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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Footsteps in the Dark (1941) ... Flynn & Marshall ... Lloyd Bacon (Director) (2010)",
This review is from: Footsteps In The Dark (DVD)
Warner Bros. Pictures presents "FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK" (8 March 1941) (96 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- A sprite comedy/mystery, starring Errol Flynn as a wealthy investment counselor who secretly doubles as a dilettante detective, the better to write mystery novels --- Brenda Marshall plays his wife, who can't understand why he is never home and begins to suspect hanky panky --- In fact, Flynn is investigating the murders of a jewelery smuggler and an exotic dancer.
Footsteps in the Dark was an attempt by Warner Bros. to create a "Nick and Nora Charles" team, in emulation of MGM's popular Thin Man series --- And it comes off! --- Flynn fans will love this one. Under the production staff of: Lloyd Bacon [Director] Ladislas Fodor [play "Blondie White"] Bernard Merivale [play "Blondie White"] Jeffrey Dell [play "Blondie White"] Lester Cole [Screenplay] John Wexley [Screenplay] Robert Lord [Associate Producer] Hal B. Wallis [Associate Producer] Friedrich Hollaender [Original Film Music] Ernest Haller [Cinematographer] Owen Marks [Film Editor] BIOS: 1. Lloyd Bacon [Director] Date of Birth: 4 December 1889 - San Jose, California Date of Death: 15 November 1955 - Burbank, California 2. Errol Flynn [aka: Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn] Date of Birth: 20 June 1909, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia Date of Death: 14 October 1959, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 3. Brenda Marshall [aka: Ardis Ankerson] Date of Birth: 29 September 1915 - Island of Negros, Philippines Date of Death: 30 July 1992 - Palm Springs, California the cast includes: Errol Flynn - Francis Monroe Warren II Brenda Marshall - Rita Warren Ralph Bellamy - Dr. R.L. Davis Alan Hale - Police Insp. Charles M. Mason Lee Patrick - Blondie White Allen Jenkins - Mr. Wilfred Lucile Watson - Mrs. Agatha Archer William Frawley - Det. 'Hoppy' Hopkins Roscoe Karns - Monahan Grant Mitchell - Wellington Carruthers Maris Wrixon - June Brewster Noel Madison - Leopold Fissue Jack La Rue - Ace Vernon Turhan Bey - Ahmed Mr. Jim's Ratings: Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars Performance: 4 Stars Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing] Total Time: 96 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (12/22/2010)
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Shot In The Dark,
By
This review is from: Footsteps in the Dark [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Errol Flynn is known mostly for swashbucklers as "The Adventures of Robin Hood". He mostly played in action films and of course was always the hero. But here with "Footsteps in the Dark" with get something completely different from Flynn, a light comedy/mystery. In fact Flynn only appeared in a small handful of comedies, I believe no more than 4.
