Simply Perfect

How sad is this?

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Young Doctor Richard Carlson (Geoffrey) is hijacked by an escapee from a mental hospital who hands him over a formula/plans for G-32. What is G-32? We found out in the end after an outrageous series of escapades.The film keeps you watching with Nancy Kelly (Pat) excelling in her role as the pounced-upon innocent who is dragged into proceedings by Carlson. Mind you, Carlson is only reacting to circumstances that he is put into. The film suffers from too much comedy that isn't funny and ludicrous situations that defy belief. It's a watch-able film but things could have been better.There are scenes that stand out such as the episode on the car-carrying lorry and the ending when the G-32 secret is revealed. However, set against this are idiot policemen, slapstick (yawn) and some try-hard comedy sequences that don't quite work.Next time you smoke a cigarette in a car and flick the butt out of the window make sure it actually goes out of the window. That should be standard practise – obviously not for some a-holes like Richard Carlson.

It's getting to the point where I've seen most major (and readily available) noirs so I'm going back and mining the next layer of the batcave, seeking out hidden gems less well known. Fly-By-Night is a good example: a little-seen crime drama that might deserve another look. Is it a classic? Hell no. Does the plot hold together? Just barely. Is it entertaining and enjoyable? Thoroughly. Does it deserve consideration by noirists looking for something different? Surely.Clearly influenced by the then-popular Hitchcock themes of "wrong man, wrong place" and "man on lam gets involved with gal and hatred / mistrust is ultimately replaced by love," FLY BY NIGHT struggles with logic but finds other virtues to cover motivational issues and credibility. In particular, the murder of the man accompanying the lead into the apartment is beyond preposterous, as is the doctor's (and police's) reaction to what follows. Fortunately, the film's breezy matter-of-fact approach to the ridiculous set-up keeps things moving and we slowly find ourselves involved in a compelling mystery despite the insanity of how things begin.From there the movie takes interesting, unexpected turns and against odds often balances comedy and drama more effectively than a movie this obscure ought to. A surprising twist at the end tops things off and makes this an unexpectedly fun, if implausible, outing. Siodmak is to be commended for cobbling together a nice movie from some pieces that might not have looked as promising on paper. Doesn't hold up under close scrutiny, but this is quite fun and has some different angles than your garden variety noir.

Director Robert Siodmak did an excellent job with this B thriller, which has some unusual plot twists and ideas in it. Richard Carlson is the lead, and he is extremely well-cast as an innocent and well-meaning bystander who becomes involved in complex intrigues which have nothing to do with him, gets accused of a murder he did not commit, and goes on the run to save his name. He meets the insouciant and charming Nancy Kelly, makes her help him at gunpoint, and they end up being forced to get married by a justice of the peace in order to avoid being killed by some heavies waiting outside with guns, which is certainly a new twist in story lines! The story concerns a new military invention called 'G-32', the secret of which the baddies want to steal. The film opens with the inventor's assistant escaping from a madhouse, where he has been incarcerated by the baddies, though we don't know at first that the man is not really a maniac on the run. He doesn't last long, but before he dies he has compromised poor Richard Carlson and enmeshed him in a web of plotting, spying, and murder. There is an amazing series of scenes where Carlson and Kelly leap from a speeding car onto an auto-carrier, catch a free ride, and then later unfasten the car and reverse it down the ramp while in motion on a highway, and escape in it. Those interested in stunts will be all agog at watching this. The film is good viewing and should be more widely available.

Above-average Paramount "B" thriller from director Robert Siodmak. A few surprises (including an imaginative action sequence and a jolting revelation during a climatic confrontation) elevate a standard falsely-accused-man-on-the-lam plot. Well-paced and atmospheric.