Out of the Blue

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.

"Out of the Blue" is an example of one of those films which result in considered reviews that range from 3 stars to 10 , all of which have credibility and deserve respect. With 18 reviews already registered I would normally not add yet another, but I would like to offer my appreciation and even my admiration for the project.

To begin with, the title is dull and doesn't serve to lather up interest on the part of potential viewers. But one would think the cast would engender interest, as they indeed are composed of participants plying their trade in ways we the viewers are not accustomed to. I believe they all did excellent work and played it the way the director, Leigh Jason, imagined. The writing flows well and naturally, and seldom, if ever, did it occur to me that a line was inappropriate or without logic.

For me the picture is more comfortably placed in the absurdist-droll arena rather than the zany-screwball realm, and really plays more like something akin to movies with dark humor deriving from the late 1950's to mid 1960's. It is a pleasure to see so many veteran hands having fun with something so different from their usual assignments, including Turhan Bey; he looked like a sly so-and-so at the beginning but I came to like his character as the show unfolded.

How they even came to cast Ann Dvorak in this expressively comedic role would be nice to know, and I don't think she overplayed it; if her performance were out of sorts the picture would have been rendered bereft of value. The rest of the players really offered subtle readings compared to what could have been, including George Brent, whose facial expressions were not, as some reviewers have declared, merely mugging. Virginia Mayo might have been the only one who did not have a lot of comedic antics to lend or lines to say, but she too turned in an expert reading, often as the "straight" woman. And her eyes in this film are used to excellent advantage.

I can imagine "Out of the Blue" disappeared pretty fast and without much after-chatter after spending a couple of weeks in neighborhood theaters back in 1947, but I enjoyed spending time with this group of performers and appreciate that the film was created and is here for us to enjoy all these decades later.

Ann Dvorak carries the film. The rest of the cast are merely adequate and are not adept at comic timing and delivery.

The film fails as a true screwball comedy because the pace is too slow. Had the pace been a bit more frenetic, it might have succeeded. This was the director's fault more than anything.

Ann Dvorak's career peaked in the 1930s. Some of her best work came after that. Most of it was in dramas. It was a delight seeing her do a comic role. I urge those not familiar with her to do more research and check out some of her 1940s and 1950s performances. One that comes immediately to mind are The Secret of Convict Lake and A Life of Her Own.

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.

George brent, in a bedroom farce, about halfway through his film career. He had just finished making a slew of films with miss davis in the 1930s and early 40s. The storyline has a bit in common with rear window. When olive gets stuck in arthur's apartment, he must go to great lengths to keep it secret, and try to get rid of her, or the gossip-y neighbors will all find out. Not to mention his wife. Some big name co-stars ... virginia mayo, ann dvorak. And hadda brooks actually sings "out of the blue" in the bar, about 45 minutes in. And turhan bey looks a lot like brent. That must be why they have brent wear glasses for most of the film. And if the nosy spinster miss patterson looks familiar, she was also miss trumble on "i love lucy", who would frequently babysit for lucy. And probably wore the same dress! It's an okay comedy. During the first half, they are all working so hard, so much bickering and not having fun. Things move a lot faster in the second half. Directed by leigh jason. He had also directed "the bride walks out" and "love on a bet", which are both so much more fun than this one. And both star gene raymond. See those two, if you can find them; they show on tcm now and then.