Big Brown Eyes
Big Brown Eyes is a 1936 crime comedy film.[2] In the film, police officer Danny Barr (Cary Grant) is chasing jewel robbers. His girlfriend Eve Fallon (Joan Bennett) is initially working as a manicurist, but quickly takes a job as a reporter assisting in the effort against the jewel thieves. Fallon and Barr become disgusted when one jewel gang member is acquitted after killing a baby in Central Park, and both leave their jobs. Soon thereafter, Fallon gets a lucky break while giving a manicure and the case is solved.
Big Brown Eyes | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Raoul Walsh |
Produced by | Walter Wanger |
Written by | James Edward Grant (story) Bert Hanlon |
Music by | Gerard Carbonara |
Cinematography | George T. Clemens |
Edited by | Robert L. Simpson |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | April 3, 1936 |
Running time | 75 minutes |
Language | English |
Budget | $289,696[1] |
Box office | $359,009[1] |
Main cast
- Cary Grant as Det. Sgt. Danny Barr
- Joan Bennett as Eve Fallon
- Walter Pidgeon as Richard Morey
- Lloyd Nolan as Russ Cortig
- Alan Baxter as Cary Butler
- Marjorie Gateson as Mrs. Chesley Cole
- Isabel Jewell as Bessie Blair
- Douglas Fowley as Benjamin 'Benny' Battle
Reception
The film recorded a loss of $14,645.[1] Critics have regarded it as "disposable"[3] and "inconsequential"[4] with "shoddy writing and generally uninspired performances."[5]
Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a positive review, characterizing it as "a fast well-directed and quite unsentimental gangster film, pleasantly free from emotion".[6]
References
- Matthew Bernstein, Walter Wagner: Hollywood Independent, Minnesota Press, 2000 p436
- Brody, Richard (February 10, 2015). "Movie of the Week: "Big Brown Eyes"". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- Vineyard, David L. (August 8, 2009). "A Movie Review". mysteryfile.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- Kellow, Brian (November 26, 2004). The Bennetts: An Acting Family. University Press of Kentucky. p. 205. ISBN 0813123291.
- N., F.S. (May 2, 1936). "At the Capitol". New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- Greene, Graham (June 19, 1936). "Dangerous/Big Brown Eyes". The Spectator. (reprinted in: John Russel, Taylor, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. pp. 82. ISBN 0192812866.)