16mmRay

ONE EXCITING WEEK is a pleasant and often very funny comedy from Republic Pictures. Directed by William Beaudine who, for a chance, had a fine cast and good production values at his disposal, the film is a somewhat typical change-of-identity swindle picture. Jerome Cowan plays it broader than usual and his co-horts, Pinky Lee and Shemp Howard, are the chief laughmakers. Al Pearce of radio fame ("I hope I hope I hope") is a low-key comedian and works well surrounded by expert farceurs. Also a delight is Mary Treen as Al's fiance. There are three musical numbers, including a nice re-tread of "Bounce Me Brother With a Solid Four" sung by a Chinatown chanteuse. This film has been out of circulation for decades and I had never seen it when I bought a beautiful 16mm print. A very nice surprise. Hope Olive Films, who releases most of the Republic titles these days, digs this one out of Paramount's vault (they own it).

My rating of 8 is, perhaps, relative to PRC's usual fare. First, the direction, lighting, photography, set direction (by George Montgomery) and scoring are as good as any 1st class B from Columbia or Fox. Second, while the windup is a bit fantastic, the story is amusing and the idea of The Mad Russian asking a group of actors who are well-known for playing detectives on the screen to aid in solving the mystery is a delightful twist. The cast underplays very well and everyone seems to be having a good time making this picture. Like most PRC's this one is tough to see (I just picked up a 16mm print). But if you can track it down, check it out.

Bad script, both in scenario and dialogue. Indifferent performance by Brando. Uncomfortable performance by Loren. Subtle, but out of place, job by Hedren. Sydney Chaplin was good. Cargill was very good. The direction was clumsy and the editing often ill-timed. Chaplin's own cameo was off the mark. Had he left it at the first appearance it would have been a novelty. The return button was a misfire. Finally, the score was ill-fitting. Sometimes it was portrayed as source music and vanished without explanation. Other times cues were simply dialed out with the scene fades rather than having a timed composition. There was no musical thread to act as connective tissue. Some cues were overly lush and called attention to themselves. And I have to say the only scene with any real spark was Margaret Rutherford's little inset. But the real problem starts and ends with the screenplay. Very weak and it did not appear that anybody involved with this picture had a very good time making it. Too bad. I was hoping for a pleasant surprise when I finally decided to see this one.