Panic Button

I watched this yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. How to write off a vast sum of money in a movie that's doomed to failure and thus evade the revenue investigation.........yes the plot is an earlier incarnation of The Producers' like mischief and invention. It's no where near that great masterpiece in achievement but is still a delightful excursion in to some good old fashioned boulevardier fun. Chevalier as the has-been matinée idol underplays with subtlety where he could have been gruesomely hammy.Oh the joy of seeing him play Romeo to Jayne Mansfield's Juliet!! However he does sing a couple of numbers which are entirely pointless to the plot and immediately forgettable. The true star of the piece however is the GREAT Akim Tamiroff as an acting guru par excellence.As ever he scene steals effortlessly and rewards us with an immensely funny characterisation of vanity and dodgy intellect succumbing to the power of a few dollars wafted under his nose. To see him direct an advancing close up on a potted plant is to witness his genius. See the movie for this moment alone.

One gripe to end on. The company responsible for releasing this video seems to have a contempt for both the movie and its potential viewing audience. The quality of the print is largely awful and no attempt to clean it up. It may not be a classic but it deserves better than this. Still it's the only way to see this movie at the moment so don't hesitate if you are thinking of getting a copy.