A seeming marriage of convenience provides companionship for the lovely widow Kay Francis and foreign legion officer Ian Hunter, but when Hunter's dashing friend Errol Flynn comes along, it's only a matter of time before sparks fly. The threat of war seems to create constant danger, but Francis, always impeccably dressed, finds time for polite chit-chat with her husband and romance with the dashing Flynn. With a script of poetic mutterings by Flynn, how could she not? But for Flynn's sister, the noble Frieda Inescort, having been in love with Hunter for years, realizing what's going on is a crisis for her conscience, and for these four beautiful noble people, it must be as heart-wrenching for them as it is dull for much of the audience.
With no key villain involved in this triangle (pretty much a sexless one), there's little sizzle between the leads and that causes this oh so nice romantic soap opera to suffer from slow pacing and unrealistic situations. The four stars are all fine, but outside of the intrigue concerning their mission, Hunter and Flynn are dull and lifeless. Flynn sounds silly with much of his lines, and when Hunter has to become commanding, he's unconvincing.
That's not the case for the two ladies, putting glamour and feminine charm in what was essentially a man's film. The generic title just seems to lay there with no purpose. Herbert Mundin provides a bit of comedy and Ben Welden is amusing as a wealthy Russian letch who makes a play for Francis, prompting a great reply from her which indicates bluntly, "No dice". I had hoped for more heat between Kay and Errol, but that is lacking. The over nobility of the major characters leads to a ridiculously clichéd finale that even after multiple viewings had me rolling my eyes. As a huge Kay Francis fan, I would watch this over and over, but as a film historian, call it a second rate finale to her A list years at Warner Brothers. She scored the same year with "Confession", and to a lesser degree with "First Lady", but in spite the use of the title in the film's last scene, it's just average.
With no key villain involved in this triangle (pretty much a sexless one), there's little sizzle between the leads and that causes this oh so nice romantic soap opera to suffer from slow pacing and unrealistic situations. The four stars are all fine, but outside of the intrigue concerning their mission, Hunter and Flynn are dull and lifeless. Flynn sounds silly with much of his lines, and when Hunter has to become commanding, he's unconvincing.
That's not the case for the two ladies, putting glamour and feminine charm in what was essentially a man's film. The generic title just seems to lay there with no purpose. Herbert Mundin provides a bit of comedy and Ben Welden is amusing as a wealthy Russian letch who makes a play for Francis, prompting a great reply from her which indicates bluntly, "No dice". I had hoped for more heat between Kay and Errol, but that is lacking. The over nobility of the major characters leads to a ridiculously clichéd finale that even after multiple viewings had me rolling my eyes. As a huge Kay Francis fan, I would watch this over and over, but as a film historian, call it a second rate finale to her A list years at Warner Brothers. She scored the same year with "Confession", and to a lesser degree with "First Lady", but in spite the use of the title in the film's last scene, it's just average.