Just skip the bits with Mark Cardigan (Vincent Price) and it'll be okay.

@wonder2wonder said:

Just skip the bits with Mark Cardigan (Vincent Price) and it'll be okay.

I love those bits though!

Yes, I agree. Vincent Price, together with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are my favourite actors for horror movies - of course this movie is a different genre - with that tasty sprinkle of evil humour.

Me no like this "comedy noir," Sam I am. I'm tempted to blame the whole thing on Howard Hughes, who co-wrote and produced the film. I mean, I get that the filmmakers probably wanted to dimensionalize the morose affair that film noir is and make it more amusing for audiences, given that noir lasted roughly for decades. That same chili tastes so much more refreshing when it's got a bit of cheese in it, for a change.

Vincent Price's parts aren't very funny, though. They drag the 3rd act down something awful.

One of the movie's worst flaws is Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell's relationship. There simply aren't enough proper story and emotional beats leading up to that first kiss of theirs to justify it. At all. The film just comes off half-baked, screenplay-wise, with a villain stating that he doesn't feel good about shooting "a corpse" when referring to an unconscious-but-alive Mitchum.

Yes, what a strange film this was. 6/10 chiefly for good camerawork and acting performances all around.