I gave this a six. The opening scenes at Basil Rathbone's criminal school were good, but then the movie petered out. The 35-year-old Ginger Rogers looks 25, but isn't convincing as someone 18 and just out of reform school.
What did you rate it? What do you think of it?
... Justin
I almost feel an admiration for the guy in charge of the school, Basil Rathbone's Professor Aristide, for even though I know he is bringing those people in and keeping them on a bad path, he’s still kinda helping them gain shelter…if that makes any sense. That he seems such a respectable man makes his underhandedness all the more appealing to me as a viewer, especially with the dreaminess of many cinematic characters of the early twentieth century, who, to me, often came so close to being real life embodiments of Walt Disney type characterizations from comic pages.
In the school, the students were being taught the importance of acting with facial expressions, the display of seeming honesty with body gestures as well as the use of graceful movements that would come in handy for successful theft. But even with all that stuff gained, I was still very happy to see Ginger’s character, Arlette Lafron, get away from that lifestyle. She was just too sweet the marriage material and much better than that.
Heartbeat is by no means a blockbuster, but I enjoyed this movie probably more than many people and I don’t mind.
I felt a perverse admiration for what Basil Rathbone was doing as well. It helped that the whole thing seemed a little unreal. Certainly it was less real than Fagin's school. And, of course, you can never fully dislike a Basil Rathbone character, whether he's Sherlock Holmes or a dastardly villain.
...Om
Basil Rathbone made the movie for me he was just so delightful in bad way! Jean-Pierre Aumont was pretty good in the movie but then again, I have never seen him in anything else...
Ginger Rogers was another story...I felt her part could have been played better or possibly even recast. Amusing piece of history, but definitely no blockbuster!
The opening scenes made me think I was about to watch a much better film.
...Justin
I give it a 5, just a mediocre film imo nothing more nothing lessWhen there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...
It's been a couple of years since I started this thread, and I barely remember anything about the film—except the opening scenes and the fact that Ginger Rogers was too old for her part.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
i got this in a boxset with 'the thirteenth guest' and 'a shriek in the night' and as it didnt list the year after seeing the movie assumed that it was made in the same decade as ginger looks 25 max in this movie so it came rather as a shock to see it was made in 1946, it was an ok movie i liked the song she sang but the storyline made the film seem rather long, ginger however was beautiful in this
shareDancing must have kept her young. How were those other two Ginger Rogers movies you mentioned? I hadn't heard of them, but they seem to be in the public domain—which means we can download them legally and free from sites like Internet Archive.
The Thirteenth Guest (1932) imdb.com/title/tt0023583/
A Shriek in the Night (1933) imdb.com/title/tt0024554/
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
they're very similar but not too bad viewing, they seem to be the easiest of ginger's earliar films to get hold of and for their age the copy's i got were pretty good prints!
shareThey're both listed as Mystery, I see. Should be interesting. Ginger really isn't associated with that kind of film.
...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!
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as i had before i got a real shock when i looked it up at imdb and saw the year of release, i wouldn't have guessed it in a million years if i'd only watched the film
shareanother thing that startled me is that now having seen 'weekend at the waldorf' ginger looks older in that even though that was a 1945 film and this obviously is 1946
i've danced with you, i'm never gonna dance again - Lucky to Penny in Swingtime 1936
I liked the movie and I thought she looked younger than 25, but I would say older than 18. Maybe 21. Maybe.
I thought the movie was rather cute and I really did like Pierre. The only thing that bothered me was she should have been a more seasoned thief. I think they jumped into the consequences too quickly. She should have met the ambassador after at least her 3rd outing.
I understand though why they couldn't do that. The Hays Code wouldn't go for it.
Spare me your 6th grade Michael Moore logic! ~ Secretary Heller; 24, Day 4, 7:30:00 a.m.