Mr. and Mrs. North (1942)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Pamela North (Gracie Allen) and her husband Gerald (William Post, Jr.) return home and when they go to fix a drink a dead body falls out of their liquor cabinet. Lt. Weigand (Paul Kelly) shows up and suspects the couple of doing the murder but they claim their innocence and set out to find the real murderer.
This MGM film was obviously done to give Allen a role that didn't have her husband George Burns attached to it. For the most part this is a fairly funny, if unoriginal, mix of mystery and comedy. If you're a fan of Allen then you'll probably enjoy this more than anyone else since obviously her style isn't going to sit well with everyone. I thought the actress was in fine form here and certainly helped raise the material and make it much better than it actually is.
Allen just has a certain way of delivering her lines. That high-pitched voice and the mannerism are perfectly suited for each other and it leads to plenty of nice laughs and especially early one when Allen keeps throwing everyone with how she's constantly going from one subject to the next. Post is good in his role of the husband and has a nice chemistry with Alle. Kelly, Virginia Grey and Tom Conway are also good and you can see Keye Luke in a small bit.
MR. AND MRS. NORTH certainly isn't anything ground-breaking. The story itself is your typical murder-mystery but Allen certainly bumps it up a notch due to her comic timing.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Pamela North (Gracie Allen) and her husband Gerald (William Post, Jr.) return home and when they go to fix a drink a dead body falls out of their liquor cabinet. Lt. Weigand (Paul Kelly) shows up and suspects the couple of doing the murder but they claim their innocence and set out to find the real murderer.
This MGM film was obviously done to give Allen a role that didn't have her husband George Burns attached to it. For the most part this is a fairly funny, if unoriginal, mix of mystery and comedy. If you're a fan of Allen then you'll probably enjoy this more than anyone else since obviously her style isn't going to sit well with everyone. I thought the actress was in fine form here and certainly helped raise the material and make it much better than it actually is.
Allen just has a certain way of delivering her lines. That high-pitched voice and the mannerism are perfectly suited for each other and it leads to plenty of nice laughs and especially early one when Allen keeps throwing everyone with how she's constantly going from one subject to the next. Post is good in his role of the husband and has a nice chemistry with Alle. Kelly, Virginia Grey and Tom Conway are also good and you can see Keye Luke in a small bit.
MR. AND MRS. NORTH certainly isn't anything ground-breaking. The story itself is your typical murder-mystery but Allen certainly bumps it up a notch due to her comic timing.