SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

ksf-2 The version i watched on "Moonlight Movies" channel was a TERRIBLE editing job... all chopped to hell. Directed by Otto Brower, who only directed one more after this, and that one was uncredited! A private eye is murdered, and dumped on the steps of the police station. and of course, the mayor's daughter (or something) is involved. Carole Landis is "Janet", who admits to being at the scene, but says she didn't kill him. William Gargan is the police lieutenant, as usual. All kinds of shenanigans, and corruption, since there is an upcoming election. Both sides are trying to influence the election results by altering the facts, and they keep saying it's bad news for "the administration"... without naming anyone specific. It's very okay. a 64 minute short from 20th Century Fox. John Ireland is in here as "Oppenheimer"... this was almost the first role he had in hollywood. he went on to be a real bigshot. Mabel Paige (Flossie the Flowergirl) has a part.. she was in silents from 1912 -- 1918, disappeared for twenty years, then came back and acted in talkies for another 15 years ! That story would be more interesting than this film. (and what are the green lights in the title ?? this is a black and white film)

blanche-2 Other than guessing the murderer the minute I saw him, I thought "Behind Green Lights" from 1946 was pretty good.The first thing we see is a young woman (Carole Landis) entering an apartment and telling the man inside that she hasn't raised enough money. Then she pulls a gun on him.Later, a body is dumped in front of a police precinct. It turns out to be that of a detective turned blackmailer, and we learn that none other than a mayoral candidate's daughter had visited him before he died. She is brought in for questioning.The editor of a newspaper doesn't want that candidate to win and pressures Lt. Carson (Gargan) to formally arrest the mayor's daughter, at least until after the election. Not happening. At first it appears that the blackmailer was shot to death; he was shot, but the cause of death was poisoning. The coroner is actually taking orders from the editor, and he's told to get the body out of the police station before anyone realizes that the man was poisoned. Some nice bits concerning the body, an escaped prisoner, and a closet. Okay film, with nice performances by Gargan, Richard Crane, John Ireland, Mary Anderson, and Charles Russell. This is down a few notches for the beautiful Landis, whose career sadly declined after Darryl Zanuck dumped her. She committed suicide two years later at the age of 29. A very sad life.I think it's worth seeing even if it is an uneven mix of noir and comedy - I liked some of the characters.

JohnHowardReid This major studio "B" is available on a Grapevine DVD coupled with Poverty Row's Lady in the Death House (1944) which allows us a rare opportunity to compare major to minor "B" styles. Well, as you might expect, except in one respect, the 20th Century Fox product has it all over the Gower Street offering, despite the fact that Lady in the Death House has a decent plot, a very capable cast and skillful direction. But Lady does have one over-riding asset: In my mind I can picture Poverty Row's heroine Jean Parker very accurately indeed. Who could forget Parker's walk to the death chamber as the camera tracks with her for her 49 steps? However, where the Fox picture excels is in the spread and variety of its sets, the enormous roll-up of players (led by William Gargan, with John Ireland in a small role, plus Roy Roberts, Mabel Paige, Richard Crane, Mary Anderson) and the nimble, fast- paced direction (Otto Brower). But I can't recall the Fox movie's number one star, Carole Landis, at all. Even looking at her photo doesn't stir my memory one bit. On the other hand, Don Beddoe I remember particularly well even though he's not listed (or pictured) on the DVD cover at all, despite the fact that – with his usual expertise – he plays a major part in the action.

MartinHafer This is a wonderful mystery film with a film noir-like edge. Oddly, the film has mostly been forgotten today and it's slipped into the public domain--which often means that a film is terrible--which this film certainly is NOT! The film begins with a wild setup--a car with a dead body in it rolls to a stop right in front of the police station! Inside the car is a shady detective--but who killed him and why? The film did a great job of keeping you guessing--as it's NOT readily apparent who did it. Into the mix are some nice plot elements--such as the introduction of an inexperienced news reporter into the tale as well as the prime suspect being the daughter of a man who is running for election in only days! As for the acting, that and the script are what I really liked. Despite being mostly unknown and supporting actors, the film was dandy entertainment. In particular, I liked William Gargan as the investigating lieutenant--he was very believable and far from flashy--but this made his role so wonderful. A big-name star might have tried too hard to dominate the scenes or take too commanding a presence--instead, he just seemed like a smart and decent "everyman". Also, while his role was very small, I was happy to see a young John Ireland--before he rose to fame in the world of Noir.Overall, for mystery and film noir fans, this is a great little film. It's intelligently written and doesn't assume the audience is stupid! Great job.