Public Enemy's Wife

Released the same year as MGM's LIBELED LADY, this light Warner's crime drama shares a lot of plot points, tries for a comic take on the subject, but fails, in no small part because Pat O'Brien does not display the diffident feyness that William Powell brought to his role, in part because Margaret Lindsay lacks a light touch but mostly, I fear, because the screenwriters and director Nick Grinde can't quite bring off the material -- certainly Pat O'Brien was capable of handling comedy material and there is a lot of strong comic supporting actors. It's odd to see Cesar Romero, who could have played his role as a gangster with great comic timing, play it straight. The two best comedians are Al Bridge and Harry Hayden, in two almost invisible roles -- both later members of Preston Sturges' stock company.

But screwball was still finding its way at this point, and Nick Grinde was not the director to help it along. Too bad.