Certain actors of the golden age of Hollywood don't get the quodos they deserve, simply because they seemed so dependable, just showing up to potentially be eaten up by one of the big, dramatic ladies who dominated that time. Certainly, the 1930's had its share of great leading men who are timeless: Cagney, EGR, Bogart, Flynn, Gable, Tracy, etc., but there are a ton of them who worked pretty much every leading lady available that today only us movie aficionados know if. George Brent, Warren William, Robert Montgomery, Ricardo Cortez, Ian Hunter, and in this screwball comedy's case, Herbert Marshall. Of course, he'll always be famous for allowing Bette Davis to chew him up and spit him out in "The Little Foxes", but he was so much more than that.
Here, Marshall is opposite Barbara Stanwyck, and gives as much as he gets, and then some! The story has him as a formerly wealthy playboy, now a drunk on the risk of losing his fortune. One night out on the town has him being helped home by Stanwyck who sleeps in his bed while he's passed out on the couch, covered in her fur. When valet Eric Blore (playing "Butch" which he is anything but) brings him his morning hangover remedy, he finds Stanwyck in his shower searching for a towel and Marshall covered in rabbit hair. After being locked in by Marshall's giant pooch, Stanwyck agrees to stay for breakfast. Barbs are tossed, and it appears that they are making romantic headway when Glenda Farrell (playing an allegedly untalented actress) arrives, claiming her rights to Marshall as his fiancée, leaving Stanwyck no other choice but to skedaddle. Stanwyck, a wealthy heiress from Texas, plots revenge by gaining the stock his company is losing, and this leads to a hysterical boxing match where Stanwyck gets the upper knob, oops, I mean upper hand, by giving both Marshall and "Butch" black eyes.
Hysterical comedy ensues when Farrell arranges an impromptu wedding as Stanwyck's wealthy Texas dad keeps interrupting the festivities posing as a window washer determined to make everything squeak so the bride and groom won't hear the vows. Stanwyck is one determined broad, and proves to Marshall that he needs her more than she needs him, even though it is obvious that she certainly wants him. They have a wonderful chemistry here, proving that Marshall wasn't just the seemingly bland, staid man of culture he played in many other films. George Brent had played this part in a few screwball comedies already, so its a nice change of pace to see him lighten up.
Oh, that supporting cast, between Blore as the very effeminate valet who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, Etienne Giradot as one of Marshall's business associates, suffering from laryngitis who after taking one of Blore's concoctions loses his voice entirely, and Donald Meek as a very flustered minister. Farrell makes the most of her bad actress part, and even though her character is certainly annoying and whiny, Farrell makes her more than tolerable. Frank M. Thomas also has many amusing moments as Stanwyck's rambunctious father. This isn't up in the ranks with "My Man Godfrey", "Nothing Sacred", "Bringing Up Baby" or "Merrilly We Live", but its better than many other attempts at screwball comedy which when compared to these classics seem more like dumbbells than screwballs.
Here, Marshall is opposite Barbara Stanwyck, and gives as much as he gets, and then some! The story has him as a formerly wealthy playboy, now a drunk on the risk of losing his fortune. One night out on the town has him being helped home by Stanwyck who sleeps in his bed while he's passed out on the couch, covered in her fur. When valet Eric Blore (playing "Butch" which he is anything but) brings him his morning hangover remedy, he finds Stanwyck in his shower searching for a towel and Marshall covered in rabbit hair. After being locked in by Marshall's giant pooch, Stanwyck agrees to stay for breakfast. Barbs are tossed, and it appears that they are making romantic headway when Glenda Farrell (playing an allegedly untalented actress) arrives, claiming her rights to Marshall as his fiancée, leaving Stanwyck no other choice but to skedaddle. Stanwyck, a wealthy heiress from Texas, plots revenge by gaining the stock his company is losing, and this leads to a hysterical boxing match where Stanwyck gets the upper knob, oops, I mean upper hand, by giving both Marshall and "Butch" black eyes.
Hysterical comedy ensues when Farrell arranges an impromptu wedding as Stanwyck's wealthy Texas dad keeps interrupting the festivities posing as a window washer determined to make everything squeak so the bride and groom won't hear the vows. Stanwyck is one determined broad, and proves to Marshall that he needs her more than she needs him, even though it is obvious that she certainly wants him. They have a wonderful chemistry here, proving that Marshall wasn't just the seemingly bland, staid man of culture he played in many other films. George Brent had played this part in a few screwball comedies already, so its a nice change of pace to see him lighten up.
Oh, that supporting cast, between Blore as the very effeminate valet who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, Etienne Giradot as one of Marshall's business associates, suffering from laryngitis who after taking one of Blore's concoctions loses his voice entirely, and Donald Meek as a very flustered minister. Farrell makes the most of her bad actress part, and even though her character is certainly annoying and whiny, Farrell makes her more than tolerable. Frank M. Thomas also has many amusing moments as Stanwyck's rambunctious father. This isn't up in the ranks with "My Man Godfrey", "Nothing Sacred", "Bringing Up Baby" or "Merrilly We Live", but its better than many other attempts at screwball comedy which when compared to these classics seem more like dumbbells than screwballs.