The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Cary Grant shows his versatility in playing outside his usual breezy, comic roles, performing very well as a tough gambler. Laraine Day is most attractive as the War Relief leader who is absolutely smitten with him.I enjoyed Cary Grant and the knitting scenes. That is the kind of comedy where he excels. I don't think Grant was in the military during WW2, and Mr. Lucky avoids the draft in this film by an identity swap.Actually, the movie has a little of everything, romance, comedy,drama. It has an interesting beginning accomplished by a backward look into how it all began.The ending was almost as cloudy as the fog. Grant, who was supposed to have been missing, suddenly appears to the delight of Laraine Day. It leaves you wondering whether she will soon be rebuffed once again. I enjoyed it mostly because it is a pleasure to watch Cary Grant any time.

The suave Cary Grant goes out of his way to be dramatic in this slight disappointment about a conman who is part of a plot to try and swindle a war charity but changes his mind when he falls in love with one of the charity's top workers (Laraine Day). He uses gambling as the tool, charmingly teaching the head (Gladys Cooper) how to fling dice and flirting with the portly Florence Bates. Of course, he could charm the rattle off of a snake and the shell off of an armadillo, so that's not a difficult task when it comes to these well-meaning social butterflies.Grant had proved during the 1930's that he was capable of being as dramatic as he was humorous, but by the early 40's, comedy was his forte, and even in tearjerkers like "Penny Serenade" and dramatic comedies like "The Talk of the Town", his light side always came out. (One misfire was his casting as a Revolutionary War hero in "The Howards of Virginia"). That's partially the case in "Mr. Lucky", but it's difficult to fully trust him, even when he stalks Day to a blood bank and agrees to make a donation. Of course, with the even more dramatic "None But the Lonely Heart", he took melodrama to a new level, so fortunately, this isn't as heavy as that over-rated classic.The film on occasion does move at a snail's pace, but Grant and Day (Laraine, not Doris, just to doubly confirm!) are nicely paired, and character performances are fine too, although Charles Bickford is wasted as a ship's captain who helps Grant out. The film's serious narrative makes it difficult to classify this as a drama with comical moments, but those moments manage to sneak out in spite of its sordid tale.

Cary Grant is "Mr. Lucky," a 1943 films also starring Laraine Day, Charles Bickford and Gladys Cooper. Grant plays a self-serving swindler named Joe who takes the identity of a dying man who's 4F so that he won't have to go into the service. The name he takes is that of a Greek man, Joe Bascopoulos, but the name will bring him more than just a 4F classification. Needing money to get his gambling ship started, he sees an easy mark in Dorothy Bryant (Day), one of the administrators of a War Relief Fund. He uses his considerable charm to persuade her to let him run a casino night as part of the organization's big fundraiser. The plan is to use cash boxes with false bottoms and take off with nearly all of the money. Just one hitch - Joe has fallen in love with Dorothy.This is a slightly different role for Grant - he plays a real low-life and at that, one with no style. One of the running jokes is his rotten ties and inability to tie them right. Grant is perfect in the role, as well as incredibly handsome. But it's only a slightly different part - like Tyrone Power, who tried so hard to change his image in 1947 with "Nightmare Alley," Grant tried too, and like Power, was sabotaged by the producing studio. In Power's case (who actually would have done well had Zanuck let him have more traditional Cary Grant type roles), he was allowed to make the film and play a low character, but his studio, 20th Century Fox, did not publicize the film nor release it widely. In Grant's case, he'd happily accept a role - such as this one or his part in "Suspicion" - only to have the script changed so that he's not a total heel. It had to be frustrating for these actors who were capable of so much more than they were allowed to do. Lovely Laraine Day is just right as the young, rich Dorothy who passionately believes in helping the war effort. Day had an air of sophistication that lent itself well to these wealthy society girl roles. "Mr. Lucky" is beautifully photographed in black and white, with lots of interesting shadows and fog. The film also has some very funny moments - Grant learning to knit is just one.This is a very good movie and somewhat of a departure for Grant, a cousin to his role in "Suspicion."

The story here was just a little too boring and the humor just not funny enough. It added up to a film that was too boring to watch. That was further surprising because the cast was good: Cary Grant, Lariaine Day, Charles Bickford and Henry Stephenson. Grant may be the only big "star" in that group but I've always found Bickford and Stephenson to play interesting guys and Day had to have about the prettiest eyes I've ever seen. They just sparkle and it makes her face mesmerizing at times.Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to make me impressed over this film. It's simply too dated, humor-wise. I don't know how it was received in 1943, whether audiences laughed a lot at this but, unlike dramas, westerns, crime movies, etc., comedies can look very dated very quickly and today's audiences would not laugh at this.