jcravens42

Nothing about this nuanced movie is typical or expected. I'm stunned it was made in the 1950s. It's literally a black and white film - and there's nothing black and white about it. You expect the bigots to be the enemy, and they are, exploiting people's fear. But what about greedy people who exploit people's desire for justice and fairness and who aren't the champions of minorities and other marginalized people that they claim to be? Throw in considerable doubt concerning what should be trusted institutions - the police, the judicial process, Congress - and you've got a movie that's really hard to define in just a few words. How have I missed this film? How is this not regularly cited as a classic? 9 rather than 10 stars - one star taken away because of not liking the tidy ending.

The movie is worth watching (listening to?) for William Powell's line delivery alone, and some of those lines are hysterical. The dialogue is SO fun. There are some terrific twists and turns in this plot, though the clothes and adornments in the movie are so clearly NOT from the turn of the century and WWI, when this story is supposedly set. The very poorly-done over dubbing of several lines, done in post-production in order to take out most German references, which movie producers feared would make Hitler angry, are SO awkward and often done by someone that is NOT playing the role - yet, knowing that now, watching the movie, made it all the more interesting to me to watch, making it a movie representing a lot more than the storyline, but a particular point in history (when the movie was made). A lot of folks here say Rosalind Russell is miscast, but she's not at all - Myrna Loy would have been awkward as the dizzy dame Russell plays.

Two people with nothing in common, who would never have met outside of the specific circumstances that brought them together, spend a remarkable day together, a temporary but extraordinary detour from the set, sad trajectory of their lives. This is a slow moving, quiet movie that sneaks up on you with complexity and timeless themes, starting out as what you think might be just a character study but that progresses into a painful look in what can make people lonely and desperate, into the consequences of toxic masculinity and strict, traditional gender roles, all the while standing as a powerful condemnation of ultra patriotism / fascism. Yes, all that, with little dialogue and everything taking place inside an apartment building. And what dialogue there is is biting and insightful. Both actors are outstanding in their roles, but Sophia Loren shows once again that she is so, so much more than a sex symbol.