Mr. Lucky (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Jan 30, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
H.C. PotterRelease Date(s)
1943 (December 17, 2024)Studio(s)
RKO Radio Pictures (Warner Archive Collection)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B-
Review
By 1943, Cary Grant had established himself as a major star with lead roles in the comedies The Awful Truth, His Girl Friday, and The Philadelphia Story and the Hitchcock thriller Suspicion. Grant takes on the role of a sophisticated scam artist during World War II in Mr. Lucky.
Grant plays Joe Adams, an opportunistic operator hoping to outfit his outlawed gaming ship, the Fortuna, for a trip to Havana. The problem: he’s just received his draft classification—1A—meaning he can be called up anytime to serve in the armed forces. The solution: Joe steals the identity and draft card of a dying man, Joe Bascopoulos, with a 4F classification. Just as government interference threatens his plan, he meets socialite Dorothy Bryant (Laraine Day, The Locket), head of a women’s committee to raise money for War Relief.
Joe has run short of the funds he needs to pay his henchmen and get his ship into international waters. Dorothy is the solution to that problem, if he can succeed in romancing her. Initially immune to his charms, Dorothy softens after he uses some fast talking and sleight of hand to add to the War Relief effort’s bank account. Joe suggests that the committee hold a fund-raising ball and allow him to run the gambling concession. He assures her the scheme will raise a huge amount of money. In typical Hollywood fashion, Dorothy soon falls in love with Joe.
The film blends the unlikely partners of the “ladies who lunch” crowd and small-time gangsters, with Grant serving as the fulcrum balancing each. His charm is forefront here as his Joe exercises the allure that hasn’t failed him yet to win over the resistant Dorothy and endear himself to the committee. The script gives Grant an opportunity to show off his range in a multifaceted character—grifter, romantic lead, war hero, and even knitter of sweaters. It’s hard to imagine any other actor playing Joe. Grant had a unique ability to ease into his roles effortlessly, no matter how unusual the part.
Day plays a beautiful, pampered young woman who’s also intelligent, caring, and thoughtful. She has a look that conveys amusement tinged with wariness when her Dorothy interacts with Joe, and you can detect a spark of attraction. Born to wealth, Dorothy’s upbringing is miles apart from Joe’s impoverished childhood, yet they find a bond. She’s attracted to his self-assurance and sense of humor, while he’s touched by her genuine patriotic spirit. Patriotism was a frequent theme during the war years in many genres, including this light drama.
Charles Bickford (A Star Is Born) plays Swede, Joe’s pal who tells the story in flashback. Gladys Cooper (Now, Voyager) portrays the fastidious head of the War Relief committee and Henry Stephenson plays Dorothy’s father, who’s suspicious of Joe’s motives and interest in Dorothy.
Director H.C. Potter brings the characters to life and paces the film briskly, with barely a wasted frame. The tone of the film changes in the third act as things become more dangerous for Joe when he undergoes a change of heart but a former member of his team can’t resist a huge haul of cash meant for the ladies’ War Relief effort.
During the 1959-1960 television season, the series Mr. Lucky, based on the 1943 film, aired on CBS. John Vivyan (Imitation of Life) starred as the title character, an honest professional gambler who used his ship, the Fortuna, as a floating gambling casino. Ross Martin (The Great Race) played his friend and sidekick, Adamo. The show didn’t last long despite an excellent jazz-infused score by Henry Mancini.
Mr. Lucky was shot by director of photography George Barnes on black & white 35 mm film, finished photochemically, and presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The Blu-ray is sourced from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative. Clarity and contrast are very good. The opening and closing scenes that bookend the main story feature a fog-heavy waterfront pier with backlighting highlighting Laraine Day standing at the pier’s edge. Rear projection is used to suggest cars in motion when actors are speaking. As was common in the 1940s, men and many women wear hats. Laraine Day sports some peculiar millinery, but is photographed flatteringly. Grant’s ties are loud and in poor taste, as Day’s character is quick to point out.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. English SDH subtitles are an option. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. Ambient sounds include foghorns, party chatter, the rustling of cash, gun shots, and traffic noise. An amusing sequence features Joe speaking in and teaching Australian rhyming slang to Dorothy.
Bonus materials on the Blu-ray release from Warner Archive include the following:
- Lux Radio Theater Broadcast (1;00)
- Screen Director’s Playhouse Broadcast (29:52)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:43)
Lux Radio Theater Broadcast – This anthology episode, aired on October 18, 1943 on the CBS Radio network, features the stars of the film, Cary Grant and Laraine Day, in an adapted dramatization. The program is introduced by Cecil B. DeMille.
Screen Directors Playhouse Broadcast – First aired on January 20, 1950, this radio adaptation of the motion picture Mr. Lucky stars Cary Grant and Frances Robinson in roles played on the screen by Grant and Laraine Day.
Mr. Lucky offers the opportunity to watch Cary Grant portray many facets of a single character. It’s interesting to see Grant in a non-heroic role, in the early part of the picture, and fun to watch him exert both charm and trickery to get on the good side of the woman who’s key to his plan for getting hold of a big cash haul. While not representing the best of Grant, the film is an entertaining curiosity in his filmography. It illustrates his ability to play both comedy and drama, as he would continue to do in To Catch a Thief, North By Northwest, and Charade.
- Dennis Seuling