AllMovie

They Met in Bombay is not one of the better "rival thieves" films, but it does have the unique pairing of Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell going for it. The stars do indeed shine; the script, at best, merely twinkles. The biggest problem is that Bombaydoesn't really know what kind of a film it wants to be. A romance? A comedy? A thriller? An espionage flick? A piece of wartime propaganda? By trying to be all of these, it ends up falling apart long before it reaches the home stretch. Some of the dialogue is witty (and some is not), and there are some nice character touches, such as having a Duchess who's a bit rougher than expected. But this just makes the viewer wish that the creators had taken a firm stand on the direction in which the picture was headed and steered a clear course, rather than dithering back and forth. Still, with Gable and Russell on hand, there's only so far off course a film can go, no matter how hard it tries. So the story doesn't really make sense. These two don't mind, and they try their hardest to make sure the viewer doesn't either. If you're in the mood for some star-gazing, sit back and enjoy -- and try to ignore the story that keeps buzzing around and getting in the way.