This is a reasonably entertaining film but only because of Barbara Stanwyck's typically engaging, controlled and powerful performance.
There is a big problem: the story is so short and so compressed it makes no sense. If there is a story arc to Barbara Stanwick's character it's how her emotions, her feelings and her overall character change as a result of her experience. She manages this really well but the film is just too short to explore why all this happens. It's as though the screenwriters pruned the story down to just ten big scenes without telling us how we got there. WB's no-nonsense, factory production line approach (hurry up, read your lines and then put the cowboy outfit on shoot the baddie then jump into the racing car etc. Etc.) usually worked but not in this case.
Another problem is when your brain tells you that the accent she's doing is Police Chief Clancey from The Simpson's it could spoil the whole film for you. It could, had it not already be spoilt by Preston Foster's terrible, terrible acting. In his defence, he'd not been acting that long and despite this film having two directors, they don't appear to be doing anything. Direction seems to be of the 'if you can act, act. If you can't, just read the lines and stare into the camera as though it's sucking your soul from your paralysed body' school.
This could have and should have been better.
There is a big problem: the story is so short and so compressed it makes no sense. If there is a story arc to Barbara Stanwick's character it's how her emotions, her feelings and her overall character change as a result of her experience. She manages this really well but the film is just too short to explore why all this happens. It's as though the screenwriters pruned the story down to just ten big scenes without telling us how we got there. WB's no-nonsense, factory production line approach (hurry up, read your lines and then put the cowboy outfit on shoot the baddie then jump into the racing car etc. Etc.) usually worked but not in this case.
Another problem is when your brain tells you that the accent she's doing is Police Chief Clancey from The Simpson's it could spoil the whole film for you. It could, had it not already be spoilt by Preston Foster's terrible, terrible acting. In his defence, he'd not been acting that long and despite this film having two directors, they don't appear to be doing anything. Direction seems to be of the 'if you can act, act. If you can't, just read the lines and stare into the camera as though it's sucking your soul from your paralysed body' school.
This could have and should have been better.