Man Alive (1945)

Man Alive (1945)

** (out of 4)

A husband (Pat O'Brien) gets into a fight with his wife (Ellen Drew) when her old flame (Rudy Vallee) comes for a visit. The husband storms off to get drunk and is later that night presumed killed when the car he was riding in crashes into the river. He's actually alive and with the help of a showboat operator (Adolphe Menjou) plans to spy on the wife and torture her because she's about to marry the flame.

MAN ALIVE is played for laughs, although a horror or film noir probably would have made it even better. As is, the film manages to have some mildly interesting moments thanks in large part to the cast but there's no doubt that in the end it's a missed opportunity. The biggest problem is the fact that for a "comedy" there just aren't enough laughs to make it work.

This can be blamed on the screenplay, which was obviously rushed so that they could get anything on the screen. Not only is there a lack of laughs but there are also some very big logical issues that I won't name to prevent spoiling the picture for people. If you're a fan of the cast you might want to check it out but others will probably find very little here to stay entertained on.