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This movie is just weird. Hear me out: it starts out as a kind of goofy musical about a travelling medicine show, and ends up as a scathing indictment of corporate power and corruption, mixed with marital drama, and a character study of the corrosive effect of greed on the human soul. With the occasional silly musical number. It’s very hard to get a handle on what is going on, and I truly doubt that anyone associated with this film had a clue. It stars Irene Dunne, one of my favorites, and Randolph Scott, who is gorgeous. Both are very appealing and do their best. But what a head-scratcher this one is.

This is Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, don’t bother to change my mind. For tight storytelling, an ever-tightening sense of suspense and dread, combined with sharp writing and terrific performances, he’s simply never topped it. Yeah, the shark could be better, but you don’t see it often, and then only at the end, so who cares? And one of the greatest compliments I was ever paid was when I was told, “You’re just like Matt Hooper.”

YES!