Get Your Man (1927) User Reviews

An American in Paris

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 23 July 2009]

As a boy, handsome Charles "Buddy" Rogers (as Robert Albin) was betrothed to fetching young Josephine Dunn (as Simone de Valens), by respective fathers Josef Swickard (as the Duke of Albin) and Harvey Clark (as the Marquis de Valens). Seventeen years later, the French noble class prepare for Mr. Rogers' pre-arranged wedding. Rogers is sent to the city (Paris) to pick up a string of pearls for the bride, and meets sexy Clara Bow (as Nancy Worthington). Rogers continually runs into Ms. Bow, a New Yorker spending her first unchaperoned day in the romantic city.

By their third meeting, Rogers and Bow are clearly becoming attracted to each other. They fall in love in a wax museum. Bow thinks, "It must be fate." Rogers is stricken with Bow, but feels honor-bound to go through with his Saturday wedding to Ms. Dunn. Sadly, Rogers and Bow part. But, Bow has a plan to "Get Your Man". She stages an automobile accident at Rogers' château, and ingratiates herself into the family. After learning that Rogers' intended wife has a lover, Bow is more determined than ever to break up the unhappy couple.

Reels #2 and #3 of this slightly damaged, six reel feature are lost, but it's still a cohesive, enjoyable film.

The missing footage contains more of Bow and Rogers romancing in Paris, then Bow's staged accident at his château. The accident and aftermath are certainly missed, but it isn't too difficult to comprehend what's happened. Director Dorothy Arzner and photographer Alfred Gilks capture their stars beautifully. That Rogers catches his sleeve on a suitcase while packing, and has to kick a fallen pillow out of the way gives his performance a natural spontaneity. Bow is fresh and playful. The supporting cast is a treasure chest. Hopefully, this film has been saved from any further deterioration.

******* Get Your Man (12/4/27) Dorothy Arzner ~ Clara Bow, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Harvey Clark

Incomplete...but complete enough to watch.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 21 January 2016]

According to IMDb, portions of this film are missing--heck, two of the six reels are supposedly missing! However, despite this, I decided to give the film a watch and was surprised that the story worked out pretty well despite the missing reels. As for the remaining ones, they're in reasonably good shape but with a little degradation here and there.

When the story begins, Duke Robert is betrothed to Simone. What's so odd about this? Well, Simone is an infant and Robert looks to be about 4!

Years pass and Robert (Buddy Rogers)goes into town (Paris) to have some pearls re-strung. Once there, he meets vivacious Nancy (Clara Bow) and they soon hit it off. The trouble is that he's engaged and so they part.

Here is where the missing reels occur.

Now apparently Nancy's been in some sort of accident and is staying in Robert's home and I assumed neither she nor he realized this. Later in one of the reels you learned she arranged this accident! Robert's father is the one who took her in and he is very taken by Nancy...as is Simone's father. Later, Nancy learns separately that neither Simone nor Robert want to marry each other but are doing so simply out of obligation. So, to help them (and herself) she hatches a scheme that might enable the engagement to be broken. This scheme includes getting engaged to one of the fathers! So how does it all work out in this light romance? See for yourself...it's posted on YouTube.

As I said above, despite missing a portion of the film, the overall film is STILL worth seeing--which is rather surprising. The story also works well because if Bow's character just schemed to split up an engagement, she would have been a jerk and the story wouldn't have worked. But instead of being just a schemer, she's quite likable and the story sweet and well done.

I would sure love to learn one day that they've found the missing reels. This HAS happened with quite a few films in recent years, so we can only hope!

Clara summering in Europe...yeah, it's a weird fit

[ofumalow · 5/10 · 4 June 2017]

This movie is basically a trite variation on the "Ruritania" romances that were still popular at the time, and unfortunately so, because the wonderfully modern and very American Clara Bow was bound to seem out of place amidst aristocrats of the Old Country. "Get Your Man" is set there to provide the plot with its necessary mechanism: Arranged marriage between nobles, an outdated concept even then that provides the necessary conflict here, as Clara learns she must liberate her newfound French love from pre-arranged imminent nuptials. Neither he or his intended really want to go through with it, but they both feel obligated to follow their titled parents' wishes to unite the family trees.

Clara is pretty unlikely as a wealthy American socialite "touring the Continent," but then the equally all- American Charles "Buddy" Rogers is no more credible as a French baronet or whatever he's supposed to be. There's nothing wrong with making such leaps in a movie as frivolously escapist as this one. But the problem is that the "refined" setting means Clara has to be relatively restrained, getting few opportunities for the kind of ebullience that is her trademark. Late in the movie there's a bit quite obviously shoehorned in to provide at least one opportunity for her natural physicality, when she wildly throws things about her guest bedroom in order to fake some sort of amorous abandon that others will hear (thus creating a scandal that will free Rogers from his wedding). And indeed it's the highlight here.

