Posted February 10th, 2008 by Jamie Lisk

• Wide Release
• Director: Al Christie
• Written by: Frederick J. Jackson, Dalton Trumbo
• Running Time: 59 minutes
• Language: English
• MPAA Rating: G - General Audiences
• Cast: Heather Angel, John 'Dusty' King, Constance Collier, Walter Catlett, Tom Dugan, Robert Elliott, Clem Bevans, Emma Dunn, Henry Brandon, William B. Davidson, Fern Emmett, Sonny Bupp, Wilbur Mack, Joe Devlin, Wilson Benge

Charming as it seems, “Half A Sinner” doesn’t really leave the viewer with much to think about when it’s all said and done. It’s kind of cute, kind of funny, kind of thrilling, and kind of, well, that’s just it – “kind of”. There’s not much to the film that stays with you beyond a few performances and couple of lively moments. The potential behind the film -- a young schoolteacher desperate for adventure, embarking on a petty crime spree, is, sadly, never fully realized. Written by Dalton Trumbo (1971's "Johnny Got His Gun") , "Half A Sinner" feels like a poorly regurgitated version of his previous work, "Fugitives For A Night" -- a much better film in every sense. Clearly his heart wasn't into it on this go-round. Facing the prospect of a summer off, Anne Gladden, Heather Angel (1942's "The Undying Monster"), a bookish and shy 25-year schoolteacher, begins to sense that her life up to that point has had little meaning. Due to her unwillingness to take chances, the repressed Anne has found herself lonely and unhappy and facing her 30’s with little chance at companionship. At a friend’s suggestion, Anne decides to make a change. After undergoing a thorough aesthetic transformation - namely doffing her glasses, getting some new clothes and having her hair done, Anne finds herself strangely invigorated. So, with a renewed sense of self, and a confidence she hadn’t felt in years, Anne decides to carry out the second stage of her change -- get out and socialize and, for once, breath in her surroundings. What she also desperately wants is to find a male suitor that she could spark up a romance with. It is pretty clear that something else must be driving her wishes for change from her orderly lifestyle, but fleshing out a sincere reasoning is never arrived at. At the local park, Anne gets more than she bargained for when a brutish gangster comes prowling around her bench looking for a quick hook-up. Anne is less than enthused and in a thoroughly audacious move, she elects to steal a car and get as far away from her unwanted paramour as she can. Grand theft auto as her first nefarious act, well, that isn’t such a big deal especially when you consider that there’s a corpse tucked away in the backseat. Without realizing it, Anne has stolen a car from a couple of gangsters who were in the early stages of disposing of a body. To make matters worse, the body is wrapped in a jacket that could connect these mobsters to a rogue element inside the local police force, namely the commissioner himself. When it rains, it pours. After offering a ride to a handsome stranger stranded on the side of the highway, Anne and her confused but obliging fare, Larry Cameron, John 'Dusty' King (1942's "Arizona Stage Coach"), quickly find themselves on the run from not only a motorcycle policeman but the two murderous thugs who owned the car, and who are desperate to recover their cargo and the incriminating evidence before police do. Thankfully, Larry is also quite adept at this sort of thing, relaying to Anne in an early scene, “I play the game, too.” Apparently Anne’s dapper passenger is an on-the-run crook. This sets up a merry game of cat and mouse, with Anne and her delinquent passenger working to stay one step ahead of their pursuers using any means necessary to outwit them, including switching plates, tying up a local gas station attendant and even getting into a full throttle, hot water throwing, scrap. Along the way, Anne and Larry also find the time to play host to a rich socialite, Mrs. Jefferson Breckenridge, Constance Collier (1947's "An Ideal Husband"), and her Chauffeur Mason, Wilbur Mack (1957's "Up in Smoke"). Even though Mrs. Breckenridge comes across as one of those blue-blooded, uppity, obnoxious types, beneath the surface, she is a kindly sweet woman with a penetrating insight into people’s behaviour – something fine-tuned I’m guessing from years of viewing fabricated blue blood personalities and nod, smirk and wink curtseys. It her decision to get involved with Anne and Larry in a sort of guardian angel capacity that ultimately changes the outcome of the picture, for better or worse. The big problem with this film is that its structure is flimsy and unconvincing. Relying mostly on coincidence, happenstance and the idiocy of the minor characters, Half A Sinner fails to develop any kind of credibility, something of which is integral to making the piece as a whole, work. The film has plenty of comedic and action oriented momentum, sure, but there’s very little by way of substance. Nothing works the way it should and very little feels authentic, not even the modest romance that develops between the two leads. The main characters are also never fully realized, as Gladden, who continues to get into more and more trouble as the film winds down, rarely reflects on her deeds – something not in keeping with the neurotic character we were introduced to in the first half. Also, the ending is happier than it needs to be. As I stated earlier, the minor characters are simply played for a chuckle, and are stupid when the plot calls for them to be, which is quite often. The crooks, for one, are a rapscallion lot – silly, oafish and always good for a snicker or two. The police officers, an easily confused and uncoordinated group, are pretty much ineffectual throughout – constantly questioning the wrong people while the right ones walk (or drive, as is the case here) right on by. Interestingly, the only folks with any sense of what’s really going on with this inferior Bonnie and Clyde pair, seem to be a down and out mobster/police informant, Red Egan (1936's "Pennies from Heaven"), a gas station attendant, Walter Catlett (1956's "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates") and Mrs. Jefferson Breckenridge and her driver. Heather Angel, an actress who cut her teeth in a number of the b-crime movies "Bulldog Drummond", definitely seems to be having a bit of fun in her role. There’s no career broadening going here, for sure. Angel does seem to have some palpable chemistry with Dusty King, her on-screen love-interest. King is mostly for appearing in countless b-Westerns including being part of the once famous ‘Range Busters’ trio, and here he also seems to be having a great time. It’s hard to believe that a movie about cold-blooded killers, discarded corpses and dirty cops, could be so, dare I say, polite and unadorned. It’s not necessarily a bad thing when it doesn't explore any other viable avenues or even its own potential, but it surely doesn’t make for an overly memorable viewing experience. It’s an interesting and charming diversion, at best.