Given it shot during the early US participation in World War II, 1943’s Mr. Lucky seemed oddly timed for a romantic comedy about a draft- dodger who steals from a war relief fund. That said, if anyone could pull off that role as desired, Cary Grant felt like the man.

Career gambler and con man Joe Adams (Grant) takes on the identity of dead man Joe Bascapolous to avoid military conscription. His attempts to run an illegal gambling vessel falter, so he schemes to filch money from a charity for war victims.

As part of this, Joe woos socialite Dorothy Bryant (Laraine Day), one of the charity’s directors. Will Joe continue his sleazy ways or will Dorothy inspire a change of heart?

Because I hate spoilers – even for 82-year-old movies – I won’t spill the beans. However, if you can’t figure out where this tale will go, then you need to get out more.

To make matters even more cliché, Joe and Dorothy start their relationship with the standard mutual disdain typical of rom-coms. He’s the wily charmer with loose ethics and she’s the straight and narrow uptight uptown girl.

How could such opposites attract? Again: if you doubt where their situation will progress, then spend less time in your basement. ‘

Despite all these potential drawbacks, Lucky offers a reasonably enjoyable tale, primarily due to Grant. As implied at the start, few actors could portray “lovable rogue” well enough to overcome the lead role’s flaws, and Grant falls on that intensely short list.

This seems especially true given the era in which Lucky shot. A rom-com about a sleazy draft dodger who wants to steal from war charities seems like a tough sell at any point in time, but especially in 1943.

When movies of that era dealt with the military, they almost always did so in terms that existed solely to bolster the armed forces and to advance the patriotic cause. Of course, one can assume Lucky will eventually get there, but it still feels like a surprising theme for a flick in this period.

In any case, Lucky lives or dies with Grant, and he largely allows it to succeed. Although it doesn’t stand as a classic of its genre, it entertains due to Grant’s lively take on the lead.

Grant manages to make Joe’s evolution smooth and he always maintains the role’s slippery edge. Rather than eventually turn Joe into a dull do-gooder, Grant ensures that Joe stays true to his core while he nonetheless changes heart.

The supporting actors largely help add to the light feel, though Day becomes a bit of a dud as Joe’s love interest. Day doesn’t deliver a poor performance, but she tends to lack charisma and never sparks chemistry with Grant.

Nonetheless, Grant elevates the semi-pedestrian material. He proves sufficient to turn Lucky into a likable and engaging 100 minutes of romantic comedy.

Mr. Lucky appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This was a consistently pleasing presentation.

Sharpness usually appeared good. The film suffered from a few slightly ill-defined shots but the majority of the flick demonstrated nice delineation.

I saw no problems with jagged edges or shimmering, and the movie lacked edge haloes. In terms of print flaws, Lucky looked clean, and grain appeared natural.

Blacks appeared deep and rich, while low-light shots demonstrated fine definition and clarity. This ended up as a solid image that lost a few points only due to the occasional soft shot.

Although the DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack of Lucky didn’t demonstrate anything special, it worked fine for its era and genre. Speech seemed slightly thin but was good for its age, as lines remained intelligible and clear.

Music demonstrated reasonable range. The score didn’t impress, but it appeared acceptably bright.

Effects came across as reasonably accurate. Though they had little heft, they were clean and didn’t suffer from substantial distortion or other concerns. The audio appeared positive for its era.

In addition to the film’s trailer, the disc includes two separate radio adaptations of Mr. Lucky. We find episodes of Lux Radio Theater (aired 10/18/43, 1:00:31) and Screen Director’s Playhouse (aired 1/20/50, 29:52).

For both, Cary Grant reprises his lead role, and Laraine Day takes on her film part for Lux. Playhouse uses Frances Robinson as Dorothy.

Inevitably, the Playhouse rendition expedites matters to an extreme, while Lux boasts a more “complete” take on the tale. Whatever the case, both offer a fun addition to the set.

With a lesser actor in the lead, Mr. Lucky would flop. However, Cary Grant carries the less than brilliant script to make it a breezy and enjoyable tale. The Blu-ray comes with largely positive picture and audio as well as a few bonus features. Despite some flaws, Lucky works thanks to its star.