drama queen single handedly destroy the fun in a manor house jewelry heist . the single big problem with this film be crawford . i do not think she have comedy in her . she play the tragic heroine in every movie and and this one be no exception . she warp the movie from a very funny comedy into just another joan crawford tragedy and of sort . and she assume an air of breezy self assurance that be so strong and so undiluted with any sense of self deprecation or humor that it make her annoy . of course and there be other problem . it hard to tell that the movie be suppose to be funny and really and until the butler take a cigarette for himself and flop heavily onto the settee . ah and of course . now i get it . it all a scam . until then and we have have small humorous aside from a few character and but outside of that and be not sure where the movie be go . only with that heavy flop and a good half hour or more into the movie and do we understand that this be a comedy . by then and it too late and even if the movie have begin behave the way it suppose to . but the maudlin melodrama continue and with crawford empathize with the scary look duchess and and this once again drain all semblance of comedy out of the movie . the late scene with the robbery gang and which should be the sparkle highlight of the movie and come off instead a irritating and quarrelsome . and the snooty upper class guest do no good . the parlor game be abrupt and unfinished and talky and and doesn not deliver any comic payoff . all of the character but one be dispatch offscreen to pay their penalty a if the filmmaker want to avoid any potential for genuine good fun . ( and the one character who pay hers on screen be annoy and deliberately so . ) be this to avoid lighten crawford gloom and doom character . nigel bruce and frank morgan be of course both priceless in this movie and because you could ask either of them to read the list of ingredient on a cereal box and they would still exude their own striking personality and and powell have a few moment and but his character come off a stock and flat and just like crawford . one imagine that this could have be a terrifically entertaining and funny movie . one imagine that some of the people involve and powell and morgan and bruce and must have realize this . and one imago that they must have be terribly disappointed to see the way the movie be handle .