Tight Spot

Ginger Rogers is only so-so in a part that seems to have been written for Judy Holliday, and she and Brian Keith never quite click, but Robinson and Karlson pick up the slack and the plot has a few interesting twists. Nothing special, but it will keep you entertained.

Viewed November 2, 2021. Essentially, the film's success relies on two performances that just don't work: Keith is bland; Rogers is all over the map, playing the part first as shrill comedy then as overheated drama. I noticed that the movie's posters describe it as a comedy and a thriller, which seems like a way of retroactively accounting for Rogers' tone-deaf work here. More to the point, it's not funny.

A mid tier Karlson. Too by the numbers to make that much of an impression.

A young Brian Keith, Ginger Rogers and Edward G Robinson star in this so-so crime/legal thriller.

Ginger Rogers is captivating but definitely crosses the boundary to hammy a few times. Her and Keith have shades of chemistry but maybe that’s because of the constraints of the movies set. I dunno it’s a lower tier Karlson. You get in you get out. I’m a sucker for type casting and think a better movie is to be made out of EGR playing the leaf and getting played by the femme fatale (even if that role in this one is playing with and commenting on the type and what causes women to end up like that)

Based on a play this movie almost entirely plays out in that hotel room making it already not the most dynamic of noirs. But it's even further dragged down by Ginger Rogers. While not the most obvious choice for a noir lead, I don't think it's primary that Rogers is miscast, cause I've seen her convincing in not comic roles. The problem is she plays her character as a comic character, constantly cracking wise like she is in a screwball comedy. Which clashes with the darker noir elements of this.

Not what I expected. It didn't feel like a proper Noir at first. The tone is more comedic/romantic, mainly thanks to Ginger Rogers' wise-cracking character. She and Brian Keith have chemistry and for example the dancing scene was very effective. E.G.R is always good, but he's under-used. There is a twist later in the film which finally makes it a Noir in my books, but tonally it's a bit of a mess. It could have also used a tighter editing; there's too much filler and it feels longer than it is.