A minor little farce but not without charm, Man Alive is one of those films that can be appreciated, but only if one is willing to make a number of concessions. First, one must be willing to accept that the Pat O'Brien character would go along with playing dead rather than attempt to straighten up this misconception. Second, one must accept that he would consider "playing ghost" a realistic way of testing his wife's faithfulness. And third, one must accept that the wife would not only not see through this but would not get physically violent with him for this deception. If one accepts all this, Man plays like a decent little farce, running out of steam in the middle but providing some zany moments before and after and making for a nifty way to pass the time. The heaven and hell sequence is especially amusing. O'Brien and Adolphe Menjou do very well as the main characters, playing off each other with great timing and revealing a good deal of chemistry. Rudy Vallee is a bit dull as the would-be wife-stealer, but Ellen Drew brings much-needed appeal to the wife in question.
