Character's
Name: Danny
Barr
Release Date: April 3,
1936
Director: Raoul Walsh
Studio: Paramount
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Plot:
Eve is in love with
detective Danny Barr. And whilst he is keen on her too, she keeps him in his
proper place. When Danny investigates a gem theft, Eve is sure his interest
in Mrs. Cole is not all in the line of duty. Eve loses her job, but gets a
new one as a reporter. A child murder takes place, and Eve tricks Benny into
confessing that Russ Cortig is the killer. Eve gets fired, and Danny quits
the force. Danny witnesses the murder of Cortig, by the gang boss, and the
murderers grab him. Eve tips off the police and Danny makes an escape. All
the thieves/murderers are caught. Did you get all that???
Review:
-- by
Debbie Dunlap
Dan Barr (CG) is a flatfoot on the trail of jewel robbers.
Eve Fallon (Joan Bennett) is his girl of 5 years. We meet them spitting and sparring, but
never doubting they're in love. Eve is a manicurist, with an eye for news. Soon after we
meet her, she's out of the beauty salon and into the newsroom as an ace reporter. With
Eve's help, Dan nabs one of the jewel gang members, Cortig, whose stray bullet killed a
baby in the park. A spooked witness and a slick lawyer get Cortig off. One of the best
lines in the movie: Eve: "Dan's mad that Cortig didn't get the chair. But not me. The
chair's too good for him. They oughta fry him standing up." Disgusted with the lack
of justice, Dan quits the force to find his own justice. Eve, likewise, quits the paper
and returns to her job as manicurist. While giving a manicure, Eve unwittingly discovers
that a prominent local citizen is the jewel gang's leader. All the while, Dan is hot on
the trail. Their trails merge and the case is solved.
There are a couple of good "Who's on first"
scenes. One big must see is the totally lame, but you just gotta see it ventriloquist
scene. To see Cary do this scene is worth watching the whole movie. If you liked the
bathrobe scene in 'BUB', you'll love the long ventriloquist scene. He plays a woman coming
on to himself!
My Two Cent's Worth
by Debbie Dunlap
January 2003
I just watched "Big Brown Eyes" again for the first time in several years. As I popped it into the VCR, I was
wondering if I'd still be a little in awe of it. If the attraction, that spurred me to type out the entire movie dialogue, was still there. It was. The movie is so lame, but watching
Cary's initial foray into screwball comedy is priceless. In colleges & universities that study movie making, I think this film should be on the syllabus of any class studying screwball.
Cary Grant was THE screwball actor of that era; what a wonderful contrast to compare "The Awful Truth" with "Big Brown Eyes."
Had Rosalind Russell, Katharine Hepburn or Jean Arthur been his co-star, I think this movie would have drawn much more attention. Joan Bennett just doesn't bring the
female lead to life like one of these other actresses could. Where Joan Bennett tries to be a smart aleck, Russell would have made it work. Where Joan Bennett tries to put her man in his place,
Hepburn would have made it work. Jean Arthur would have brought a zany sense of down-to-earth that Bennett just never pulls off. Both Hepburn & Arthur could have made Eve's
character tough, but vulnerable. Joan Bennett just never quite pulls it off. I always seem to know that she's an actress playing a part.
Cary's acting in his early movies demanded a strong co-star. I think "Wings in the Dark" is a good example. He has a strong male lead, but Myrna Loy
was the better actor. Had a lesser actress been in this movie, it would have been absolute drudgery. Cary still hadn't quite learned enough of the craft to carry the movie himself, as he so
obviously did in later years.
Although I believe that Cary's performance in BBE was much improved when compared to his performance in WitD, there are still times when he seems to be playing his
part, and not becoming the character. I think ... I think he was working so hard at figuring out how to be the character that he doesn't quite become comfortable enough to be the character.
Does that make sense? Because of this and Bennett's glaring deficiencies, I never quite come to the point where I'm drawn into "Big Brown Eyes." I think the reason for the fascination
with this movie is precisely that I never become involved in it. Probably because I'd seen so many consummate Cary Grant screwball performances before I'd ever found this movie, to me it's a study in
how a CG screwball comedy didn't work. Better yet, this movie is proof that Cary Grant had to work at his craft. How many times do we hear that Cary made it look effortless? Only
Cary's dramatic roles garnered him Oscar nominations. Watching "Big Brown Eyes" is a lesson in how difficult comedy is. Specifically, how once upon a time, Cary didn't quite have it
down pat.
The timing is horrendous, and I don't know if it's Cary who doesn't have it, or Bennett. (Mostly Bennett.) But the lines are great.
Eve: I was just saying how mad Dan was at Cortig.
He thinks they should have given him the chair.
But I don't.
He doesn't deserve a chair.
They oughta fry him standing up.
The physical comedy has so much potential. Where he was funny in "Kiss & Make Up" and "Ladies Should Listen," the physical side of his comedy had yet to
emerge. This is his very first screwball comedy! "The Awful Truth" may claim ownership to this title, but I deny their claim. TAT may be his first successful screwball
comedy, but BBE was his first. It may not be good, but it was his first.
Which makes me think that Cary ought to have kissed Leo McCarey's feet. It's a well known bit of trivia that Cary wanted out of his contract during the filming of "The
Awful Truth." He felt self-conscious about playing the part so "over the top." But I think stretching to the point of being uncomfortable broke through whatever self-imposed
physical barriers Cary had, and gave him the confidence to take his comedy wherever it needed to go in later comedies. Could "Bringing Up Baby" have worked if Cary had been more conservative
in his physical comedy? It is interesting to note that Cary hated his performance in "Arsenic & Old Lace" for exactly the same reason. He felt he'd been asked to take his character
to the point of ridiculousness. How many count A&OL as one of their favorite CG flicks? I think Cary Grant shone brighter than any other star, simply because he was remarkable when he was
ridiculous. Because so very, very few actors could be act ridiculous and not appear to be ridiculous.
Cary Grant (Danny Barr), Joan
Bennett (Eve Fallon), Walter Pidgeon (Richard Morey)
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