Imagine Marvin Kaplan playing a gangster in film?This was absolutely an inane farce with Farley Granger and Shelley Winters. In the same year that she made the memorable "A Place in the Sun," Shelley got herself into this one mess of a film.The mother-in-law steals the film as she conveys what the traditional mother-in-law is supposed to convey- constant criticism of the in-law and non-stop trouble.In a ridiculous fashion, Granger gets caught up with counterfeiters when he accidentally comes upon the dog they need to make their counterfeit transaction. Winters is his wife and William Demarest is the wily head of the police bureau.No matter where the gullible Granger goes, murder seems to follow. In fact, this is just what this mess of a movie is-just murder to view.

"Behave Yourself" has two things going for it – a big cast of recognizable character actors, and a very good plot that makes it quite funny. The lead actors are just OK, but neither Shelley Winters nor Farley Granger seem quite right for their parts. I can think of a number of actors who may have carried off the role of Bill Denny much better. Tony Randall would get huge laughs. Danny Kaye would have turned it into a laugh riot. The fact that this was a B movie by RKO shouldn't weigh against it. RKO made some excellent films in its day, with cast-offs or leading actors on lay-off from their major studios over rifts. But, this film didn't get the right mix of leads to make it the hit it could have been. So, my high score for the film rests mostly on the brief appearances of a host of wonderful Hollywood character actors of the time. And for the plot. Francis Sullivan, Lon Chaney Jr., Marvin Kaplan, Hans Conried, Elisha Cook, Henry Corden, and Allen Jenkins are faces that movie-goers of the mid-20th century would know from the many films they made. They were usually cast as heavies, buffoons, cads, or nervous or frightened characters. In this movie, each has his familiar place. And, as the plot develops, we see one "con" group knock off a couple crooks, then another group get the next one, etc. The plot was so solid, I wonder why it wasn't picked up after that and made into a smash comedy with the right lead actors and supporting team.

Behave Yourself! Not sure why the film is titled the way it was. I did want to watch it as I have not seen an early Shelly Winters film. I could only imagine an older, larger Shelly from the film "Poseidon Adventure." The film is a situation comedy of sorts. The early 50s version of situation comedy includes lots of misunderstandings, a mother-in-law doing Dianetics classes in the evenings, and an innocent man who (a) forgot his wife's anniversary; (b) had a run-in with a dog who is trained in finding drop-off points for smugglers and (c) is always at the scene of a murder or three! Sorry but the overacting was just too much. The comedy was not that funny to the modern viewer and the cops not really understanding what was going on as the stumbled through the scenes and the equally dumb gangsters with pratfalls and further misunderstandings – well! Stars: Fun to see William Demerist in something other than his "My Three Sons" TV series (from the Sixties). And Lon Chaney Jr. as a heavy was a sight to see. Shelly Winters acted as a clueless woman who faints more than she babbles on about her husband. The mother-in-law was a gem, how she accuses her son-in-law of murder and says "it figures" several times throughout the film. Unless you're a big Shelly Winters fan, probably not the style for you. Lucille Ball played this theme so much better. DVD: My DVD was from Alpha Video and did not have any features other than scene selections. Cast & Crew:Director: George Beck Writers: George Beck (screenplay), George Beck (story),» Stars: Farley Granger, Shelley Winters and William Demarest

A little dog turns out to be the most interesting feature of this film. This dog is the only lead for the "gangland buyers of the counterfeit money" to find the counterfeiters on Wilshire Blvd. Archie "the dog" has other plans and adopts Farley Granger and Shelley Winters as his family. Now the scramble by the gangsters to find the dog intensifies. Murder seems to follow this "pooch" and brings Granger to the center of all the mayhem. An amusing dog tale which ends answering the question "what if man bites dog."