The Worst Film Ever

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

I noticed that another reviewer compared this film to "The Maltese Falcon". Well, I would also add to that "The 39 Steps". Yet, although these both are classic films, "The Gauntlet" (also known as "The Green Glove") is far from classic status. While it is reasonably entertaining, it fails to ever rise above mediocrity.The film begins during WWII. A downed pilot (Glenn Ford) captures a very strange Nazi collaborator (George Macready)--strange because Macready is a multinational and is out for himself and couldn't care less which side wins the war. During this brief meeting with Macready, he learns about some valuable holy relic--some green gauntlet encrusted with jewels. Well, as soon as you can say 'hey,...this reminds me of "Gilda"', Ford loses Macready and the war goes on its merry way.Several years pass. Ford has been bumming about Europe with no real direction in life. However, he gets the idea someone is following him and he's right--Macready's men are looking for him because they think he has the gauntlet. He doesn't and the gang soon turns out to be very tough--and Ford ends up becoming a wanted man for a murder the gang committed. Along the way, he picks up a lady friend (much like Madeleine Carrol in "The 39 Steps") and they go on a cross country romp leading to where the gauntlet MIGHT be. There, they have some confrontation scene and the film ends.About the only thing that stood out in this film for me was the structure of the film. It begins at the end and then begins again--showing all the action leading up to the eventual return of the holy relic to the church. Apart from that, it just seemed like a lot of other films all tossed together rather haphazardly. On top of that, Glenn Ford's grouchy guy persona got a bit old. I've seen it many times before and here he just seems like a guy with a toothache. Not a terrible film but one that never quite seemed to work.

The amazing locations are the real stars of "The Gauntlet" from 1952. Rudy Mate directs Glenn Ford, Geraldine Brooks, George MacCready, and Cedric Hardwicke in this film, which takes place during and after World War II.Filmed in black and white in Monte Carlo and Paris, the scenery is eye-popping, particularly the mountain on which a church stands. It's a shame this movie wasn't in color.The story concerns Michael Blake (Ford) who captures a Nazi collaborator, who has in his possession a relic from a church - a jewel-encrusted long glove. Michael leaves it with the family who rescued him, due to the fact that he was injured and couldn't bring it back to the states.Mike's luck after the war isn't good, so he returns to France to retrieve the glove. He has people following him, a dead guy who turns up, and his flirtation with a tour guide (Brooks) causes a problem when her apartment is searched. Then the Nazi collaborator (MacCready) turns up.Other than the scenery, this isn't much of a movie. The plot isn't skillfully put together and it's convoluted, so it was hard to follow.For some reason, Sir Cedric Hardwicke is in this film playing a priest and he has absolutely nothing to do. George MacCready is an effective villain. Geraldine Brooks' performance can only be described as frantic. One thing about Glenn Ford - he was never frantic. They make an odd match. Ford to me anyway is always likable, but it was hard to relate to these characters in this disjointed film.Disappointing.

This is one of those films that could have been a lot better. Make the gauntlet more interesting. Have it centered in the culture. For heaven's sake. The thing has only been missing for a few years. Create a kind of religious fervor. Then put Glenn Ford and his adversaries on a collision course of some kind. Instead, it's never really clear why all the fuss. Is the bad guy just psychotic or are his intentions purely economical (I suppose they are). Ford finds himself in the middle of an investigation just by showing up. Why has he been targeted so specifically be the police? There is an element of North by Northwest in here, but it just doesn't work. Ford is a pretty boy, but he's not very charismatic. Then there are those endless scenes, running up and down the mountain to get to the church where the gauntlet resides. I also don't know why those bells kept ringing for so long. The love interested is sort of contrived and lacking in real sparks because the dialogue lacks wit and mystery. It's reasonably interesting, but quite an investment of time.

Though rather uneven some of the time, "The Green Glove" is still worth seeing for a number of reasons. It has a solid cast headed by Glenn Ford, the story has some interesting moments, and most of all the location filming provides some very nice views besides helping considerably with the atmosphere.The opening sequence works pretty well in tossing out some mysterious details, and the movie then goes back to tell the story from the beginning. Ford's character is not very likable, but it's hard not to identify with him as he faces a series of threats while he tracks down the valuable artifact upon returning to France after the war. It's interesting to see him meet up with an antagonist played by George Macready, with whom Ford was paired in the earlier, much more memorable "Gilda". Macready's distinctive voice and mannerisms make him an interesting adversary.Geraldine Brooks is likable as the tour guide who helps Ford in his quest, although her character remains largely one-dimensional. Cedric Hardwicke appears as a village priest, but he is unfortunately never given anything significant to do. Jany Holt makes good use of her scenes as the Countess.The pace is sometimes inconsistent, with a number of slow stretches and a couple of rather jumpy spots. But the story has enough of interest to make you want to see how it all comes out.The settings and scenery are probably the main strength of the movie, and without them, it would probably have been pretty plain. The scenery of the mountains and villages of southern France creates a very good atmosphere, and the bell-tower setting is also used well. More than anything else, these aspects lift "The Green Glove" from a fair picture to a decent one that is worth seeing despite a few flaws.