Big Brown Eyes

Star Rating: ★★★

Pretty standard stuff, reasonably well-executed. Importantly it's better than I expected from a 10-pack of unknown Grant films.

"Big Brown Eyes" blends elements of a crime drama with the notion of a screwball comedy, featuring a young Cary Grant who begins to craft his iconic screen presence. However, the film struggles to leave a lasting impression in either genre, resulting in a narrative that fades from memory shortly after viewing.

watched: 2014, 2023

Slick dialogue and dynamic acting. The crime plot is just a facade for allowing all the silliness to unravel.

The best Cary Grant film of 1936, which was not a particularly good year for him. Here they mix comedy and love with crime and injustice, so one get a little of everything. Joan Bennett as his girl and team mate on the hunt for criminals worked. And the bad guys worked even better with Lloyd Nolan as a cold baby killer and Walter Pidgeon as the mystery gang leader they are trying to get. While it's not a major film, it does try to give the movie goers their money's worth!