Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

atlasmb There are many scripts that mine the "common person mistaken for a celebrity" premise, but this one outshines most of them. That's because its script is full of clever twists that build upon the initial premise.It is also due to the talents of Edward G. Robinson, who plays both major roles in this film. Sometimes both characters share the screen. This is accomplished through various techniques that are very effective, but Robinson's acting really sells it.On one hand, he plays a very mild-mannered, timid man. And he also portrays a heartless crime boss. Coincidentally, they look the same, providing each character with both problems and advantages. Jean Arthur, as usual, is excellent in this comedy. Director John Ford shows his versatility with this film, guiding the actors and the story expertly, resulting in a very enjoyable film.

bsmith5552 A masterful comedy/drama from Director John Ford filmed during his non-western period. A meek shy and unassuming office clerk named "Jonesy" (Edward G. Robinson) suddenly gains notoriety when he turns out to be a look-a-like for the escaped Killer Mannion (also Robinson). Secretly he is enamoured of fellow clerk, the outspoken Miss Clark (the delightful Jean Arthur). He is then arrested and questioned by the police and District Attorney who think he is Mannion. Eventually he is released and gains fame as the man who looks like Mannion. His boss J.G. Carpenter (Paul Harvey and reporter Beale (Wallace Ford) concoct a scheme whereby Jonesy will ghost write stories (actually penned by Beale) about Mannion.Mannion learns of this and confronts Jonesy in his apartment and decides to take advantage of the situation. Of course confusion by the authorities between the two ensues.Edward G. Robinson gives a stand out performance(s) as Jonesy and Mannion. He makes both characters so believable that you'll think they are two separate people. He plays Jonsey as an everyman caught up in an impossible situation and Mannion as a the cold blooded killer that he is. He's actually pretty scary. The scenes in which both characters appear are so realistic, through split screen and rear projection techniques, that you will think that there ARE two Edward G. Robinsons.The violent aspects of the story take place for the most part off screen such as Mannion's revenge on fellow gangster "Slugs" Martin (Edward Brophy). There are no comedic aspects to Robinson's Mannion character whatsoever.Jean Arthur was just coming into her own with this film and so would go on to greater fame with Director Frank Capra in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington" (1936).Ford as ever, injects a little Fordian humour into the story through the detectives Boyle and Howe (Arthur Hohl and James Donlan). Also look for J. Farrell MacDonald as the prison warden, Donald Meek as the reward seeking Hoyt and Joe Sawyer as one of Mannion's hoods. Lucille Ball is supposed to be somewhere in the bank sequence but I missed her.Anyone who ever doubted Edward G. Robinson's acting ability, should see him in this film.

calvinnme Here Robinson plays the role of a mild-mannered bookkeeper, that of a body double in the person of a murderous gangster on the run - Killer Mannion, and he also effectively plays two other roles - that of the bookkeeper pretending to be the gangster, and the gangster pretending to be the bookkeeper. This could get very confusing, especially in the case of the latter two roles, but as the viewer you will be pretty sure you know who you're looking at by the circumstances. However, you'll still be bowled over by the subtlety of Robinson's performance - I know I was.Jean Arthur plays Jones' (Robinson's) would-be girlfriend. She works in the same place as Jones, but longs for more than a hum-drum existence. When Jones tells her his hopes and dreams of being a writer and traveling to exotic places, she encourages him, and seems to see what he could be even if Jones doesn't quite see it yet. Arthur has what amounts to one of the funniest scenes in the movie, and there are many candidates. When the police first pick up and arrest Jones, believing him to be Mannion, they pick up Arthur too, thinking that she is his "gun moll". She has some fun with this and starts using gangster slang and mannerisms and confessing that Mannion committed every crime that the police ask her about.One of my favorite supporting players of the 30's shows up here too - Ed Brophy, who was an assistant director over at MGM until Buster Keaton put him into a small but important role in "The Cameraman" in 1928. Once sound came in Brophy was perfect for playing supporting Runyonesque parts. Here Brophy plays an associate of Killer Mannion who is picked up by the police and makes a deal, promising to put the finger on Mannion. In return the police have to keep him safe in jail until Mannion is picked up. Brophy's character is brave whenever he thinks Manion has been captured and a blubbering coward whenever he realizes Mannion is still free.Highly recommended as a great screwball comedy that shows the versatility of not only Edward G. Robinson, but of director John Ford.

antcol8 It's just amazing...if he'd wanted to, Ford could've given Sturges or Hawks a run for their money. He throws himself into the timing, the riffs. And it's got that whole 30's look: fantastic back-lot town, millions of extras, Vorkapich-y montage sequence. Arthur is hysterical in her "Mannion" sequence. Both she and Robinson are brilliantly directed. And this film makes Woman in the Window and Scarlet Street possible. Who was Robinson to evoke this kind of split character so often? Tough guy, art collector...I'm not one to spend as much time with the stories of actors as the stories of directors. But it's interesting - he puts the apron on here and "feminizes" himself just like in Scarlet Street. The economy and understatement of the scene where Slugs Martin is killed is perhaps the most "Fordian" moment of the film. The chilling quality of what is not shown looks forward to films like The Searchers. By the way, I find it funny that the gangster character uses possessive pronouns before his gerunds. I guess they were better educated then...