La taverna dei quattro venti

This was Lucille Ball's final film for MGM. Though she didn't like it, she's very good and has nice chemistry with John Hodiak. They are ably supported by Elisha Cook, Jr., and Lloyd Nolan.

Con man Hodiak is headed back to prison on a train with detective Nolan when they meet con woman Ball. Gangster Cook wants the bonds Hodiak is hiding. The two leads fall for one another. There is a long Mardi Gras scene at the end of the film. Ball looks fantastic in the festival gowns.

Light fun. Directed by Jules Dassin without the flair that would make him one of the great directors.

This obscure B-movie was Jules Dassin's last film before embarking on a series of classic noir and crime films--and actually it's the first of his crime films and shows his interest in developing the genre. As another critic reports in a previous post, this film is NOT a comedy (as Maltin's book describes it) about two con artists mixed up "in art forgery." Actually, it's a crime/road movie about stolen bonds, co-written by the creator of "The Saint." True, Lucille Ball co-stars, and she and John Hodiak meet cute in a TROUBLE IN PARADISE manner, blowing each other's cons with a mutual pigeon. But from the first shot, Dassin reveals his interest in crime

Like Dassin's forgettable comedy A LETTER FOR EVIE, this film is shot by the great Karl Freund, in decline from his silent heyday and not yet arrived at his groundbreaking I LOVE LUCY three-camera period. He gives us expressionist shots aplenty, and such privileged moments as a pan shot with window reflection from outside a train, a cactus-by-moonlight scene, and a chiaroscuro moment when Ball is menaced by Elisha Cook Jr lighting a match. The presence of Cook, Lloyd Nolan, and Hugo Haas (on their way to being entrenched noir icons) also counts for something. The road trip plot (on a train) allows stops in Mexico and New Orleans. The last third (set at Mardi Gras) is suspenseful and colorful, with Cook in fool's motley.

In conclusion, if this 1946 film doesn't hold up as well as Dassin's later, truer noirs, we can still see it's an early step in the development of that genre.

THREE SMART PEOPLE might be considered the low-point of Lucille Ball's career at MGM in the 1940's but it's still a quite good little tale and a rather unique cross between romance and crime drama. Lucy and John Hodiak are elegant con artists who find themselves battling for the same pigeon. There are romantic sparks immediately but a rival is a rival and they each deliberately ruin the other's con. When Lucy learns from old partner Elijah Cook Jr that Hodiak is carrying a hidden a half million in bonds, she ditches Cook and manages to find a spot on the cross-country train Hodiak is on heading toward New Orleans. Lucy is unaware though that Hodiak's traveling partner Lloyd Nolan is a cop escorting him on one last fun fling before Hodiak turns himself in for a prison stretch of at least five years.

This smooth pseudo-film noir is surprisingly agreeable. Essentially a three person picture (Ball, Hodiak, and Nolan) the only other part of any length is Cook's who surprisingly billed below both Hugo Haas and Lenore Ulric in roles that are basically bit parts. The movie looks great and it's no surprise Lucy later sought the cinematographer Karl Freund to helm I LOVE LUCY. She's a vision here, particularly in the Mardi Gras segment. The extended New Orleans sequence is the highlight of the film and director Jules Dassin and the production designers do a very fine job of capturing both the unique look of the city and Carnival season, complete with jazz for the background music. TWO SMART PEOPLE is a very enjoyable diversion with a nice performance by Lucy in an atypical role.

In Leonard Maltin's review for this film he complains that "laughs don't come very often." I should hope not since this isn't a comedy. Seriously you have to wonder about people sometimes. This is a romantic drama with some noirish touches to it. It reminds me a little of Angels Over Broadway and Remember the Night. Both are great movies so that's definitely a compliment. John Hodiak isn't my first choice for leading man but he's a good fit for this part, unfortunate mustache notwithstanding. Lucille Ball has never been more beautiful than here and does well with a character more complex than the norm for the time. Fine support from pros like Lloyd Nolan and Elisha Cook, Jr. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. My rating may seem slightly low for the praise but I always struggle getting over the 6 to 7 hump. I'll probably raise my score next time I watch it. That's often how it goes with me. Anyway, good movie check it out. Someone tell Leonard Maltin to do the same.

Con man John Hodiak meets confidence woman Lucille Ball and they fall in love. Or does she? Hodiak is heading to Sing Sing with cop Lloyd Nolan for stealing half a million dollars in bond. Five years sewing mail bags wil net him that half a million, so he's doing it willingly. Or is he? Miss Ball is definitely on his mind, as is Elisha Cook Jr., who wants half the money. Or does he? Might Miss Cook and Miss Ball want all the money?

This was a failure at the box office, and it's easy to see why. Everyone seems slightly miscast, save Nolan, who gives one of his usual dependable performances, and Vladimir Sokoloff. Yet I enjoy this movie immensely. It's the big Mardi Gras sequence at the end of the movie, and Karl Freund's camerawork. His portrait photography shows he can do MGM's high-lit shots as well as any, and he makes Miss Ball more beautiful than she had ever been, before or since. No wonder he became the chief cameraman for Miss Ball's TV show!