An extremely popular movie in its day, and whilst admitting that the it's nowhere near as entertaining as its colossal box office receipts might suggest, I'm still amazed to find only one review at IMDb. Although he's way down the cast list, Michael Chekhov's acting is a real tour-de-force. In fact, the support cast is a stand-out, and I would also strongly commend Rhys Williams who delivers the best performance of his life as the prosecutor. Howard Freeman and Iris Adrian also deserve applause. I'll admit that Betty Hutton doesn't quite match the above efforts, but she's good enough and she does handle the script's dramatic moments much more ably that the somewhat forced comedy. True, the writing itself is poor, though some scenes shine far more brightly than others thanks to the expert hand of script doctor, Charles Schnee – all of Howard Freeman's dialogue, for example. The songs are pleasant, without being remarkable, although they do figure in the plot in a pleasingly novel manner. Admittedly, director Berry's handling of some scenes is far too slow – and he is certainly not helped by the inept Sonny Tufts. Production values are top drawer.
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JohnHowardReid16 December 2015
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drednm28 May 2007Betty Hutton is the whole show here in a remake of the failed 1937 film TRUE CONFESSION. Hutton plays a compulsive liar who gets involved in a murder case to boost the career of her boy friend (Sonny Tufts). But she gets more than she bargains for.
OK comedy and Hutton as always is a lot of fun. Tufts is a dud.
Good supporting cast includes Michael Chekhov as the nutty actor, Al Bridge as the detective, Ruth Donnelly as Hutton's mother, Rhys Williams as the prosecutor, Iris Adrian as a floozie, Jimmy Conlin and Ida Moore as jurors, Tom Dugan and Tom Fadden as moving men. Also spotted are Frank Faylen, Frank Ferguson, Jody Gilbert, Howard Freeman, Kathleen Howard, Mae Busch, Spec O'Donnell, Gladden James, Sarah Edwards, and Almira Sessions.
As usual Hutton is better than the material. And this film is not as good as the 1937 version starring Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray. -
mark.waltz29 May 2020Betty Hutton takes her song "It's Murder He Says!" to the max in this remake of a 1937 comedy "True Confession" which was a rare misfire for the legendary Carole Lombard. For once, the remake is better than the remake, but that's not saying much, and it could be that the leading female character's antics seem more like something that Hutton would be involved in over the sophisticated cool Lombard. Hutton is the girlfriend of lawyer Sonny Tufts (and that's funny in itself), and she can't stop lying in every effort to not only save her relationship but aide him in his career.
When Hutton goes to work for a playboy theatrical producer, he makes an instant pass at her, and after she walks out on him, returns for her belongings, only to find out that he's been murdered. Drama queen Hutton decides out of the blue to confess to the murder so her husband can gain a client and get her off, thus improving his reputation. But Tufts, as horrible of an attorney as he is, despises lies (another laugh for attorney haters), and this puts an impact on their marriage that could end up with it in court.
What the script lacks in logic, the film makes up for in its supporting cast. Ruth Donnelly is delightfully feisty as Hutton's mother, and Michael Chekhov (taking on the role John Barrymore played in the original as a ham Shakespeare actor) extremely eccentric as a ham actor who was in the murder victim's home before he was murdered. Memorable bits by Iris Adrian (as a trampy witness who claims to have been the secretary to the deceased) and the criminally cute Ida Moore (as a juror who gets lots of close-ups, along with Jimmy Conlin) are highlights.
But you can't take an already bad idea that fell on its face in a lifeless flop before and breathe life into it the way that Chekhov constantly blows up his balloons. Efforts to lighten up Hutton's character and make her more appealing through giving her some songs don't quite work the way that the writers hoped it would. This is among the disappointments in Hutton's career ("Dream Girl" the biggest) that ended her quick reign as Paramount's funny lady.
The real problem with this film is that it runs out of ideas too fast but desperately stretches out the running time to make itself an A picture rather than the bottom half of a double bill. It also emphasizes that the Chekhov character doesn't really have much point in being such a major part. Hutton's trial ends exactly an hour into the film, but plot twists stretches itself out for another two reels.
If two Betty's in "Here Come the Waves" isn't enough, here you get Betty along with a Charlie McCarthy like dummy doll that resembles her, just for the excuse to give Betty another musical number (repeating "Love is the Darnedest Thing" which she had sung to the murdered man) that makes her a curio because of her notoriety for being a Roxie Hart like supposed murderess.
Because of his involvement in her case, Tufts gets a series of wacky women (among them the portly Jody Gilbert wanting to knock off her husband) as possible clients, and yet nothing comes out of this other than for him to wake up to how much he needs her. Rhys Williams, as the prosecuting attorney, deserves an award for chewing up the scenery even more than Hutton, and that's not an easy task. -
SimonJack17 February 2023Banking on its modest success with "True Confession" of 1937, Paramount decided to try the same story again on film, only this time partly as a musical. This film is based more on the 1937 film than on the play, "My Crime" ("Mon Crime") by French actor and writer Georges Berr. Besides the musical numbers for Betty Hutton, there are some significant script changes. In this film, the leads are engaged, but in the original they were a married couple. The second female part was a best friend in the original, but a mother in this film. There are some considerable dialog changes, but the story is close enough to be seen as a remake - with music added. . None of the screenplay changes were for the better. And, the cast of this film is a far cry from the caliber of "True Confession." Betty Hutton was okay as a singer and comedienne, but not on the level of several others. Her role in this film sets it up as a silly story, rather than an outright solid comedy. The satire is almost buried in the silliness. Hutton's Peggy Harper comes across as boisterous and silly, where Lombard's Helen Bartlett is more genuinely funny. Sunny Tufts never rose to be a star and he shows no knack at all for comedy. His Oliver Clarke is little more than a wooden set fixture most of the time. By contrast, MacMurray's Kenneth Bartlett is alive and involved with his wife's plight. And, then there's the clincher, in the rest of the cast.
Two people of any caliber head this supporting cast - Ruth Donnelly as Peggy's mother, Eve Harper; and Rhys Williams as the Prosecutor. "True Confession," on the other hand had a leading actor of the day head the supporting cast, in John Barrymore. And look at the sizable group of others who contribute to the comedy there -- Irving Bacon, Fritz Feld, Porter Hall, Edgar Kennedy, Una Merkel and Hattie McDaniel.
The very best, and only really funny scene in this film in the courtroom when the Prosecutor (Williams) seems to go bananas and jumps up and down like a baboon demanding a guilty decision from the jury. But, that couldn't overcome the silliness factor after Hutton's Peggy does her number, bouncing around and singing to the jury, judge and prosecutor. And the overkill of silliness versus comedy in this film is evident in the closing scenes after Peggy is found not guilty of murder. The top court officials all show up at the opening of her nightclub act - the judge, the prosecutor and the top cop, Detective Flynn. The latter's date is none other than a star prosecuting witness, Miss Baggart, who had been the murder victim's floozy.
Well, 1946 had some very good comedies and musicals - "Blue Skies," "Till the Clouds Roll By," "The Harvey Girls," "Margie," "Easy to Wed," "The Kid from Brooklyn," "Holiday in Mexico," and a couple dozen more. "Cross My Heart" wasn't one of them. It finished 121st in box office for the year.
I doubt if many people would find the film very entertaining. The overboard silliness of it, especially in Betty Hutton's lead character, is even tipped off in a comment by her mother, played by Ruth Donnelly. Eve Harper says, "Sometimes I wish I'd never met your father."