RINGS ON HER FINGERS

(director: Rouben Mamoulian; screenwriter: Ken Englund/story by Robert Pirosh & Joseph Schrank; cinematographer: George Barnes; editor: Barbara McLean; music: Cyril J. Mockridge; cast: Henry Fonda (John Wheeler), Gene Tierney (Susan Miller), Laird Cregar (Warren), John Sheppard (Ted Fenwick), Henry Stephenson (Colonel), Spring Byington (Mrs. Maybell Worthington), Marjorie Gateson (Mrs. Fenwick), George Lessey (Fenwick Sr), Frank Orth (Kellogg), Charles (Clive Morgan), Iris Adrian (Peggy) ; Runtime: 86; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Milton Sperling; 20th Century Fox; 1942)

“Unoriginal and mediocre lightweight rom/com.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Rouben Mamoulian (“Blood and Sand”/”Silk Stockings”/”City Streets”) directs this unoriginal and mediocre lightweight rom/com. It stole its story line from The Lady Eve (1941). It’s based on a stale story by Robert Pirosh and Joseph Schrank. Ken Englund penned the script.

Confidence operators Warren (Laird Cregar) and Mrs. Maybell Worthington (Spring Byington) use sexy LA department store clerk Susan Miller (Gene Tierney) as a decoy to shake down the rich when they become romantically involved. But Susan upsets plans when she falls in love with her first mistaken victim, the poor accountant John Wheeler (Henry Fonda). John is vacationing in California, and has saved $15,000 to buy a sailboat.

There’s no flow to all the contrived incidents, the direction is off, and the poor actors can’t use their talents to clean up the mess.

REVIEWED ON 12/11/2014 GRADE: C+