Ticket to Paradise

The promising screwball premise is unfortunately undone by a ragged script and a miscast male lead. So who exactly is Jack Doe (Pryor)? A wild ride in a taxi at movie's outset leaves him minus a memory or any inkling of who he is. So, he spends the rest of the hour tracking himself down with the help of rich girl Jane (Barrie), as they bounce from one madcap situation to the next. Too bad her killjoy dad's such a bear and no help.

Fortunately there're a lot of screwball set-ups which means some are bound to produce a chuckle. But on the whole, they fail to build or intensify, more like beads strung on a string. Then too, director Scotto seems to have little feel for the material, filming in a flat style that adds nothing. But maybe most crippling is actor Pryor. He goes through the antic motions but in an expressionless mode that flattens the efforts at humor. Too bad Scotto didn't give him better coaching.

On the plus side is a winsome Wendy Barrie who's given little to do but tag along as eye candy. But most of all is that opening wild taxi ride down and around crowded urban streets. It's hair-raising, and if there were any process shots, I couldn't spot them.

Anyway, the basic material looks good enough for a modern re-do