Crackerjack (1938)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: D     Film: C

 

 

In literature, the tales of Robin Hood and Leslie Charteris’ The Saint boasted of the adventures of heroes who took other people’s wealth and gave to those who needed it or did not have it.  Basil Mason’s screenplay for Crackerjack (1938) tries to make a comedy of this well-known literary touchstone, but even journeyman director Albert de Courville cannot make it click.

 

The twist is to have a curious female reader of the book Crackerjack (Lilli Palmer) go on to figure that a series of robberies are connected to the book.  She is shadowed by a male counterpart (Tom Walls) and the story tries to take off.  Unfortunately, the humor is never funny, and not pairing the female and male leads is a missed opportunity.  Though the film is well crafted, as so many Gainsborough films were, all it is is pretty to look at.  That is sad, because so many great detective B-movies and movie serials were being made in Hollywood and this could have also been a send –up of all of them.  With 80 minutes length, it should have been able to do something to the point, but there was none.

 

The full screen image is from a decent print and an odd transfer which seems to foil what might have been a crisper image.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is in decent shape for its age, with no major warping, pops or clicks, but it shows its age and has some background noise.  This adds up to an overall average presentation, and the DVD has no extras whatsoever.

 

The title refers to someone who is slick at opening safes, evading people, hiding his identity and having other talents.  That is not realized either.  Crackerjack is light entertainment at best.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo