Earl Baldwin's screenplay of this Damon Runyon tale preserves much of the inimitable flavor of the original – as well as the clever way in which the plot works out! Although he does not have as many humorous opportunities as usual, Joe E. Brown fits well into the title role. The accent is on plot rather than repartee, but director Lloyd Bacon keeps it moving briskly along, assisted by good camera-work by Ira Morgan.Sets and costumes, alas, are on the drab side, but admittedly this does certainly suit the movie's overall tone and atmosphere.Among the supporting cast, it's a thrill to see my favorite songwriters, namely Harry Warren and Al Dubin, playing themselves, although it's mighty strange to find Paul Hurst (who usually has a major role in the action) as a guest in the party scene.

"A Very Honorable Guy" is a very dark comedy--and very little in it is all that funny. Still, despite this, it was enjoyable mostly because it was such a strange film and a welcome change of pace for Joe E. Brown.When the film begins, 'Feet' Samuels (Brown) is having a long run of very bad luck. He owes everyone and his life is on the skids. So, because he was so honest, instead of not paying off his bets he comes up with a bizarre solution--to offer his body to any scientist who wants it IF they give him $1000 so he can settle his affairs. In a weird twist, however, suddenly the guy has amazingly good luck- --so much that his life should be terrific. But, he STILL has a contract with Dr. Snitzer--and the local gambling boss has guaranteed that the contract WILL be honored! As I mentioned, this is very dark. But the film was enjoyable and I liked its strangeness. Worth seeing and a bit better than usual for Brown.

This humorous tale of a sub-culture of gamblers and pickpockets centers on Feet Samuels (Joe E. Brown), whose luck hasn't been so good lately. It gets even worse when the local mob boss, "The Brain" (Alan Dinehart), wants to teach a couple of welchers a lesson via the fists of his henchmen. They use Feet to find their marks, and when the police arrive, Feet winds up in jail for hitting a policeman in the confusion. The Brain offers Feet a five hundred dollar loan to help bail him out of jail. At first Feet smartly refuses, but when it is pointed out to him that the Brain might consider it an insult, he reluctantly accepts the loan. Feet has no luck raising the money he owes the Brain, and then he gets an idea when he sees a butcher delivering a side of beef for fifty dollars. With no money, no luck, and rejected by his girl Hortense (Alice White) Feet figures he has nothing to live for anyways. He decides to sell his body to science for one thousand dollars. However, he gets no takers but one - a strange doctor who is taken with the unique shape of Feet's head. Of course the doctor has no guarantee Feet won't take the money and never return, so The Brain underwrites this strange contract in which Feet is given one month to sew up his affairs and return a corpse.Feet then repays his debt to the Brain and takes the balance to go on one last spree before he dies. Fate can be cruel, though, and suddenly Feet's gambling begins to pay off. Pretty soon Feet has run up his 500 dollars into a small fortune. This allows him to win back Hortense and begin to make wedding plans. There's just one problem. He's been having so much fun he forgot that his month is up the next day.Alice White and Joe E. Brown were perfect together. White did seem to do better in these brassy supporting roles than as the lead in her earlier roles of 1929-1930 back when she was First National's answer to Clara Bow. You really feel that under all of that materialism - and there's a lot of it - that Hortense really does love Feet.For a fun-filled film made just after the production code went into effect, with plenty of snappy dialogue and loaded with unique characters and atmosphere, this one really fits the bill.

The general impression I have of this movie is that it has a good cast but they are undercut by a script that seems wooden. As actors they either flew through this one without a second thought about it or they knew going in that the script was weak. But they script has fun moments, enough to make this movie watchable, but it certainaly won't be one you will add to your list of favorites. Some minor trivia on this movie, in the scene that shows a gossip column mention of Feet's attempt to sell his body to science, the by-line is by "Waldo Witchem", a sly take-off on real-life columnist Walter Winchell, who was a good friend of Damon Runyan, the man whos story this movie is based on. Winchell's name is mentioned in a few movies based on Runyon's stories. Alice White, who plays love interest Hortense was fresh from a major sex scandal that threatened her career. This movie was a come back attempt. The story, as is the script is light. Feet Samuels is an honest man who loves to gamble. He ends of owing local mob boss, "The Brain" money and decides to sell his body to science to pay off his debt and also to impress his girl with material things. A mad doctor takes him up on the deal and in a month, Feet is to take a pill to end his life. Right after he makes the deal, his luck changes tremendously and he find himself in the predicament of going back on his word to the doctor and also the mob boss who underwrote his deal. Again, this movie won't show up on any favorites list, but there are worse ways to waste an hour than by watching this.