Rough, Tough and Ready (1945)
By Bosley Crowther
Published: March 24, 1945
Those two fast-slugging tough guys, Victor McLaglen and Chester Morris, are brought inevitably together—something like the immovable object and the irresistible force — in Columbia's "Rough, Tough and Ready," which came to the Rialto yesterday. And in this "adventure film of lusty action" (at least, that's what the press sheet said), they play two deep-sea divers who are forever getting fouled with each other's dames. Although the purpose of the picture seems to be to tell of the salvage division of the Army Engineers, it is mostly the on-shore romances of these two water-logged Romeos that we behold.
Mr. Morris and Mr. McLaglen play their roles with rugged aplomb and Veda Ann Borg and Jean Rogers make the sort of girls that two such guys would crave. There's a lot of fouling and foiling in the picture, but not much salvage.
ROUGH, TOUGH AND READY; original screen play by Edward T. Lowe; directed by Del Lord; produced by Alexis Thurn-Taxis for Columbia.
Brad Crowder . . . . . Chester Morris
Owen McCarey . . . . . Victor McLaglen
Jo Matheson . . . . . Jean Rogers
Lorine Gray . . . . . Veda Ann Borg
Kitty Duval . . . . . Amelita Ward
