Search - Half A Sinner on DVD

Matt B. from GETZVILLE, NY
Reviewed on 8/4/2011...

At 25 schoolmarm Anne (Heather Angel) feels life is passing her by. Her spinster friend warns her that being a single female at 40 is no picnic. Anne undergoes an extreme make-over. On the street a gun-toting wolf bothers her. Scared and outraged, she takes off in his car. She doesn’t tumble to the fact that the corpse of a gangster is in the back seat until she is appraised of the fact by a raffish hitchhiker she picks up. Soon they are being chased by the gang members and the cops.

This romp went beyond my expectations. The characters are well-defined, the story fast, the dialogue witty and the surprises are genuine. Heather Angel, though she seems a little too bright and shiny with over-acting in spots, is easy on the eye and quite funny. Constance Collier as Mrs Brenckenridge, a society matron, really invigorates the last 10 minutes with her droll manner and lines.

The cover misleadingly makes this movie look like melodrama. This cromedy is not for a viewer in the mood for something credible and sensible. But if a crime-comedy along the lines of a light-hearted Bulldog Drummond movie seems right, go for it.

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"It's a pity you're losing interest in a life of crime. You

Bobby Underwood | Manly NSW, Australia | 03/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Has he been murdered?" -- Anne

"Well, that'd be my guess. When people die naturally you seldom find them wrapped up in the back seat of a car." -- Larry


A light and breezy tone similar to "Borderline" makes this Universal "B" crime film very enjoyable. "Bulldog Drummond's" Heather Angel finally gets a lead role and sparkles as a schoolteacher trying to breathe a little life into her life and falling into cime and romance in the process.

Anne Gladdes (Heather Angel) lets her hair down and takes her glasses off to put some zip into her life away from the classroom. When she jumps into a car to avoid a sleazy pick-up on a park bench, however, she is in for more adventure than she'd had in mind. The car she sort of steals is already stolen, and there's a stiff riding in the back seat. Larry Cameron (John KIng) has reported his car stolen, so the cops are on the prowl and the gangsters want it back even worse.

It's fun and exciting for Anne, who's never had much happen in her life until now. She remains oblivious to the real danger involved until the stranded motorist she picks up discovers the body. Larry is shady in a harmless way and the two have both fun and romance while on the run from the cops and gangsters. Dalton Trumbo's screenplay walks the highwire between crime and humor deftly in this terrific little "B".

Constance Collier offers fine support as the plucky Mrs. Breckenbridge, whose legal juice will come in handy near the end. A sweet closing and a cute performance by Heather Angel make this one a delightful find for "B" fans."