So much average

Simply A Masterpiece

Good movie but grossly overrated

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The lovely comedienne Lucille Ball is endearing in this neatly plotted noir tale and does a fine job of playing it very straight. She's cast as Kathleen Stewart, secretary to a private eye named Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens). It seems that Galts' tragic past is catching up with him, when he thinks that a former associate, lawyer Anthony Jardine (Kurt Krueger) is out to get him. For one thing, Galt is being tailed by a heavy in a white suit (William Bendix). Eventually Galt realizes that there's more to the situation than meets the eye. When Galt is framed for murder, the extremely loyal Kathleen vows to stay right by her boss's side and help him clear his name.The high contrast lighting and interesting angles are present and accounted for in this solid example of the film noir genre. Pacing is fairly deliberate and never rushed. The characters are comfortingly familiar for this sort of thing, and the actors get to utter some absolutely priceless lines. The banter between Ball and Stevens is especially fun. There's an enjoyable chase sequence, a feeling of despair for Galt as he wonders if he'll ever figure out the whole truth, and some entertaining detective work on the part of Kathleen and Galt. He's definitely a tough cookie, but isn't as tough as he makes himself out to be. He does have a soft spot for Kathleen, and she's open in her love for him.It's a treat to watch Lucy in this kind of performance, and the rest of the cast is equally fine. Stevens is very much playing a typical noir character, Clifton Webb is smooth and dapper as an upper crust art collector, and Bendix is fantastic as the brute. Cathy Downs, Reed Hadley, and Constance Collier co-star; Ellen Corby, John Russell, and Douglas Spencer have uncredited bits.Overall, a very respectable effort for director Henry Hathaway, cast, and crew.Eight out of 10.

Thought that was Lucille. Thoroughly enjoyable movie. Kept my interest. Acting was superb. Plot line was interesting. Movies today depend on shock value or computer graphics but this was very well done. I had always seen Lucille Ball as a comedienne in conjunction with Desi Arnaz but she did great in this dramatic role. Too bad it was only in black and white but that was hardly a distraction. I've not found many movies, old or new, that were this captivating. I've always held Lucille in high regard but this just added to my appreciation of her skills as an actress. I highly recommend this story to movie lovers. Clean language, good family entertainment.

The Dark Corner, from 1946, was good, but, definitely, not great Film Noir. With its intriguing and nicely paced storyline, its well-defined characters, and striking camera-work, things all added up to a fairly nice, little slice of 1940's Crime/Drama.I really liked actor Mark Stevens who played the P.I., Brad Galt. Stevens put in a likable and believable performance.But, on the other hand, Lucille Ball, as Kathleen, the loyal, love-struck secretary, wearing shoulder pads to rival those of any football player's, was clearly out of her league in a serious, dramatic role.Kathleen literally throws herself at her boss, Brad Galt, who she's only been working for just a short time. Ball's role was this film's one major sour note.Kathleen's annoying, one-track minded determination to get Brad to the altar, bordered on being downright fanatic. It was enough to scare any man (in his right mind) off. It's no wonder that she had no other boyfriends. I felt really sorry for Brad at the end of the film, heading off with Kathleen to City Hall - Destination: Marriage.This film contains a really hilarious mistake that wasn't edited out - When bad-guy, Fred Foss gets up from the floor after his scuffle with Galt in the apartment, his toupee is clearly seen standing up and you can see his bald-spot before he puts on his hat.

New York private investigator Mark Stevens gets interested enough in his secretary (Lucille Ball) to take her out after work to a New York arcade where she mentions that they're being followed by a guy in a white suit (William Bendix). A true pro would never try to tail anyone while standing out in a crowd by wearing a white suit, and it turns out that this is part of a masterful plot orchestrated by wealthy art gallery owner and collector Clifton Webb to take advantage of Stevens spotted past. Of course Webb, who played a few dangerous characters (i.e. the one he played in LAURA) has a young wife (Cathy Downs) who is only in it with him for the money and gives her affection to blackmailer and social climber Kurt Kreuger who knew Stevens when they worked together in San Francisco. How Webb could have known about Stevens and Kreuger is up to speculation on the part of the viewer, but certainly if anyone could come up with such a way of getting rid of someone, Webb's character could. William Bendix stands out in his role as the hired muscle, living in a ground floor flat with a couple of cool scenes of him phoning Webb from a phone in the hallway while a little girl neighbor bothers his concentration while blowing on a kazoo. In fact the acting by everyone is restrained enough by director Henry Hathaway and the script doesn't let anyone down.