Two Smart People (1946) - film review

Ace Connors is a confidence trickster who has managed to get his hands on bonds that will, on maturity, be worth half a million dollars.  Before he can enjoy his ill-gotten gains, the law – in the shape of New York detective Bob Simms – catches up with him.  Connors agrees to come quietly if Simms will accompany him on a five-day long holiday.  Simms agrees, knowing that this will avoid a time-consuming extradition if Connors makes up his mind to leave the country.  During their gourmet-themed train journey across America, this odd couple are joined by Ricki Woodner, an attractive young woman who is in the same line of work as Connors...

Jules Dassin concluded his generally lacklustre apprenticeship with MGM by directing this convoluted and somewhat uneven melange of crime drama, road movie and romantic comedy.  Significantly, this was Dassin’s first taste of a crime film, the genre that would earn him his enduring reputation, but it shows little of the inspiration that audiences would see in his subsequent film noir policiers. 

Karl Freund’s expressionistic photography – which is most effective in the latter half of the film – contains an essence of film noir, but the overly complicated plot and tedious dialogue get in the way and crush such stylistic flourishes.   The part of the film that most bears Freund and Dassin’s signature is the Mardi Gras sequence, in which dark and deadly machinations are played out against the gaiety of the New Orleans carnival.

Lucille Ball plays the part of what may loosely be called the film’s femme fatale, and fatalistic pretty well described her mood when she made the film.  Her bosses at MGM had lost confidence in her and this was to be her final picture for the studio, although it was by no means the end for her.  Ball’s departure from MGM was just about the best thing for her career – as happened to be the case for Jules Dassin...

© James Travers 2008

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