MovieChat Forums > Drive a Crooked Road (1954) Discussion > Loved the Movie--Great Script

Loved the Movie--Great Script

posted 10 years ago by Schmoozette
4 replies | jump to latest

I had missed the first few minutes of the movie on TV, but got very much involved, and I really admired the script, along with Rooney's acting. It wasn't until I looked it up on IMDb that I saw it was written by Blake Edwards! Well, that explained the wit, and lots of very enjoyable lines (like Kevin McCarthy's character shooing a woman out of his kitchen at a party, and saying, "Out, out, brief candle."). To me, Rooney's acting was really underestimated; I think of him as a very "natural" actor, along with Richard Erdman (they could have played brothers, don't you think?). The first time I saw Rooney in an "adult" role, I was really taken by his talent, which I had enjoyed, at any rate, in the Andy Hardy movies. It's hard these days to find this kind of unforced, natural talent, with the kind of smarts and wit that we've seen in actors (both male and female) of yore.

P.S. The movie's on YouTube, so I was lucky enough to find it and catch the beginning, which helped me with the overall plot!

[–] OhmsLaw 10 years ago

I watched all of this last night on Get TV and agree that Rooney could be pretty good in dramatic roles as an adult. Watching a film like "He's a Cockeyed Wonder" can be painful because what was cute and funny 10 years earlier for him, wasn't anymore. He is particularly good in this playing a shy, lonely guy who probably never had a girlfriend before. Of course that wasn't him in real life but he made the role believable.

[–] urgeking 9 years ago

Yeah, Rooney was a man of many talents, all right-- a very good drummer, among other things. He really chewed the scenery as an egomaniacal showbiz star in the Playhouse 90 episode "The Comedian" three years after this (although some insiders said he was merely playing himself there). That aired on TCM a couple of years ago.

The beach scene at the end of this movie must be one of only a few places you'll ever see him wearing a leather bomber jacket. Combined with the lighting they're using, it almost makes him look like a tough guy.

[–] darkhorsejim 7 years ago

Mickey Rooney with Peter Lorre in Quicksand (1950) is another noir gem.

[–] Schmoozette 7 years ago

I saw that quite a while back; you're right!