The Crystal Ball

Paulette Goddard is good in this daft mystic caper. Down on her luck, she arrives in New York with just 38 cents. She decides to learn her future by consulting the fortune-telling "Madame Zenobia" (Gladys George) who is quite clearly making it all up as she goes along; but on discovering that "Toni" ... is quite a decent sort, gives her a job trying to lure some more gullible folks to her booth. Meantime, another of her suppliers manages to send her the wealthy "Mrs. Ainsley" (Virginia Field) who is on the lookout for a missing emerald ring which low and behold the medium tells her to look for in the bathroom drain pipe... When "Zenobia" has a slight mishap, "Toni" takes her place and also sets her sights on Ray Milland - the dapper "Brad" who is the lawyer and would-be beau of the wealthy woman. Add to this a dodgy property scam and we have quite a fun mix of stories that allows Milland and the three quite characterful women to do their jobs quite well. Sadly, the humour is very predictable and the dialogue a bit too lightweight to sustain much interest once the original scenario thins out, but it is still a workmanlike vehicle for the stars that is enjoyable enough. read more