Tweekums
William Denny has forgotten that it is his second wedding anniversary till he is reminded on the phone
he claims to have a present so quickly goes to by one. Unfortunately for him he is followed into the shop by a dog; the dog causes a scene and he ends up paying for the damage and leaving without a present. He gets home, still followed by the dog and his wife, Kate, thinks it is her present and names him 'Archie'. What neither of them realise is that Archie was part of a criminal plot; he was meant to lead one criminal gang to another
now they are keen to get him back. William intends to return the dog to its rightful owner but is soon caught up in events that see him suspected of murder as he has trouble with the police, smugglers and counterfeiters.This comedy is definitely silly at times; in fact it is silly most of the time but I still thought it had sufficient genuinely funny moments to have been worth watching. The story is simple enough but it is told in such a way that makes it understandable that everybody caught up in the events is utterly confused. Unlike most canine capers the dog causes so much chaos that it isn't a surprise when William does not end up loving the mutt by the end. Farley Granger does a fine job as William; he may overplay things at times but that fits with the tone of the film. Shelley Winters is solid as his wife and Margalo Gillmore is entertaining as William's battle-axe of a mother in law, in whose house they live. Overall this isn't a must see but it is certainly amusing enough and doesn't contain any material likely to offend.
MartinHafer
When you think of comedy, you don't normally think of Farley Granger nor Shelly Winters. Neither (especially Granger) were terribly funny people and here the film just seems forced...and annoying.When the film begins, some gangsters have a dumb idea to use a dog to pass on information. But things go awry and the dog instead follows Bill (Granger) home. Eventually, this all leads to murders, some counterfeit money as well as the police. None of this film is funny and again and again they chose to be loud instead of funny. Winters and Granger yell a lot as well as horribly overact...so much so that the film was very difficult to enjoy. Overall, a very forced and unfunny film.
alan-pratt
Moderate comedy of what used to be described as the "screwball" variety.There are so many user comments already that there is little point in my summarising the plot for the umpteenth time.Suffice to say that, on the plus side, the movie is lively and, mostly, good natured. Against that is the somewhat incomprehensible plot - I never really worked out what the two gangs of criminals were trying to achieve - and the "frantic" performances of the majority of the cast. Someone obviously decided that "loud equals funny" and, consequently, everyone seems to be in a constant state of yelling hysteria which gets wearing long before the picture is over.Farley Granger was, I thought, OK as the harassed husband: Shelley Winters - miscast as the young wife - was more irritating than amusing.
Erewhon
A terrific supporting cast, plus Shelley Winters could and should have resulted in an outstanding, fast-paced comedy. But Farley Granger can't play comedy -- at least he can't here. George Beck's script is too busy, but that could have been dealt with by an able comedy director. However, Beck himself directed, and that's the element that sinks this mess completely. Everyone screams and overacts; even skilled muggers like William Demarest go off the deep end. It's almost painful to watch.
AD
