friend of Damon Runyan, the man whos story this movie is based on. Winchell's name is mentioned in a few movies based on Runyon's stories. Alice White, who plays love interest Hortense was fresh from a major sex scandal that threatened her career. This movie was a come back attempt.

The story, as is the script is light. Feet Samuels is an honest man who loves to gamble. He ends of owing local mob boss, "The Brain" money and decides to sell his body to science to pay off his debt and also to impress his girl with material things. A mad doctor takes him up on the deal and in a month, Feet is to take a pill to end his life. Right after he makes the deal, his luck changes tremendously and he find himself in the predicament of going back on his word to the doctor and also the mob boss who underwrote his deal.

Again, this movie won't show up on any favorites list, but there are worse ways to waste an hour than by watching this.

This humorous tale of a sub-culture of gamblers and pickpockets centers on Feet Samuels (Joe E. Brown), whose luck hasn't been so good lately. It gets even worse when the local mob boss, "The Brain" (Alan Dinehart), wants to teach a couple of welchers a lesson via the fists of his henchmen. They use Feet to find their marks, and when the police arrive, Feet winds up in jail for hitting a policeman in the confusion. The Brain offers Feet a five hundred dollar loan to help bail him out of jail. At first Feet smartly refuses, but when it is pointed out to him that the Brain might consider it an insult, he reluctantly accepts the loan. Feet has no luck raising the money he owes the Brain, and then he gets an idea when he sees a butcher delivering a side of beef for fifty dollars. With no money, no luck, and rejected by his girl Hortense (Alice White) Feet figures he has nothing to live for anyways. He decides to sell his body to science for one thousand dollars. However, he gets no takers but one - a strange doctor who is taken with the unique shape of Feet's head. Of course the doctor has no guarantee Feet won't take the money and never return, so The Brain underwrites this strange contract in which Feet is given one month to sew up his affairs and return a corpse.

Feet then repays his debt to the Brain and takes the balance to go on one last spree before he dies. Fate can be cruel, though, and suddenly Feet's gambling begins to pay off. Pretty soon Feet has run up his 500 dollars into a small fortune. This allows him to win back Hortense and begin to make wedding plans. There's just one problem. He's been having so much fun he forgot that his month is up the next day.

Alice White and Joe E. Brown were perfect together. White did seem to do better in these brassy supporting roles than as the lead in her earlier roles of 1929-1930 back when she was First National's answer to Clara Bow. You really feel that under all of that materialism - and there's a lot of it - that Hortense really does love Feet.

For a fun-filled film made just after the production code went into effect, with plenty of snappy dialogue and loaded with unique characters and atmosphere, this one really fits the bill.

Gambler Joe E. Brown is having a terrible run of bad luck. He's broke, he owes Alan Dinehart $500, and his girl, Alice White, has thrown him over for rich doctor Robert Barrat. Being a very honorable guy, he decides to sell his body to science, but the only taker is Barrat, who gives him a grand with the body collectable in four weeks, underwritten by Dinehart, who is touched by Brown's honesty. Then something terrible happens. His luck turns, and he has a lot of money and Miss White. He offers Barrat his money back and a handsome profit, but Barrat tells Dinehart Brown wants to welsh.

It's the second movie adapted from Damon Runyon. Runyon was born out of wedlock, and by the 1910s he was one of the premiere sportswriters, and writers about Broadway, with Walter Winchell and Ed Sullivan his leg men. With the institution of the Production Code, his comic hoods speaking ridiculous English became an acceptable way of portraying gangsters without making them outright villains. He died in 1946 at the age of 66.

This is the youngest I've seen Joe E Brown in a film. I am used to him being loud, obnoxoius and brash in later films, so it was great to see a wider range of his acting abilities. His acting even reminder me of Don Adams in Get Smart at times, with some of his mannerisms here.

I think the tone is fine in the beginning, you can do comedies with down-on-their-luck characters. It's all about how they respond and get out of their situations. What lowers my enjoyment for this movie is the second half where the whole plot turns absurd. Characters start making decisions that no sane human would make, and the tone shifts greatly from the first half where the characters were more grounded.

Also, great use of names, Feet Samuels, "the brain", etc. They were likely trying to mock gangster names but 90 years later all the names sound fun and cool to me.

Feet Samuels (Joe E. Brown) has a run of bad luck and stuck with a gambling debt to the Brain. He sees himself as a very honorable guy and never breaks a promise. He gets tricked and put in jail. The Brain pays his bail and he's further in debt. He decides to sell his body to mad scientist Dr. Snitzer who likes the shape of his head. He lives his life for one last month before leaving his body to science.

It's a ridiculous premise. Joe E. Brown is trying to make it breezy fun. It's not actually funny. The tone is light or more light than the material should allow. I am intrigued mostly wondering how this is getting resolved. It needs to end with a funny gag but it's not. Maybe that's why there is the final chicken gag. Honestly, I don't get the joke but it's the same light ridiculous non-sense that permeates this movie.