TCM showed this movie in October 2016 along with other movies about the FBI. Three of the movies covered gangsters efforts to free one of their own in Kansas City. Those three were "G-Men" (1935), "The FBI Story" (1959, and...this one. The only reason I started watching "Guns Don't Argue" is because Lash LaRue was in the cast, and I wanted to see him play something other than Lash LaRue. By the time his scenes were finished I was near the end of the movie, so I stuck it out. The only reason to watch this movie is to see how similar stories were told by filmmakers with different budgets to work with or, in this case, with no budget at all. In two of the segments the bad guys have face lifts. The first, with the Al Karpis character, results in no change of appearance. The second, at the end involving John Dillinger (played by a guy I always liked -- Myron Healey) resulted in no change either, except for a mustache that kind of looked like a black caterpillar that I kept expecting to walk of his face. A couple of the reviewers stated this looked like an attempt by right-wing individuals trying to put forward their viewpoint. I don't see that; this movie is too incoherent. The only thing that comes out looking bad in this movie are the people who decided to put it together and, if they made any money, the laugh is on us, not them.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Miracle in the Rain
(1956)
On the list of my favorite unknown movies.
28 August 2016
I was surprised that I liked this movie, and liked it a lot.
Jane Wyman and Van Johnson had been major Hollywood stars a few years earlier; this movie coming in the twilight of their careers. They were both near 40 when this movie was made, and their characters are quite a bit younger, but other than having that thought cross my mind early in the movie, I gave no further thought to it. I have never been a Jane Wyman fan, but I liked her a lot in this movie. It was, for me, a subdued and realistic performance. I have always liked Van Johnson from his days at M-G-M, and here he plays -- Van Johnson.
The movie is about love and hope and loss and friendship and faith. In the end, it might have as much to do with reality as "It's a Wonderful Life," but -- so what? I love "It's a Wonderful Life." Movies don't always have to be about the real world as we think we know it. They can be a bit mystical, as this one is. The good ones often have characters we can relate to, characters we care about, characters whose stories can make us laugh and cry. Movies are sometimes a place for us to temporarily escape what goes on about us. "Miracle in the Rain" was, for me, that kind of movie.
I also liked some of the side stories -- (1) The illicit relationship between the boss (Fred Clark) and the secretary (Peggy Castle) and the adult way in which it ends. (2) The relationship between the sergeant (Alan King) and his burlesque queen wife (Barbara Nichols). It was something I expected to fall apart; but it didn't.
And then there was a chance to see the great Eileen Heckart in her movie debut. The world would be a nicer place if we could all have a friend Grace Ullman, the character she plays.
I don't disagree with the negative reviews posted here. Those people just saw the movie differently than I did.
Jane Wyman and Van Johnson had been major Hollywood stars a few years earlier; this movie coming in the twilight of their careers. They were both near 40 when this movie was made, and their characters are quite a bit younger, but other than having that thought cross my mind early in the movie, I gave no further thought to it. I have never been a Jane Wyman fan, but I liked her a lot in this movie. It was, for me, a subdued and realistic performance. I have always liked Van Johnson from his days at M-G-M, and here he plays -- Van Johnson.
The movie is about love and hope and loss and friendship and faith. In the end, it might have as much to do with reality as "It's a Wonderful Life," but -- so what? I love "It's a Wonderful Life." Movies don't always have to be about the real world as we think we know it. They can be a bit mystical, as this one is. The good ones often have characters we can relate to, characters we care about, characters whose stories can make us laugh and cry. Movies are sometimes a place for us to temporarily escape what goes on about us. "Miracle in the Rain" was, for me, that kind of movie.
I also liked some of the side stories -- (1) The illicit relationship between the boss (Fred Clark) and the secretary (Peggy Castle) and the adult way in which it ends. (2) The relationship between the sergeant (Alan King) and his burlesque queen wife (Barbara Nichols). It was something I expected to fall apart; but it didn't.
And then there was a chance to see the great Eileen Heckart in her movie debut. The world would be a nicer place if we could all have a friend Grace Ullman, the character she plays.
I don't disagree with the negative reviews posted here. Those people just saw the movie differently than I did.
Milly
23 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I had a more positive impression of this story.
Milly seeks to improve the situation of herself and her brother by marrying an older man only to be rejected by two of the men she approached and attacked by the third. The unexpected rejection leads her to seek revenge on the men, leading to tragic results -- the two men who rejected her shoot one another blaming each other for the vandalism inflicted on their property by Milly, and the lustful attacker is killed by Milly's father, not because he tried attacking his daughter, but because he refuses to pay the father for Milly.
I had a problem with the ending, too, because it seemed cheap -- a widow who has no part in the story agrees to adopt Milly and her brother. Happy ending, I guess.
But, what I liked about the show were the performances of the guest cast, particularly Jena Engstrom as Milly. Jena Engstrom's acting career lasted four years and I have liked her in every show I have seen her in. She played a lot of characters like Milly -- young women dressed in rags with serious "Pa" issues, but the characters were never the same; it was like there was a back story she had worked out for her character.
Milly seeks to improve the situation of herself and her brother by marrying an older man only to be rejected by two of the men she approached and attacked by the third. The unexpected rejection leads her to seek revenge on the men, leading to tragic results -- the two men who rejected her shoot one another blaming each other for the vandalism inflicted on their property by Milly, and the lustful attacker is killed by Milly's father, not because he tried attacking his daughter, but because he refuses to pay the father for Milly.
I had a problem with the ending, too, because it seemed cheap -- a widow who has no part in the story agrees to adopt Milly and her brother. Happy ending, I guess.
But, what I liked about the show were the performances of the guest cast, particularly Jena Engstrom as Milly. Jena Engstrom's acting career lasted four years and I have liked her in every show I have seen her in. She played a lot of characters like Milly -- young women dressed in rags with serious "Pa" issues, but the characters were never the same; it was like there was a back story she had worked out for her character.
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