Out of the Blue

This film stars George Brent, Turhan Bey, Virginia Mayo, Ann Dvorak and Carol Landis. The Earthleigh family (Brent and Landis) are a couple very annoying people. Mrs. Earthleigh is highly annoyed by everything and is as much fun as jock itch. Mr. Earthleigh is a wimp and puts up with his wife's bully behavior towards him as well as their neighbor, Mr Galleo (Bey). She insists that Galleo MUST get rid of his dog and sics her husband and their lawyer on the guy.

One day, Mrs. Earthleigh leaves to go on a trip. When she's gone, her husband meets a very strange alcoholic, Olive (Dvorak) and she follows him home and WON'T leave no matter how hard he tries. Eventually, she appears to have died and falls onto Galleo's property! Well, Earthleigh can't find this narcoleptic alcoholic...and later Galleo decides to pretend he found this lady DEAD on his terrace...and enlists Earthleigh to 'dump the body'. Galleo knows there is no body but figures this is a chance to blackmail Earthleigh into dropping his lawsuit and letting him keep his dog. What's next? Well, Olive appears to die several more times and suddenly lots of people are being accused of killing her!

This is a cute little comedy and I might have scored this very original film higher had Dvorak's performance been a bit less broad and silly. Subtle definitely would have worked better...but it still worked and is a cute little situation comedy. Worth seeing.

Ann Dvorak (Olive) is one of those people you really must avoid in life. Not because she likes a drink – that bit is quite fun – but because she never goes away. Even when she is dead, it would seem.

This is a comedy that makes use of screwball comedy set pieces. It's all about misinterpretations. And it's pretty funny in parts. Some of artist Turhan Bey's (David) reactions are expertly dialogued, especially when a dead body turns up on his balcony and he discovers what has actually happened.

The director could have made more of singer Hadda Brooks. If she's going to appear in a film, then give her a full song. Ann Dvorak takes the attention away during Hadda's scene and we don't really want to hear Dvorak singing the title song "Out of the Blue".

You have to be in the mood for this type of comedy and if the mood takes you, it is quite a good example. I'll be keeping onto it for a future viewing when in the mood. It's got a pretty good cast and is one of Carole Landis's last films.

Wishy washy title but saw that it was billed as screwball comedy and had gotten some good reviews on IMDb so it ended up as my pick for 'movie night' in our home. I was not familiar with Ann Dvorak who was getting secondary billing in this movie but once she was introduced to the story the movie picked up... and she stole every scene. I want to see more of her in comedy films and hope that there are some. George Brent deserves some kudos also as the main foil in this screwball comedy. He did a nice job. If you have a chance to watch this film then do it. The opening scene is weak but it really picks up after that and does not stop until credits are ready to roll at the end.

A slight little film that showcases Ann Dvorak's incredible comic timing something I didnt know she had. Probably one of the best depictions of a drunk caught on film. Her physicality is poetic. And George Brent's silly voices are great even if his facial expressions veer into silent movie mugging. Just listen to his vocalizations the first night with Ann in the bar. Contrived plotline but not any worse than many older films. Really good acting from these two old pros is truely worth watching this for. I am surprised I had never heard of this film as I am an avid screwball comedy viewer.

If any other studio but Eagle Lion had released OUT OF THE BLUE, it would still be listed as one of the best of the zany screwball comedies that still were being produced in the 40's. What is even more interesting is that all of the main stars play AGAINST TYPE, and the result is not only funny but a pleasant and welcome surprise...even today. A madcap comedy, OUT OF THE BLUE focuses on a henpecked husband, the ditzy lady he picks up in a bar, and assorted others who provide ammunition for a comedy of mistaken identity, blackouts, suspicious women and henpecked husbands. The most wonderful surprise of all is the hilarious performance by Ann Dvorak as the tipsy and zonked-out cause of all of the fracas. She is a riot, a shocker for fans who knew her only and always as a DRAMATIC actress. Another key surprise is George Brent as a put-upon hubby of a domineering wife, played expertly by Carole Landis. Add Turhan Bey as a sophisticate (!!!) and Virginia Mayo as his current lady friend. Leigh Jason is the director, and his work, too, is "out of the blue". This film should not be a forgotten little gem... it has been available, briefly, on VHS. Try to catch it.