Otherwise, this is a pleasant enough but forgettable vehicle cranked out on the Paramount assembly at a time when Bow was making one movie after another--six in this year alone. Significant chunks of it are presumed permanently lost, and those gaps are filled in by a combination of titles and production stills.

Unfortunately, that includes most of what was obviously intended as the standout novelty sequence, in which the two leads find they're been locked overnight in a creepy Madame Tussaud's-style wax museum. Seeing Clara assume the same comical "I'm scared!" expression in multiple, very posed-looking publicity stills does not, alas, give much sense of how the gags would have played out in the complete original sequence. But hey, we'll take what we can get with what survives of her movies.

Bow Jests

[Robskit6 · 26 April 2014]

Thanks to the magic of film we know Clara Bow will always be better than anyone else. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would with Ms Bow doing what she does best in this charming comedy. She has perfect timing and great comic ability. She is as anyone who knows of her the only person you are interested in for the whole film. That said I think Charles (Buddy) Rogers played his part so naturally that he was maybe the perfect co-star for Clara. I must make special mention of Harvey Clark who plays the Marquis De Valens. His character is such a nice surprise in the story and gets some comic turns of his own . Harvey is just as equally spot on in his role and a lot of fun to watch. I think three of the reels in this six reel film have been lost but here is still a good hour of the story to see. As has been pointed out in other reviews there is some nitrate damage in some of the frames. This is a bit distressing to see but then there are some scenes that look practically fresh in comparison with performances that are so good they may as well have been shot yesterday and the over all effect is quite "trippy". It is for me anyway. Add this film to your list and let Clara Bow distract you and put some joy in your heart.

Imperfect by any measure, but ultimately a pretty good time

[I_Ailurophile · 7/10 · 29 November 2023]

There are two kinds of silent comedies: those starring recognized comedic actors (Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and so on), whatever their level of renown, and those starring actors who, whatever their level of renown, were not famous specifically for their comedy. The former are almost always guaranteed to be a blast; for the latter, results may vary significantly. Even before we consider the film itself, having a legend like Clara Bow attached to your picture is guaranteed to attract viewers, but not necessarily elicit laughs, and that's without even considering whether or not there will be expression herein of values that have not aged well over the past several decades. With all this very firmly in mind, how does Dorothy Arzner's 'Get your man' hold up? As if all this dry prattle weren't evidence enough, suffice to say that more than ninety years later, it's no premier gut-buster, and for both good and ill, it does dally with values that are alien to our modern world. It is still modestly fun, though, and sometimes that's all a flick needs to be to succeed.

It's fair to wonder exactly how this was received by audiences in 1927; in 2023, it takes fifteen minutes to earn its first laugh. In fairness, that paucity is no doubt informed by the tenor of the movie (bearing touches of romantic drama), and the changing of societal mores over the years. There's also the fact that, simply put, the feature as it exists is both damaged and incomplete. (Also in fairness, it takes only another ten to earn the second laugh, and yes, there are more.) None of this is to say that the title isn't enjoyable, because it certainly is, and it would be even if we weren't treated to specific highlights. I'll even say that it picks up as it goes along, building to a strong finish in the last minutes. Even as it presents in its extant form the story is rich with potential, and I'd rather like to see Louis Verneuil's play itself, or even a new period adaptation. The situational humor - peppered intermittently with splendid gags - really is a minor delight; the cast at large is wonderfully charming and capable, including Josephine Dunn and Harvey Clark, among others. And in all manners this is very well made, including Arzner's sharp direction, gorgeous sets and costume design, lovely hair and makeup, and even some unexpectedly smart cinematography.

One way or another this is no major must-see. It feels like some faults shine through even despite the status of the picture; one doesn't need to be familiar with Verneuil's stage play to get a sense that this screenplay had cut some corners. Even if you're a devotee of the silent era, or a huge fan of someone involved, I wouldn't say it's a priority; just as much to the point, there's nothing here to change the minds of those who have difficulty engaging with older cinema. I, who love silent films, also sat with mixed to high expectations based simply on the involvement of Bow at the peak of her career, and my reaction is relatively mild. Nonetheless it remains worthwhile on its own merits; owing to how language changes, there are even some bits that are even funnier now than they would have been upon release. Failing that, in the very least it is to be treasured as a (mostly) surviving silent feature. Nearly one century later there's nothing about 'Get your man' that comes across as a stroke of brilliance, not even some terrific shot composition, or the best of the comedy - yet while it may not demand viewership, it's still solidly if softly entertaining, and for those who are receptive to the style, I'm pleased to give it a fair recommendation.

