Something for the Birds (1952)

Political satire that's afraid to attack politics is rather pointless, and this fact does some damage to Something for the Birds. Targeting lobbyists is not necessarily a bad idea, and may even have greater ramifications for modern audiences, but Birds would have made a better film had it been made with greater courage and with a sharp pen that wasn't afraid to draw a little blood. Still, even with this drawback, there are a number of things in Birds that work well, including that part of the story that deals with Edmund Gwenn. Indeed, Gwenn is the best thing in the film, engaging and amusing and always doing some little something that grabs the viewer's attention. Less successful is Patricia Neal, whose performance is technically fine and often inventive, but which suffers from the fact that she's slightly miscast. As written, the character has to be a bit dim not to see what is going on around her, and Neal is simply too intelligent for the audience to totally buy into this. Victor Mature is fine, if nothing more, as the oil lobbyist with whom she becomes involved; a bit more sparkle and fire would have been nice, but he's certainly competent in the part. The dialogue is a bit uneven but occasionally strikes some very good moments, and there's a double entendre about a gun that's rather amusing in context. Something for the Birds never takes off and soars the way it should, but it's moderately entertaining. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide