Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Rainey Dawn This woman is so dingy in this film she irked me from the get-go. First of all the unwanted suitor just met her in the park where she was sitting - he wasn't a stalker, he was a man that just met her and trying to come on to her. Secondly, she steals a car to get away from said suitor and she's to dingy to realize that stealing a car makes her a thief and the cops will go after the stolen car. Third, she picks up a man she doesn't know long her way to really nowhere while getting away from the suitor. This man sees the dead body in the back of the car and we are now in for some lame comedy as the police are hot of the trail of the real criminals and a stolen car.I found this one a bore fest - trying to hard to be funny with a boring story to follow. I did not find anyone "cute" in this film just ewe.I got this film in the Dark Crimes 50-Film Pack and this is NOT a dark crime. It's a (so-called) comedy crime film - nothing that dark about it except riding around in a stolen car with a dead body. It's not film noir or anything close to that.2/10

mark.waltz After a dowdy colleague urges bespeckled teacher Heather Angel to get out and live life before its too late, she does just that, much like Marion Davies did in "Going Hollywood" and Suzanne Pleshette would years later in "Rome Adventure". She's not going to either one of those places, just out, and what an adventure she finds! After being harassed by a masher, she steals a car which happens to contain a dead body in it and with the help of a handsome stranger (John 'Dusty' King) gets into all sorts of trouble. Along the way, she encounters prickly Constance Collier, a society matron who isn't afraid of interfering in young love, even if one of them switched the license plate on her chauffered car so she is stopped by the police herself.In just an hour, this romantic comedy with elements of a crime thriller becomes an engaging programmer, featuring some great character actors like Walter Catlett, Emma Dunn and Clem Bevans. Smart and sassy dialog helps the film's pacing and even with its "B" elements is actually pretty lavish looking. There's a great twist concerning Collier at the end that had me laughing in satisfaction, not having seen that coming at all.

Gary Lewin Half a Sinner is an engaging little programmer. Less than one hour long. But never a dull moment. The tale of a bored young teacher played by Heather Angel who one day decides to break out of her boredom and go on an adventure and see some life before it's too late. On the way she gets inadvertently involved with a bunch of crooks and a dead body in a car. She also meets the man of her dreams. The story is a bit fantastic. But very entertaining and everybody plays there part well.Heather Angel, playing the heroine of the show is a delight. She belonged to an age when Hollywood was literally swarming in talent. Many of them didn't get as far as they might have done due to how competitive the whole thing was. And probably Heather Angel deserved a better career than she actually had. This film is worth seeing for its entertainment value and I can definitely recommend it.

mstomaso Part film noir, part mystery, part thriller, part adventure and all comic romance, Half a Sinner is a 1940 charmer which is worth seeing. Fred Jackson (screenwriter) and Al Christie (Director/Producer) teamed up in 1940 to bring a clever Dalton Trumbo story about a schoolteacher on the run to the screen. Both Jackson and Christie had been successfully making films since 1912 - including a great deal of B and B+ comedies such as 1937's Wells Fargo. Christie's experience shows in this well-directed and well-shot melange of genres, but unfortunately, Jackson appears to have had some difficulty working with Trumbo's material. At home in comedy, Jackson appears to have grafted most of the film's humorous elements onto characters Larry Cameron (John King) and Mrs Breckeridge (Constance Collier). Collier (Rope, The Perils of Penelope) is as superb as usual, but King is monotonous and awkward. The plot, and Angel's charismatic performance and likable character are what make this film fun and worth a look.Miss Gladden is a mid-twenties school teacher who fears becoming an old maid. Her solution to this is to go seek adventure in the local park. Doesn't sound promising, but her good looks attract the unwanted attention of a thug. Panicking, Miss Gladden (Angel) drives off in the thug's sedan - which, of course, had been previously stolen and has a body rolled up in a rug in the backseat. Miss Gladden is oblivious about all of this. Pursued doggedly by a motorcycle cop and some fairly inept gangsters, Miss Gladden eventually picks up a man (King) in the street who claims car trouble. Car trouble indeed. Noticing the body, Larry Cameron remarks that he is also in the game. What game? Well, that becomes the mystery which makes the movie worth watching so you won't get it out of me. Many viewers will figure it out about halfway through, and most will continue watching anyway just to see how the truth is eventually revealed. Halfway a Sinner is a fun little romp. Suspension of disbelief is most definitely required - but it is facilitated by Heather Angel's superb performance, strong Trumbo storyline, and the good humor (not laugh-out- loud comedy) of the film.