With One Look, I Play Every Part...

[dglink · 7/10 · 25 November 2017]

Clara Bow was the "It" girl and the epitome of a Roaring 20's flapper. Bow lit up the screen; she was vivacious, exuded sex appeal, and, with the flash of an eye and the glimpse of a leg, let the audience know she liked men and sex. Whenever she was on screen, all eyes were fixated on her. Well, almost all eyes; in "Get Your Man," the boyishly handsome Charles "Buddy" Rogers has his own charisma, and viewers will be riveted when the pair share the same frame. Unfortunately, "Get Your Man," adapted by Hope Loring from a play by Louis Verneuil, is a lackluster vehicle for the dazzling co-stars, who, like Norma Desmond, definitely "had faces then." Set in a sound-stage French château, Rogers is Robert Albin, son of the Duke of Albin, and he has been betrothed to Simone de Valens, daughter of a Marquis, since he was in short pants and she in diapers. Seventeen years after the betrothal arranged by their respective fathers, Robert and Simone are to be wed. Enter Clara Bow as Nancy Worthington, an American from New York, who quickly sets her eye on Robert, betrothal or no betrothal. After Robert and Nancy meet in Paris and spend some quality time together in a wax museum, Nancy manages to wangle a stay at the Albin château, where ostensibly she is recuperating after a car crash at the gates to the estate. Continuity during the first half of the movie is choppy, because two reels of film have been lost; the action jumps from reel 1 to reel 4, although viewers can easily fill in the gaps. Unfortunately, even the surviving footage is in poor condition at times. Especially distressing are handwritten notes that the characters read; only a few frames of them exist, and they flash by. Viewers must freeze the image to read them.

Beyond the allure of the two stars, "Get Your Man" is a dated production that is generally static and stagey; although made in 1927, the film does not reach the heights of the great movies of the late 1920's, which was the apex of the silent era. The contrived situations are not convincing, such as Nancy's silly flirtation with Simone's father or the nonsensical reason for her staying at the château. Bow and Rogers re-teamed later that same year in the classic "Wings" to much better effect. However, the film does have historical import in that the director was Dorothy Arzner, Hollywood's only female director during the "Golden Age." With but 20 directorial efforts to her name, Arzner was nevertheless the first woman to become a member of the Directors' Guild, and any of her films merits attention.

Patient viewers able to tolerate a partially deteriorated silent film with two reels missing will be rewarded with the glow of two enduring stars, Clara Bow of the flashing eyes and Charles "Buddy" Rogers of the boy-next-door smile. While the theatrical shenanigans on screen belong to a world that vanished nearly a century ago, the film offers the opportunity to sit in the dark and bask in the glow of bygone glamour and discover the work of a pioneering female director.

"Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together..."

[brchthethird · 7/10 · 16 March 2023]

When watching older films, it's always interesting to see how the cultural attitudes depicted in them compare with our own. Being one of those perennial themes, love/romance is one that rewards continued examination. Get Your Man is one of countless films that explore and challenge the social conventions around the love relationship and the eventuality of marriage.

Here, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, playing the heir to a duchy, has been promised to a woman since childhood. While in Paris on an errand in preparation for his impending nuptials, he ends up running into the same woman (Clara Bow) at various places, to the point where it's like Fate is trying to tell him something. He ends up falling her, and she for him. Existing as it does in a post-Romantic world and being a comedy, a happy ending is expected, and is what is delivered, with Rogers' engagement broken and his future with Clara Bow assured.

The central issue at the heart of Get Your Man is marrying for love instead of deferring to one's parents in the ever-so-important choice of life partner. The conclusion the film comes to is one that embraces a broader basis for marriage while still affirming the importance of parental authority/blessing for whatever choice their children make. It all seems a bit passe now but wouldn't necessarily have been when this came out in the 1920's, especially among the upper class who, although having great power and privilege, have always been bound, at least in theory, by stricter social conventions when it comes to the matters of family ties and progeny.

The cultural attitude expressed here does push the boundaries a bit but isn't truly revolutionary. Buddy Rogers is allowed to choose his spouse, but she is still someone close to him in social status, being a socialite. Put another way, the parameters of discussion are adjusted while remaining within a commonly held rules-based moral order. Fidelity is still valued, and promises are kept until/unless relieved of the obligation.

