Injecting more romance into its 90 minutes than your typical screwball comedy would, VIVACIOUS LADY also injects considerably more laughter than is the norm, a very happy combination. It's not perfect by any means, falling too clearly into the 'one joke comedy' syndrome, awkwardly stretching its excuses for Jimmy Stewart's hesitations to simply come out and say that he's married the girl (Ginger Rogers), and the almost inevitable George Stevens failing of flaccid pacing from time to time. However, the inherent strength and decency of Stewart as an actor work to alleviate any inherent weaknesses of his character, and anytime momentum flags the movie is quickly rejuvenated by individual set-pieces that are nothing short of hilarious. Add in generally exceptional performances from its well-known cast and it's hard to understand why VIVACIOUS LADY isn't far better known than it is.
Make no mistake, this is Ginger Rogers' film all the way. Her character of Francie Brent is central to its proceedings, she gets most of the best lines ("Oh, I couldn't take the last piece"), wears the best clothes, receives the most flattering closeups, etc. This is the kind of Star Treatment that Ginger had rarely received in the past (by my count only PROFESSIONAL SWEETHEART and IN PERSON were really built around her), but in the future it would become the norm. She was more than ready for such attention.
Jimmy Stewart got this job at Ginger's request. If I have the time-line right, they'd dated a couple of years earlier (around the time of TOP HAT), dated again a couple of years later before the Second World War, and remained lifelong friends. He hadn't really done comedy before and VIVACIOUS LADY was the most important role he'd had to date, though YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON would soon follow. Rogers was right: Stewart's natural modesty and intelligence served him well in the role, and this is probably the first appearance of his permanent cinematic persona. Indeed, the whole cast seems far more prestigious to us than it must have to RKO at the time. Charles Coburn, though 60, was just getting started in the film business, and Beulah Bondi, like Stewart, had yet to do much comedy. No one familiar with Old Hollywood will be surprised at the excellence of their performances, but I must bring attention to James Ellison as Stewart's cousin and semi-rival for Ginger's affections. He gives us a delightfully quirky and good-humored performance in what is usually a thankless, 'Ralph Bellamy' type role. Director Stevens had a reputation as an 'actor's director', and it seems with some justice.
VIVACIOUS LADY is very much a film of wonderful scenes patched together. It begins with a beautiful series of romantic vignettes between Rogers and Stewart, then takes a hard comedy turn with the first frustration of marital consummation between them as they get train compartment tickets mixed up with those of a battling middle-aged couple who represent a more jaundiced view of the marital state. The cat fight and the Big Apple scenes seem universally loved, but to me the whole rigmarole over the 'Walter' bed is just as admirable (and are there any scenes between, oh, say 1930 and 1964 that so overtly feature two characters with nothing on their minds other than getting into bed with one another?). Also featuring nice comic turns from Franklin Pangborn and Willie Best (the latter overcoming rather weak material), VIVACIOUS LADY may flag at times, but few films recover as completely as does this one. And that last shot is a doozy!
Make no mistake, this is Ginger Rogers' film all the way. Her character of Francie Brent is central to its proceedings, she gets most of the best lines ("Oh, I couldn't take the last piece"), wears the best clothes, receives the most flattering closeups, etc. This is the kind of Star Treatment that Ginger had rarely received in the past (by my count only PROFESSIONAL SWEETHEART and IN PERSON were really built around her), but in the future it would become the norm. She was more than ready for such attention.
Jimmy Stewart got this job at Ginger's request. If I have the time-line right, they'd dated a couple of years earlier (around the time of TOP HAT), dated again a couple of years later before the Second World War, and remained lifelong friends. He hadn't really done comedy before and VIVACIOUS LADY was the most important role he'd had to date, though YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON would soon follow. Rogers was right: Stewart's natural modesty and intelligence served him well in the role, and this is probably the first appearance of his permanent cinematic persona. Indeed, the whole cast seems far more prestigious to us than it must have to RKO at the time. Charles Coburn, though 60, was just getting started in the film business, and Beulah Bondi, like Stewart, had yet to do much comedy. No one familiar with Old Hollywood will be surprised at the excellence of their performances, but I must bring attention to James Ellison as Stewart's cousin and semi-rival for Ginger's affections. He gives us a delightfully quirky and good-humored performance in what is usually a thankless, 'Ralph Bellamy' type role. Director Stevens had a reputation as an 'actor's director', and it seems with some justice.
VIVACIOUS LADY is very much a film of wonderful scenes patched together. It begins with a beautiful series of romantic vignettes between Rogers and Stewart, then takes a hard comedy turn with the first frustration of marital consummation between them as they get train compartment tickets mixed up with those of a battling middle-aged couple who represent a more jaundiced view of the marital state. The cat fight and the Big Apple scenes seem universally loved, but to me the whole rigmarole over the 'Walter' bed is just as admirable (and are there any scenes between, oh, say 1930 and 1964 that so overtly feature two characters with nothing on their minds other than getting into bed with one another?). Also featuring nice comic turns from Franklin Pangborn and Willie Best (the latter overcoming rather weak material), VIVACIOUS LADY may flag at times, but few films recover as completely as does this one. And that last shot is a doozy!