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That was an excellent one.

Awesome Movie

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It's a reunion for Ginger, With director Sam Wood ("Kitty Doyle", with Adolph Menjou ("Stage Door "). Then why is it such a fiasco? Ahead of its time? Perhaps, but that doesn't make it good. Out of the ordinary for Ginger Rogers' usual works? Definitely as well, because her character is like nails down a chalkboard, and not really likable. Ginger's other side of the track characters at least had some class and knew when to shut up. Another major issue is that she's about 15 years too old for this part, a young waif out of reform school becomes a professional pickpocket, trained by Basil Rathbone, and later taken in by the suave Menjou whose really out for no good as well. Along comes Jean Pierre Aumont to sweep her off her feet, and it's on the path to reform for the out of her element Ginger who wasn't having much success in films in the mid 1940's in spite of still being considered an A lister.This seems to be striving for the European style of films, not the Italian or French new wave, but an operatic elegance that was present in the films of Cocteau but seems forced and overstuffed here, ultimately seeming pretentious. Indeed, it is a remake of a French film. Ginger has one scene where she gets to screech like a teenager, making me wonder if dogs were barking in the San Fernando valley as she filmed this scene in Hollywood. She's forced to speak like a much younger character and dresses closer to how "I'll Be Seeing You" co-star Shirley Temple did. Menjou seems like he's still acting in the romantic comedies of the early 1930's, as if he was in another film altogether. This is pretty much an almost fiasco, but it looked so good in its lavishness that I just couldn't bear to give this a bomb. I give Ginger credit for wanting to try something different, but with all her talent and grace, she just wasn't right for this part.

Some times there is a reason that you have never heard of a film. This is one of those films. For me, it does not work. Ginger Rogers was a simpering, childish thirty-five-year-old attempting to look and sound like a teenager and is annoying and cloying. The hairdo and dresses are just plain silly.Perhaps with a real teenager playing the part, the story would have worked but, sadly, we will probably never know.Basil Rathbone as the Fagin-like pickpocket school professor was interesting as were Menjou, Aumont and Melville Cooper. The back story of Roland and Pierre seemed to be non-existent even though I did not doze at all through this film. Perhaps it would have been better if I had.Skip it.

Actress, Ginger Rogers is best known for her performances in RKO's musical films in which she was partnered with Fred Astaire such in the case with 1935's film 'Top Hat' & 1936's film 'Swing Time'. However, after two commercial failures with Astaire in 1938's 'Carefree' & 1939's 'The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle". Rogers began to branch out into dramatic films and comedies. This movie is one of those films. Directed by Sam Woods, the film tells the story of a young naïve struggling escapee, Arlette (Ginger Rogers) willing to do anything; in an attempt to avoid, going back to reform school, even dealing with schemers, liars, and cheats by pickpocketing and playing the system in Aristocratic Paris. Without spoiling the movie, too much, the first part of the movie was indeed the best part, as I found the idea of a pickpocket academy to be, very unique, even if it's a bit unbelievable. It remind me, so much of author Charles Dicken's 'Oliver Twist' with everybody trying to get Arlette to do something very wicked. However, after a few scenes of pickpocketing, the film really turn into mindless boring fluff, with her, abandoning it, for another gold digger scheme in which, she tries to shame marry an aristocrat in order to get a working permit. Because of that, the film plot got really generic and forgettable. Plus, all the life was suck, out of the room, as the humor and great acting was gone, as interesting supporting characters like Professor Aristide (Basil Rathbone), Yves (Mikhail Rasumny) & 'the Ambassador' (Adolphe Menjou) were replaced by below-standards hammy acting, from Jean-Pierre Aumont as Pierre de Roche & Melville Cooper, as Pierre's friend, Roland. It was no longer fun to watch. It would likely have worked better if personalities like Aristide and 'the Ambassador' stick around longer. Both were amazing characters. Who knew that, an actor that is best known for playing detectives, Basil Rathbone would be so great, as a funny masterful criminal! He was wonderful! For Mikhail Rasumny, I hate the fact that his character was barely used. He was wonderful as the trouble man, looking for work. For Adolphe Menjou, he was the only actor that seem like he was from France. Everybody else, seem like they were miscast. Don't get me wrong, Ginger Rogers isn't bad in the role that she was given, but her American southern accent was pretty jarring to hear, in a film that supposedly taking place in Europe. It would have work, better, if the movie explain that she was indeed an illegal immigrant AKA American in France, living in the streets. Then it would make sense, why her character acts the way, she does. Another thing that was jarring about her performance was the fact that the 35 year old, Rogers was playing an 18 year old reform school delinquent. It was just too big a stretch for this viewer's imagination. Despite, not looking the part, she does had a mix of teenage shyness and spunkiness. However, I wish the movie used more of her dancing skills. The ballroom scenes could had been better, if that was the case. Still, the movie had some really good scenes that shows the pressures of self-preservation. I love the movie theater scene, it was brilliant. Seeing the surrounding speaks, without the character moving their mouth was a wonderful move by the director, even if the movie, they are seeing, is it's a bit too convenient to what is happening in the main plot. Still, in the end, I have to say, the original French film in which this movie was based on, "Battement de Coeur" AKA "Beat of the Heart", was better. After all, everything about this American version seem like a shot for shot remake of 'Beat of the Heart'. Even the dummies are nearly the same. So, they had to be, doing something right. In my opinion, even the acting was better. French actress Danielle Darrieux & actor, Claude Dauphin were far more stunning, savour, and incredibly charismatic than anybody in 'Heartbeat'. Also, the plot was more focus on the pickpocketing than this film. At least, the good old-fashioned happy ending in 'Beat of the Heart' seem more earn than it was in the American remake. So, overall: I have to say "Heartbeat' is a few beats off from me, really liking it. It's too bad, because this movie could had stolen my heart, but it didn't. It was just disappointing.

This is a very watchable movie, but it is also amazingly dumb in places and should have been a lot better. A lot of the problem should rest on the shoulders of Ginger Rogers, who for at least the second time in her career is ridiculously portraying a woman half her age! This 35 year-old actress plays an 18 year-old and is about as convincing at that as she would have been playing Hattie McDaniel's role in GONE WITH THE WIND! This same ridiculous idea was the plot for another Rogers film, THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR, where at 32, she played a school girl!!! While a very small number of actresses MIGHT have been able to carry this off, Ms. Rogers appeared at least her chronological age and in both films it just comes off as ridiculous. While not quite as bad as Mae West in MYRA BRECKINRIDGE (who was 77 and STILL making passes at young men), it was still along the same lines as far as actresses who won't admit that they are no longer the young starlets they had once been decades earlier.The second problem is that the film in many ways has two totally different tones. I loved the first portion of the film where we see Basil Rathbone operating a school for would-be thieves! This segment is very funny and incredibly original--I really wanted to see much more of this. The second portion was a very familiar love story with complications. Sure, it was fun to watch but not nearly as much as the other part--and it was very, very hard to believe that the budding romance could be real. Frankly, the film tries a bit too hard and comes off as forced.The bottom line is that this is merely a time-passer and nothing more. If you do watch it, though, try not to laugh when Ginger tells the camera how old she is supposed to be--it isn't supposed to be a comedy!