Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
Lollivan
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
MartinHafer
Madeline (Leslie Caron) arrives in the United States to meet with a horrible old man, Mr. Tevenet (Louis Calhern). Why? Because Tevenet's grandson, a revolutionary, wants money to help him and the republican cause*. Tevenet is not in favor of the new republic and is a nasty old crank...but inexplicably likes Madeline and asks her to stay. This is a problem, as the staff in the Tevenet household was planning on taking all his money once the old man dies...and now, potentially, he'll give it to the grandson. How will they try to stop Madeline? And, how will Madeline's new acquaintance (Joseph Cotten) fit in to all this?When "The Man With a Cloak" debuted, it lost a ton of money (several million in today's money). Does this mean the film is terrible or was it just a good film that didn't find a market? After all, with Barbara Stanwyck, Joseph Cotten and Leslie Caron, it obviously had some excellent actors in the picture. I found this film to be extremely talky. All too often, instead of action, folks talked...and talked. Sadly, there was a great fight scene near the end...but it was too little, too late. Plus, instead of just ending there, the film went on a bit...resulting in a very good ending being not so very good. Worth watching if you are a bit fan of the actors...otherwise an easy film to skip. Or, perhaps, you might want to watch the film as there are a few clues scattered here and there about who Dupin actually is.By the way, there is a trick or treating scene in the film. The film is set around 1940...but trick or treating didn't come into vogue until the 1920s. Oops.
GManfred
... maybe that's why she never sang in any other picture. But that's a minor point, because "The Man With A Cloak" is an absorbing, interesting 84 minutes with a surprise payoff. I hate rehashing plots, but just a couple of brushstrokes; Joseph Cotten arrives in NYC, as does Leslie Caron, he penniless and she interceding for her fiancé back in Paris (it is 1848). She is looking for her fiancé's dying grandfather (Calhern) to intercede for funds and runs into Cotten. She tells him she has come to an impasse in the form of Calhern's iron-willed housekeeper (Stanwyck). It seems none of Calhern's staff like him and hope he will die soon so they can split his fortune. Together Cotten and Caron try to outwit his staff's plans to hasten Calhern's departure.I disagree with most of the other reviewers and I felt it was a very good story (from a book by John Dickson Carr) which keeps the viewer off balance throughout. It is held together by old pros Stanwyck and Calhern and keeps you guessing right up to the end of the picture. I thought it could have used some mood music at times to heighten tension in some spots, but on the whole it is a very entertaining 84 minutes without any perceptible down time which could have been edited out. Good, solid, if unspectacular, filmmaking. And don't forget; there is a unique ending as a bonus.
krorie
Though the mystery man is in reality no mystery man--most viewers will be able to identify the literary figure from the beginning--this movie gem now almost forgotten is well written, well acted, and well presented. It still packs a wallop, filled with thrills and suspense. Not surprisingly, the leads give outstanding performances as one would expect from the likes of Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, and Leslie Caron. What is surprising is how well Jim Backus (Mr. Magoo) as Flaherty the good-hearted if cynical bartender shines in a small part, as does Joe De Santis, now known mainly for his TV work, playing the sinister and potentially deadly Martin, the butler. Margaret Wycherly too plays Mrs. Flynn, the pessimistic yet wily housekeeper, to perfection.The story by detective novelist John Dickson Carr while not all that original is aided by a witty script by Frank Fenton. The plot is a rehash of the age-old ploy of a group of hangers-on after an old man's fortune, this time led by a conniving siren. What makes this one somewhat fresh is the introduction of a historical character and a pretty French guest who supplies intrigue smiting of revolutionary Europe in 1848, in the aftermath of the fall of Napoleon's empire. There is also an unexpected death to make it all the more interesting. All in all an entertaining film that deserves more recognition.
gpacioli
Saw this on Television the other day --- The writers know how to create great dialogue --- Movie has been under-rated with technical critique --- See it if you have a chance and choose for yourself. I am searching for the screen play so that I may examine the lines in greater detail. Also I am investigating how the screen writers collaborated to produce quality bit of badinage and intelligences. I went to TNT but their database doesn't have it listed so I can't buy the film from them. I want to see it again if ever it is broadcast again so I may confirm my first impression. I think, to make this comment longer, that the best comments are the most distilled comments; ones that do not show any attempt to show or claim superior knowledge. That explains why my preferences demand concise, to the point, relevant dialogue lines. I hope you will forgive me for being so wordy.
