A very tired film indeed
A Hole In The Head review
By
Savage from London, England
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2nd February 2008
This seems like an odd choice for Capra, perhaps necessitated by eight years of no work since 'Here comes the groom' (which isn't, in itself, very good, either), and, although the material is somewhat suitable, Arnold Schulman's screenplay has barely been opened out from his own Broadway play, and the whole thing is so long and draggy that entire scenes go past without anything happening. Even at the end, we can't honestly say that much has happened: Frank still has his money-pit of a hotel, Edward G. Robinson is still pulling out his hair at his brother's improvidence, and no-one has any more chance at success than they did at the start.
Having said all that, it's a very well-characterised movie, with director, writer and cast all pulling together to create people in whom we can believe and in whom we would be interested, if only they had something interesting to do. Robinson and Ritter are good value, and the scenes between Sinatra and Eleanor Parker are surprisingly touching, but it could all have been done in not much more than half the time, which would have allowed space for a proper plot.
