Half a Movie

Half a Sinner (1940) is a neat little no-name B-movie comedy, directed by Al Christie, who at least directed the Ruggles Charlie’s Aunt. It was based on a Dalton Trumbull story, but that’s about it.

Anne Gladden is a prim and proper school teacher who decides to kick over the traces for one day. She buys a nice outfit and goes to sit out in the park. When a masher tries to get fresh with her, she escapes driving his car. But it turns out he’s a killer, and the corpse in the back seat has evidence in the pocket of his coat that incriminates his boss.

Ms. Gladden feels a little bad about stealing a car, but decides to make the most of it. She passes a John “Dusty” King. who pretends that his car has broken down, and gives him a ride. He seems to be interested in her, but when he notices the corpse in the back, he has second thoughts. She still hasn’t noticed it but when he points it out, she is more philosophical than hysterical. She takes King for a criminal, and decides that she will be a criminal now, too.

They crash the country club, which she fits into because she is fashionably dressed. He fits in because, we are figuring out, he is a member and not a crook. They go to an empty house to hide out (it’s his house, but he doesn’t let on). And so on.

I’m sure you guessed how it all ends: with the crooks caught and King and Gladden a couple. Oh, and SPOILER it was his car that the crooks stole in the first place. That’s why King pretended his car broke down when he saw it.

I wouldn’t call this an unexpected gem, but it was pleasant. Gladden has a nice role, spinsterish but with a sense of fun, willing to go along with the craziness to see where it leads. Dusty King, mainly a singing cowboy, does fine as the male lead, but it is all pretty generic. Still, it was short.