Two Smart People (1946)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Ethel Hill (screenplay) and
Leslie Charteris (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 June 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Cast

Lucille Ball	...	Ricki Woodner
John Hodiak	...	Ace Connors
Lloyd Nolan	...	Bob Simms
Hugo Haas	...	Se�r Rodriquez, Dept. of Agriculture
Lenore Ulric	...	Maria Ynez, Inn of the 4 Winds
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Fly Feletti
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Dwight Chadwick
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Monsieur Jacques Dufour
David Cota	...	Jose
Clarence Muse	...	Porter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gloria Anderson	...	Grecian Girl on Riverboat (uncredited)
Jean Andren	...	Policewoman (uncredited)
George Calliga	...	Stewart (uncredited)
Gabriel Canzona	...	Monkey Man (uncredited)
Harold DeGarro	...	Stilt Walker (uncredited)
Harry Depp	...	Spectator (uncredited)
Helen Dickson	...	Woman (uncredited)
Maria Dodd	...	Woman (uncredited)
Phil Dunham	...	Drunk (uncredited)
Mary Emory	...	Woman (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Policewoman (uncredited)
Margaret Jackson	...	Bystander (uncredited)
Bobby Johnson	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Frank Johnson	...	Fat Man at Andre's (uncredited)
Erwin Kalser	...	Franz (uncredited)
Paul Kruger	...	Cop (uncredited)
Lorenzo López	...	Gardener (uncredited)
James Magill	...	Reveler (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Renif Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Cleo Morgan	...	Cleopatra (uncredited)
Leo Mostovoy	...	Headwaiter at Andre's (uncredited)
Fred Nurney	...	Victoire (uncredited)
John Piffle	...	Jolly Fat Man (uncredited)
Tom Quinn	...	Sheik on Riverboat (uncredited)
Emil Rameau	...	Riverboat Waiter (uncredited)
William McKeever Riley	...	Pete - Bellboy (uncredited)
William Tannen	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	...	Clarence the Red Cap (uncredited)
Peter Virgo	...	Indian Attendant (uncredited)
Constance Weiler	...	Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
Lynn Whitney	...	Swedish Girl (uncredited)
Marek Windheim	...	Captain (uncredited)
Shelley Winters	...	Princess (uncredited)

Directed by
Jules Dassin

Writing credits
Ethel Hill		(screenplay) and
Leslie Charteris		(screenplay)
Ralph Wheelwright		(story) and
Allan Kenward		(story)

Produced by
Ralph Wheelwright	....	producer

Original Music by
George Bassman

Cinematography by
Karl Freund

Film Editing by
Chester W. Schaeffer

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Wade B. Rubottom		(as Wade Rubottom)

Set Decoration by
F. Keogh Gleason		(as Keogh Gleason)
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Irene
Valles

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup artist
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sid Sidman	....	assistant director (as S. Sidman)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	sound

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #11329, General Audience)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Forecast (1945)

Signpost to noir

This obscure B-movie was Jules Dassin's last film before embarking on a series of classic noir and crime films--and actually it's the first of his crime films and shows his interest in developing the genre. As another critic reports in a previous post, this film is NOT a comedy (as Maltin's book describes it) about two con artists mixed up "in art forgery." Actually, it's a crime/road movie about stolen bonds, co-written by the creator of "The Saint." True, Lucille Ball co-stars, and she and John Hodiak meet cute in a TROUBLE IN PARADISE manner, blowing each other's cons with a mutual pigeon. But from the first shot, Dassin reveals his interest in crime

Like Dassin's forgettable comedy A LETTER FOR EVIE, this film is shot by the great Karl Freund, in decline from his silent heyday and not yet arrived at his groundbreaking I LOVE LUCY three-camera period. He gives us expressionist shots aplenty, and such privileged moments as a pan shot with window reflection from outside a train, a cactus-by-moonlight scene, and a chiaroscuro moment when Ball is menaced by Elisha Cook Jr lighting a match. The presence of Cook, Lloyd Nolan, and Hugo Haas (on their way to being entrenched noir icons) also counts for something. The road trip plot (on a train) allows stops in Mexico and New Orleans. The last third (set at Mardi Gras) is suspenseful and colorful, with Cook in fool's motley.

In conclusion, if this 1946 film doesn't hold up as well as Dassin's later, truer noirs, we can still see it's an early step in the development of that genre.