Of secondary importance, but certainly relevant to the 1920's specifically, is increased female agency. The woman's desires regarding her marital future are considered along with the man's, even if true equality within the marriage was still in the future.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on Get Your Man. From a craft perspective, it was decent enough for a late silent film. Clara Bow and Buddy Rogers made a good screen couple, and you get to see her versatility/talent for emoting through several closeups. The source I watched on YouTube didn't have a musical accompaniment, but I'm not going to complain because it allowed me to think about the stuff I elaborated on earlier. There was also a fair amount of print damage in places, but it never interfered with comprehensibility and understandable for a nearly 100-year-old film that (to my limited knowledge) hasn't yet undergone a proper restoration. The people who digitize these priceless artifacts of film history and make them available to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to experience them are heroes in my book.

Another slice of perfection from the divine Miss Bow!

[David-240 · 10/10 · 10 July 2001]

Can Clara Bow do anything wrong? This perfect French farce, beautifully directed by Dorothy Arzner, sees Clara as an American in Paris. She falls madly in love with the utterly gorgeous Charles 'Buddy' Rogers (and who wouldn't?). Trouble is he's a nobleman betrothed since childhood to another woman. So Clara devises an elaborate plan to "get her man". Clara is just delicious, playing with comic perfection, and very sexy to boot. The scenes when she seduces the old Marquise, played brilliantly by Harvey Clark, are hilarious, and the final stage of her plan is so outrageous you'll hardly believe the film-makers got away with it. How sad that there is some bad nitrate decomposition and some missing footage on the one surviving print. But even this can't stop that Bow glow! 10 out of 10!

Clara Bow saves it (sort of)

[Philipp_Flersheim · 5/10 · 7 January 2022]

Clara Bow is the only reason for watching this picture: She is as vivacious, charming and funny as anyone could be on silent film. In all other respects, the thing does not really work. The plot is incredibly contrived: An arranged marriage between French aristocrats (didn't they have that revolution some time ago?) provides the background; Clara agrees to marry the father of the bride on condition that he releases his daughter from the engagement - her aim being to free up the bridegroom whom she wants to marry herself... It is all rather silly. What's more, Clara's character would not come across as particulary likeable if she was not Clara, whom it is impossible to dislike. The plot is so poorly constructed that you hardly notice that two out of six reels of the film are lost. Says it all, really.

The Flaming Youth Who Thought!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 10 February 2015]

B.P. Schulberg decided to give 29 year old Dorothy Arzner a chance at directing a top Paramount production featuring Clara Bow. Charles "Buddy" Rogers was asked how he would feel being directed by a woman and "nice guy" Rogers replied that he'd be happy that anyone wanted to direct him!! Arzner came completely under Clara's spell - she thought Clara was a complete natural and understood every emotion she was asked to exhibit. She couldn't understand how someone with no formal training could have such infallible instincts into what worked and what didn't. Arzner said "they called Clara the "flaming youth", well she was the flaming youth who thought"!!! For all that though, "Get Your Man" was more of the typical "It" formula - sort of an "It Girl Goes to Paris"!!!

I agree with all the reviewers here - Clara was a marvel and could make the most inconsequential film seem like something really special - and this film had no hidden meaning. These "by the numbers" formula films were getting too frequent and Clara must have been getting pretty fed up when her adorable cuteness was milked for all it was worth. In fact the first 15 minutes is a lovely "chase" through Paris with Clara as Nancy Worthington, a lively American girl who is spending her first unchaperoned holiday in the City of Love! She keeps bumping into Robert (Rogers) who has been sent to Paris to get the family pearls re-strung, there are hi-jinks at the Paris wax works and they find love at last. Apparently as part of the missing footage Nancy and Robert find themselves locked in the wax works overnight!!

There are a couple of missing reels but not enough to confuse the viewer. The next scene shows Robert back home and eager to break his engagement - yes he and Simone (lovely Josephine Dunn) have one of those old family engagements that was made official when the two were children. But, surprise!! surprise!! Nancy is already there (the missing reels showed her chasing him to his home without his knowledge and being involved in a motor accident!!). Simone is also not keen on the engagement as she also loves another - Henri!! As Nancy advises her "turn Robert back in circulation and get your man"!!

All this still hasn't stopped Nancy from inventing a fiancé of her own - Tommy Cushion!! - one of the Cushions from Davenport!! By the end, the French style farce has evolved into slapstick with a riotous bedroom romp, so Clara can get rid of a real fiancé, this time the Marquis de Villenue and take her own advice to "get her man"!!!

another Clara-Buddy classic

[allahjayne · 9/10 · 7 August 2000]

Get Your Man is a great silent starring Buddy Rogers. This was his second co-starring with Clara Bow, the first being 1927's Wings. Set in France, the tale starts with a young Buddy at a betrothal ceremony to a young French girl. Then, when they've grown up and are getting ready for the big day, Clara the American girl shows up. After falling in love with Buddy, Clara starts an elaborate plan to 'get her man'. Overall, it is a light, cute comedy.