"If at first you don't succeed, suck eggs."
Joe E. Brown isn't the most magnetic guy in the world, but he has a certain flair in this film, like when he tosses his hat over his shoulder and it lands perfectly onto a hat rack. He plays a man nicknamed "Feet" who possesses a load of scruples but no money, and in a rather contrived way comes to owe a gangster ("The Brain") $500, payable in a month or else. Gotta love those names, right? He comes up with the brilliant idea of selling his body to science for $1000, then living it up until he has to kill himself to fulfill his end of the bargain. Naturally he starts getting incredibly lucky, winning all his bets (even accidental ones), winning the lottery, etc., the exact opposite of the cold streak he was on earlier. In the excitement of suddenly being obscenely wealthy, he somehow forgets (!) his promise.
This is an interesting variation on the theme of a rags to riches tale which was common during the Depression. Filmgoers could empathize with "rags" and dream of sudden "riches," when all their troubles would be gone. The film has amusing little things from 1930's, like that punchboard grid that cost a nickel to stick a pin through in the hopes of winning a $10 box of chocolate, and dialogue like one gangster exhorting another to drive faster by saying ("Travel boy, travel - we gotta lose 'em!"). Unfortunately, it's also loaded with plot holes and ridiculous character motivations. Maybe it's intention as a light comedy was to not take itself seriously, but it comes across as too silly, especially in its second half.
To be honest, I actually came for Alice White, who plays Hortense, Feet's girlfriend. I wish she had gotten more scenes, but she lights up the ones she's in. The film was released in May of 1934 and is thus pre-Code (enforcement began July 1), but you wouldn't know it. There's an allusion to breakfast after a night Hortense and another man spent together, as well as her and some other showgirls kicking their legs, but it's all pretty tame stuff. Overall, it's not a horrible way to spend 62 minutes, but just ends up being mediocre on all fronts.
Joe E. Brown isn't the most magnetic guy in the world, but he has a certain flair in this film, like when he tosses his hat over his shoulder and it lands perfectly onto a hat rack. He plays a man nicknamed "Feet" who possesses a load of scruples but no money, and in a rather contrived way comes to owe a gangster ("The Brain") $500, payable in a month or else. Gotta love those names, right? He comes up with the brilliant idea of selling his body to science for $1000, then living it up until he has to kill himself to fulfill his end of the bargain. Naturally he starts getting incredibly lucky, winning all his bets (even accidental ones), winning the lottery, etc., the exact opposite of the cold streak he was on earlier. In the excitement of suddenly being obscenely wealthy, he somehow forgets (!) his promise.
This is an interesting variation on the theme of a rags to riches tale which was common during the Depression. Filmgoers could empathize with "rags" and dream of sudden "riches," when all their troubles would be gone. The film has amusing little things from 1930's, like that punchboard grid that cost a nickel to stick a pin through in the hopes of winning a $10 box of chocolate, and dialogue like one gangster exhorting another to drive faster by saying ("Travel boy, travel - we gotta lose 'em!"). Unfortunately, it's also loaded with plot holes and ridiculous character motivations. Maybe it's intention as a light comedy was to not take itself seriously, but it comes across as too silly, especially in its second half.
To be honest, I actually came for Alice White, who plays Hortense, Feet's girlfriend. I wish she had gotten more scenes, but she lights up the ones she's in. The film was released in May of 1934 and is thus pre-Code (enforcement began July 1), but you wouldn't know it. There's an allusion to breakfast after a night Hortense and another man spent together, as well as her and some other showgirls kicking their legs, but it's all pretty tame stuff. Overall, it's not a horrible way to spend 62 minutes, but just ends up being mediocre on all fronts.