Pretty Good

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

One of Errol Flynn's rare forays into comedy; it's passable, but hardly inspired. Flynn is certainly game, but the film only has one very funny scene: Flynn trying to simulate by voice the 12 strikes of a clock. The pacing is leaden and the mystery killer is rather easy to spot. **1/2 out of 4.

. . . for an hour and a half during FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK. This flick is structured pretty much as a spoof of THE MALTESE FALCON, but short-sighted set decorators forgot to include an iconic prop which could be auctioned off for millions 75 years later. No harm done, since if you pro-rate the enduring entertainment value of FOOTSTEPS against that of FALCON, a hypothetical objective correlative for FOOTSTEPS might go for about 59 cents at the final gavel at Bonham's today. Mr. Flynn looks somewhat lost without his sword, and one glance at co-star Brenda Marshall is enough to see why the prop people "kept it real" by placing her and husband DON JUAN in twin beds. It's too bad Lucile Watson, who plays Flynn's live-in mother-in-law Agatha, wasn't around to take a similar role in TV's BEWITCHED a couple decades later--Ms. Watson makes a far better nag than Agnes Moorehead. Maybe you can only get away with James Cagney's grapefruit scene once in Tinsel Town, but Flynn Coulda-been-a-contender for PUBLIC ENEMY, JUNIOR, if he'd ad-libbed a Double Grapefruit during FOOTSTEP's breakfast episode.

Not exactly a comedy, although very funny. Not exactly a drama, but a clever detective story. I liked this movie.Even its beginning is clever. You assume that Errol Flynn is a cat burglar breaking into a house, but no, he's sneaking in late at night to escape his wife discovering him coming in so late. Turns out he's secretly writing mystery novels under a pen name, instead of tending to business at the investment firm. He gets involved in a murder case and ends up being a suspect. But again, the same story could have been told straight with no humor, but this is done with a good dose of laughs. In fact, it's nice to see Errol Flynn in a role where in some scenes he could be so silly.There are some other nice performances here, too. Alan Hale (Sr.) is fine as the detective, and it's always nice to see him in films with Flynn. William Frawley ("I Love Luce") is great as the dumb cop. And Lee Patrick is fine as the dumb burlesque queen.Highly recommended and a great change of pace for Errol Flynn. This could have easily become a serial.

A foolish and somewhat tiresome script about an aspiring novelist who moonlights as a crime-solving detective in his spare time. It's painful to watch an able cast of actors cope with this nonsense. Flynn wanted to play something other than swashbuckling roles so the studio gave in. Unfortunately, his feeble attempts at comedy are not a pleasure to watch. Later in his career he did manage to develop a style for this kind of farce--but not here. The wasted cast includes Brenda Marshall, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Hale and Lee Patrick. It has a few halfway interesting moments but not enough to sustain a running time of 96 minutes. Only Ralph Bellamy manages to inject some dry humor into his role as a dentist--but Flynn throughout appears more foolish than funny. Watch at your own risk.