A Kiss in the Dark

This movie had few truly comic moments, but the mood remained light throughout. Jane Wyman plays a casual pin-up girl with some emotional intelligence (especially her theory on propinquity, which I have personally adopted as a literary theory), and David Niven plays a smothered concert pianist. The two hatch a plan to drive off a surly neighbor who tries to sleep during the day, and use the pianist's truly professional volume as a rather effective weapon.

Unfortunately, though the neighbor is undoubtedly over-the-top surly, he still has a legitimate complaint. Boiled down, they drive him away simply because he has a night job. I pity him, through his comically belligerent scenes, and am a little disappointed that the pianist and his crush don't do more by way of diplomacy to help him sleep. They could offer to sound-proof his rooms, or buy him ear-plugs, or shift the more noisy families to a different floor. They do nothing of the kind.

All-in-all, I enjoyed the film, but didn't find myself bettered or changed by it. It might make my top 100, but certainly not the top 50.

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