Complete credited cast: | |||
Sydney Greenstreet | ... | Jerome K. Arbutny | |
Geraldine Fitzgerald | ... | Crystal Shackleford | |
Peter Lorre | ... | Johnny West | |
Joan Lorring | ... | Icey Crane | |
Robert Shayne | ... | Bertram Fallon | |
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Marjorie Riordan | ... | Janet Elliott |
Arthur Shields | ... | Prosecutor | |
Rosalind Ivan | ... | Lady Rhea Belladon | |
John Alvin | ... | Junior Clerk | |
Peter Whitney | ... | Timothy Delaney aka Gabby | |
Alan Napier | ... | David Shackleford | |
Clifford Brooke | ... | Senior Clerk | |
Doris Lloyd | ... | Mrs. Proctor |
According to a legend, if three strangers gather before an idol of Kwan Yin (the Chinese goddess of fortune and destiny) on the night of the Chinese New Year and make a common wish, Kwan Yin will open her eyes and her heart and grant the wish. In London 1938 on the Chinese New Year, Crystal Shackleford has such an idol and decides to put the legend to the test. She picks two random strangers off the street, and puts the proposition to them. They decide that an ideal wish would be for a sweepstakes ticket they buy equal shares in to be a winner. After all, everyone needs money and a pot is very easy to divide equally, right? Written by Ken Yousten <kyousten@bev.net>
A woman entices two strangers to her home to fulfill an unusual Chinese prophecy, granting a wish... in this case, a horse race ticket that they hope to be a winner. With a screenplay by John Huston and appearances by Lorre and Greenstreet, and a figurine as a major plot device, you might expect a MALTESE FALCON retread. But this is a very different story. I hesitate to call it noir, although it does have some of the visual stylization and explores some of man's darker impulses. But it's really more of a triptych character study. The three represent different moral stances: Fitzgerald is conniving and ruthless, Greenstreet does something wrong but at least has enough decency to be conflicted about it, and Lorre is simply a carefree drunk who trusts the wrong people. I didn't count the minutes, but it felt like Lorre got the most screen time, and deservedly so. I don't know if I've ever seen a better performance from him, certainly not a more likable one. He's a charming character with a thoughtful outlook on life. His story also has the benefit of wonderful turns by Peter Whitney and especially Joan Lorring, a very appealing actress I've never seen before, but I'm delighted to see appears in a few more noirs I intended to see. Greenstreet's and Fitzgerald's plot threads are interesting as well, and the way all they come together and resolve at the end is satisfying. It's a quirky film with a very good script, quite fulfilling.