In "Footsteps in the Dark" Flynn plays Franics Warren an investment counselor who also writes mystery books under an alias to protect his high profile wife, Rita (Brenda Marshall). When a jewel importer is found dead the police think the man's heart gave up after high amounts of alcohol were found in his body, but Francis supects murder. He then bets the police that he can solve the case before them. But in movies such as these the hero usually finds himself somehow involved and is soon thought to be a suspect himself. And the same thing happens in this movie when another suspect, Blondie White (Lee Patrick) is found dead. And not only are the police looking for Francis but his wife thinks he has been having an affair with the woman. "Footsteps in the Dark" follows in the tradition of films such as "The Thin Man" series, "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford", "It's A Wonderful World", and "Rear Window" were innocent people turn themselves into amateur sleuths. But "Footsteps in the Dark" is no "Rear Window" but its not a dud. It's a worthwhile film that has some funny moments but is not very suspenseful. It follows the same formula mystery movies even of today follow. As we read the credits we notice that a big star in named in the credits but doesn't appear until late in the movie. Just by that you know he's gonna to have to have a larger role in the film. But I will not reveal who it is. The movie was directed by Lloyd Bacon, who I guess we can think of as a studio director. I'm not sure how much controll he had other his movies but even so, I'm sure many of you have seen some of his other films. They include "42nd Street", "Wonder Bar" and two Joe E. Brown movies; "You Said A Mouthful" (Ginger Rogers co-stars) and "Son of A Sailor". I said before Flynn only appeared in 4 comedies. I haven't seen all of them but I have seen "Four's A Crowd", which is not available on Amazon. So I would just like to mention if anyone has the chance to see that movie do so as well. I think that movie might be a little better than this one. Bottom-line: Enjoyable if predictable comedy\mystery starring Errol Flynn in one of his few comedies. Worthwhile for fans of black&white movies and Flynn fans.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Chief, I'm beginning not to know what you're talking about fast.",
By H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
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This review is from: Footsteps In The Dark (DVD)
Stop the presses! Errol Flynn also did comedy? Whaaaat? Evidently, he did and more than once, too. He starred in FOUR'S A CROWD, NEVER SAY GOODBYE, and THE PERFECT SPECIMEN, to name three pretty good comedies. This one, 1941's FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK, happens to be more a screwball mystery of THE THIN MAN persuasion. It's mighty strange seeing cinema's most dashing swashbuckler dolled up in a dinner jacket, but Flynn pulls it off elegantly. Of course he does.
Flynn plays Francis Monroe Warren III, a high society investment broker nursing a scandalous habit. Under the pen name of "F. X. Pettibone," Francis secretly moonlights as a detective novelist, churning out murder mysteries for the delectation of the common masses. Francis's wife and his snooty mother-in-law are kept in the dark about this, unaware that Francis prowls the city and hangs out with cops so as to collect data for his whodunits. Of course, eventually, his wife Rita does start wondering where her dear hubby's gone off to and, from there, suspecting him of marital chicanery. The hijinks escalate when the mother-in-law hires her own private eye to trail Francis. I have never seen Errol Flynn navigate so much on his tiptoes. Francis has a bit of an axe to grind with Inspector Mason (played with erudite elan by Alan Hale) who, in his review, just trashed Francis's latest and controversial novel "Footsteps in the Dark." Feeling that he has something to prove, Francis ends up playing amateur detective when he stumbles into a multiple murder case involving a diamond smuggling ring, a sinister turbaned Oriental, and a sexy burlesque queen. Errol Flynn looks flawlessly dapper and, in his character's precarious juggling of a double life, demonstrates a light touch, not that this should be surprising. Even in his swashbuckling pictures, the man often exhibited that twinkle in the eye. And, falling right into that classic Nick Charles mold, Francis readily outwits all comers, coppers and crooks and courtesans. And, like Nick Charles, his witticisms fly over the heads of the lumbering constables. FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK is darn entertaining, and it makes a nice change of pace for this lead star. I'll admit that the mystery itself isn't all that absorbing or suspenseful, but Flynn's presence and the breezy tone elevate the story. It helps, too, that Flynn is backed by a strong supporting cast. Character actors William Frawley (Fred Mertz from I LOVE LUCY) and Flynn's perennial sidekick Alan Hale are the clueless coppers. A neat bit of trivia is that Ralph Bellamy, who was Ellery Queen in several pictures, steps in as one of the suspects, an above-board dentist. Allen Jenkins - who now and then also sidekicked for another amateur sleuth, the Falcon - has a bit part as Francis's dim but loyal chauffer-valet Wilfred. Wilfred tends to throw out lost-at-sea remarks such as: "Chief, I'm beginning not to know what you're talking about fast." and "Chief, uh, Mr. Warren, this is all very confusing to me." As the long-suffering wife, lovely Brenda Marshall shows more fight and personality than she did in THE SEA HAWK. I really liked her in this. Mostly, though, I relished the prospect of watching an Errol Flynn not quite in his element. Only, as it turns out, the gent is perfectly at home dispensing comedy instead of derring-do.
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