Mr. Soft Touch

There's something about this movie that just bugs me. It does nothing well, no matter what it tries - comedy, crime thriller, romance. Ugh. It actually made me a little queasy. The only thing more embarrassing than seeing Glenn Ford in this was seeing him in "The Visitor".

Reworking of an old John Garfield film, with some of the same cast, this slight drama tells the story of a guy (Ford) on the run with stolen loot who ends up in a settlement house. There he learns a few things about life and himself. He falls for a woman (Keyes) who works there and has taken pity on him, thinking he is a down and out musician. A reporter (Ireland) discovers his true identity, which leads to gangsters pursuing him and causing no end of trouble. Ford is OK, but Garfield was much more convincing in an almost identical role. Keyes is simply window dressing. This kind of film was very popular in the 1930s, but pretty passe by the late 1940s. Columbia or whomever probably was looking over some old movie scripts and decided to dust this one off and make it the bottom half of a double bill.

Joe Miracle returns from World War 2 to find that his San Francisco nightclub has been taken over by the mob. To get even he steals $100,000 from the club and plans to leave the country. He hides out in a settlement and falls in love but can he stay out of danger? Set at Christmas, but not a festive film as such, this is an entertaining offering despite the ambiguous ending. Glenn Ford stars as the veteran who develops a conscience and the principled head of the settlement is played by Evelyn Keyes.

All reviewers have clearly caught this blend of crime and comedy. Two directors and two directors of photography for two opposite genres : the result is surprising and not too convincing for me. What happened during production? In the first brilliant part with a car chase, we see Ted de Corsia as one of the badmen, I thought it was going even tougher, but no, total opposite, he immediately disappears, Ford arrives in his flat and it turns a sudden comedy. Did they shuffle two different scripts? Anyway, it's a weird production not satisfying with those changes of genre, but it's still a pleasure to see Glen Ford, Evelyn Keyes, John Mc Intire, Ted de Corsia,... directed by two directors. I tried to guess who directed what part, I think the answer is obvious when you watch the movie. Or should I say the two movies?

Mr. Soft Touch is an engaging Christmas film-noir, though pretty forgettable all said and done. Story's simple, but unconvincing. Decent acting and dialogue, Eveyln Keyes likable. Unfortunately, doesn't go anywhere.