Stellead
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
Curapedi
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Aedonerre
I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.
vincentlynch-moonoi
For many years I avoided films with Paul Muni because I identified him too much with a film genre I generally don't enjoy -- gangster pics. Then I recently caught a couple of non-gangster pics ("The Last Angry Man" and "The Story of Louis Pasteur"), and decided I needed to give Muni another chance.But, you can't win them all. This film was a good idea, but never succeeded in fulfilling its potential. The first problem, which is very obvious, is the very poor and cheap special effects in the beginning of the picture. I'm not talking about poor special effects in comparison to Toyoda's films, but poor special effects even for the late 1940s.Second is Muni's role itself, particularly in the first half of the film. They pretty much pull out every stereotype about old-fashioned gangsters they could think of. Very stereotypical. Later in the film, when Muni's character begins to go straight, Muni makes the character a little more three-dimensional. It's almost too much of a change to tolerate in a 100 minute film. First half, traditional gangster. Second half a performance good enough to make me want to see much more of Paul Muni.There are some things that work here. First off, Claude Rains is great as the Devil. He doesn't overplay the role, just a very nice conservative performance...that works.Anne Baxter is pretty good here as the female lead. Everyone else is very secondary, but they all do their jobs.In terms of the plot -- good idea. But for the first half of the film it just sort of muddles through until the transformation of the main character begins. Some will be disappointed in the conclusion of the film, but it's a logical ending.I do have one gripe. Why do many people describe this as comedy. It's not. Period.The first half of this film is a "D" for me, while the second half is a good solid "B". So, I'll give it a C...a "7".
Robert J. Maxwell
Paul Mini is Eddie Kagel, a tough gangster who is just released from prison after a four-year stretch. He's picked up at the gate by his old friend Smiley, who greets him effusively, considering that he's another hood. The pair drive away, punching each other lovingly on the arms, friends since childhood. "Where's my rod?" asks Muni. "I got it right here," replies the smiling Smiley. "Give it to me," says Muni. Smiley pulls out the gun and shoots Muni dead.Muni finds himself in hell, which turns out to look a lot like Newark, New Jersey, all flames, furnaces, bubbling mud pots, and "hotter than Florida." The Devil is Claude Raines, who looks pretty Satanic with those kick lights always under his face. The suave Raines makes a deal. He'll take Muni back and plant him in the body of an honest judge. Muni will do his evil act and ruin the good judge's reputation. Then Raines will let Muni give Smiley what's coming to him.Well -- the best laid plans, you know? Enter the judge's sexy, good-looking girl friend, Anne Baxter. She's so disgustingly virtuous that she's at first shocked by the new judge's lack of social polish. He says things like, "Say, ain't no dame ever put nothing over on me." His manners are pustular. He gulps down double scotches and smokes cigars. And he doesn't know what the hell is going on. He talks to the now-invisible Raines, who is coaxing him on how to be bad, as if Muni needed lessons.I think the sophisticated viewer can take the plot from here. Baxter converts Muni into a man of the most pure moral thoughts. Muni now loves Baxter but he no longer gropes her at every opportunity. He refuses to kill the treacherous Smiley when he has the chance. The disgusted Raines gives up, returns the original judge, and takes Muni back to hell, where he will be a trustee instead of a stoker. I was a little mixed up about the whereabouts of the original judge, the one Muni, as Kagel, replaced.No matter. This is a fantasy, and an old one at that. Except for the personae and some plot details, you must have seen it before in one or another of its incarnations -- "Here Comes Mister Jordan," or "Heaven Can Wait," "A Guy Named Joe," "Always." Two of those are remakes of the other two.It's a pleasant enough diversion, although I wish the writers hadn't confused hydrogen sulfide with H2SO4. They could also have gotten the quote from Dante accurate. It's not "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." It's "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Heck, I had to look that up in Wikipedia. It only took a few minutes, and I don't see why the writers couldn't have taken the time.Muni is often accused of overacting and I guess he does overact, but I didn't mind much. His simian features were a little disturbing. It's difficult to understand how the cute, chubby, petite Anne Baxter could have fallen for a guy who looks like that -- but then he's a big-shot mayor and is headed for the governorship. Okay. I think I do understand.
Alex da Silva
Eddie Kagle (Paul Muni) is shot dead by Smiley (Hardie Albright) but is given a second chance at life by Nick (Claude Rains). Nick is Satan and is concerned that he's not getting enough followers these days. Eddie's task is to take over the body of Judge Parker and start misbehaving and corrupting a few people. In return, Nick promises that Eddie can avenge his death by killing Smiley. With the deal struck, Nick and Eddie set about their business. However, circumstances don't go as planned and Nick hadn't counted on the influence that Judge Parker's fiancée, Barbara (Anne Baxter) exerts over Eddie......This film is a comedy that is very funny due to Eddie's out-of-character behaviour as Judge Parker. The 3 main characters are all very good in their parts. Claude Rains is a stylish devil while Anne Baxter is a strong-minded woman who holds her own in the face of her husband's character transformation. We are carried along with the story of incidents that go wrong and witness the growing bond that develops between the characters of Barbara and Eddie Kagle, posing as the Judge. Alongside the humour, we have emotional moments as we realize that Eddie and Barbara's love is a love that can never be. It's sad and it made me cry. Paul Muni and Anne Baxter express their separate heartbreaks very convincingly, while Claude Rains is always amusing in his role.It's a fun story. What a shame that the quality of the picture isn't very good. Oh, and by the way, hell isn't actually like that at all.....
MartinHafer
Paul Muni plays a gangster who is murdered towards the very beginning of the story and is sent to Hell. This gangster seems an awful lot like his character from the movie SCARFACE (1932) and although Muni's acting is far from subtle, it is very entertaining. The Devil is also entertained by how awful the man is--especially since this evil deceased gangster looks just like a nice judge who he wants to discredit. Lucifer lets Muni out of Hell and gives him the judges body--and Muni being such a dumb mug never realizes that it's the Devil helping him or that he was even in Hell!! This seems like a big stretch, but considering the movie IS a fantasy, it can be forgiven. This plan all backfires, though, when Muni unintentionally does good as the judge and the Devil is less than amused.The acting by Muni, as I said before, is pretty broad. However, Claude Rains is wonderful as a much more subtle Devil--one of the better ones Hollywood created--probably second to Laird Crager's version in HEAVEN CAN WAIT. All in all, this movie is just a lot of fun and has quite a few laughs as well. While not great theology, it's immensely entertaining.
