Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Tweekums William Denny has forgotten that it is his second wedding anniversary till he is reminded on the phone… he claims to have a present so quickly goes to by one. Unfortunately for him he is followed into the shop by a dog; the dog causes a scene and he ends up paying for the damage and leaving without a present. He gets home, still followed by the dog and his wife, Kate, thinks it is her present and names him 'Archie'. What neither of them realise is that Archie was part of a criminal plot; he was meant to lead one criminal gang to another… now they are keen to get him back. William intends to return the dog to its rightful owner but is soon caught up in events that see him suspected of murder as he has trouble with the police, smugglers and counterfeiters.This comedy is definitely silly at times; in fact it is silly most of the time but I still thought it had sufficient genuinely funny moments to have been worth watching. The story is simple enough but it is told in such a way that makes it understandable that everybody caught up in the events is utterly confused. Unlike most canine capers the dog causes so much chaos that it isn't a surprise when William does not end up loving the mutt by the end. Farley Granger does a fine job as William; he may overplay things at times but that fits with the tone of the film. Shelley Winters is solid as his wife and Margalo Gillmore is entertaining as William's battle-axe of a mother in law, in whose house they live. Overall this isn't a must see but it is certainly amusing enough and doesn't contain any material likely to offend.

edwagreen Imagine Marvin Kaplan playing a gangster in film?This was absolutely an inane farce with Farley Granger and Shelley Winters. In the same year that she made the memorable "A Place in the Sun," Shelley got herself into this one mess of a film.The mother-in-law steals the film as she conveys what the traditional mother-in-law is supposed to convey- constant criticism of the in-law and non-stop trouble.In a ridiculous fashion, Granger gets caught up with counterfeiters when he accidentally comes upon the dog they need to make their counterfeit transaction. Winters is his wife and William Demarest is the wily head of the police bureau.No matter where the gullible Granger goes, murder seems to follow. In fact, this is just what this mess of a movie is-just murder to view.

Maharis I was actually surprised at how funny this comedy was--I guess I wasn't expecting much. Still, I laughed out loud several times. Shelly Winters proves grating at times with her one-note performance, but Farley Granger (looking as sexy as ever)proves to be extremely good at comedy. However, the single best performance in this movie is given by Archie, the dog, who is crucial to the plot. And he's not even listed in the credits on this website! (I actually looked the movie up on IMDb just because I wanted to see if Archie was in other films. And I've never, ever done that for a DOG before.) Elisha Cook Jr. is very welcome in a cameo role, but is not given nearly enough to do.

Erewhon A terrific supporting cast, plus Shelley Winters could and should have resulted in an outstanding, fast-paced comedy. But Farley Granger can't play comedy -- at least he can't here. George Beck's script is too busy, but that could have been dealt with by an able comedy director. However, Beck himself directed, and that's the element that sinks this mess completely. Everyone screams and overacts; even skilled muggers like William Demarest go off the deep end. It's almost painful to watch.