Slightly Dangerous

I've seen this a hundred times, at least. Lana is at her best..absolutely adorable-before the hard edge sets in. Robert Young is good, as always, and you can't beat the old-time character actors for rounding out a good cast. Pure escapist entertainment...no filthy language or situations. I wish it were available on video- it's a ke

Lana Turner is young and gorgeous in this light comedy about a waitress with a lucky penny and the dream of getting out of her humdrum life. The penny works wonders. After escaping her small town, a ladder falls on her in New York City - when she comes to, it's assumed she has amnesia (she was deciding on her new name when the ladder came crashing down). After a trip to the library, she decides to become a long-lost heiress who disappeared as a child in 1925.

Robert Young plays her ex-boss who looks to expose her lie; Walter Brennan is her welcoming, wealthy father; Ward Bond is his security guy; Dame May Witty the heiress' former nanny. Ray Collins of "Perry Mason" fame also makes an appearance, as does Eugene Palette as the newspaper editor who prints the amnesiac's story. It's a terrific cast, with Young's role being a departure for him. He does it well. Lana is simply adorable.

The movie leaves an open question, which is kind of fun, too. All in all, very enjoyable.

This little picture, a fine Wesley Ruggles comedy, struts along with great pace, and has a great cast with Lana Turner, Robert Young, Dame May Witty, and Walter Brennan. The acting is excellent, the antics unusual,and the comedy delightful. But the thing that is way beyond compare in this picture is the bubbling beauty of Lana Turner at her absolute peak. She carries the day with a sublime sort of sparkling charm as she changes personalities several times just to break her tedium with life. No, she never HAD amnesia, and no, she never wanted to commit suicide! But people will talk. Her beautiful sparkle and comedic charm actually made me weak in the knees. Robert Young does a decent job chasing her down the entire film, but it is Turner's film all the way.

SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS gave 21 year-old LANA TURNER her first big starring break in a film not dominated by a male star. MGM couldn't have chosen a better vehicle to show off her talent as a light comedienne with a gorgeous face and figure. And ROBERT YOUNG does nicely as her leading man in a farce that has elements of screwball comedy.

It takes the mistaken identity theme (based on a false case of amnesia) and puts Lana in the clutches of rich relatives--WALTER BRENNAN (in an unusual role for him) and DAME MAY WITTY--who believe she is their long lost daughter. Young knows the real story and spends most of the movie chasing after her to prove to the folks in her hometown that he shouldn't have lost his job over her disappearance.

It's all lightweight comedy and Turner never misses a chance to give the role of the scheming girl a sense of fun and innocence with a sexy twist. She goes from brunette salesgirl to blonde heiress in a series of outfits that only MGM's wardrobe department could devise. This is the kind of light escapist entertainment that weary wartime GIs were crazy about--and Lana looks sensational while giving an expert performance.

ROBERT YOUNG is no slouch as her leading man. He has some scenes that reveal just what a flair he had for light comedy--and some of it very physical.

The big delight is seeing so many well-known names in character roles: Ward Bond, Florence Bates, Alan Mobray, Bobby Blake (as Lana's kid brother), Ray Collins, Frank Faylen, Norma Varden and Howard Freeman, to name a few.

Well worth a look--a pure delight from start to finish.

Slightly Dangerous finds Lana Turner bored with life in small town Hotchkiss Falls and bored with her job as a soda jerk in a department store. She even does her job making a banana split blindfolded to the amusement of the customer, but new general manager Robert Young finds he's not amused. She's fired, but then so is he after she leaves a fake suicide note saying she's throwing herself in the river.

Instead she goes to New York and when she's hit by a falling ladder after she's heard talking to herself when she comes to, everyone thinks she's got amnesia. Instead using that she decides to become the long lost daughter of millionaire Walter Brennan who was lost at the age of 2 by nanny Dame May Witty while going to the circus.

It's interesting that none of the previous reviewers noted that this a reworking of the Anastasia legend. But that's a serious story involving a plot to deliberately defraud the exiled Romanovs.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I find a comedy based on a premise of fraud and extortion not all that funny. Yet even with a lousy starting point, Slightly Dangerous does holdup somewhat because of the incredible cast of name performers in this film like Ray Collins, Ward Bond, Eugene Palette, and Alan Mowbray besides those already mentioned.

And there's Lana Turner who just has to be Lana Turner to get me viewing a film. She's got that winsome quality throughout her films in the Forties that men and women found so appealing.

Anyway with a cast like this, chances are you'll find something enjoyable about Slightly Dangerous.