Frank Borzage seems to me to be one of the more idiosyncratic directors who worked in Golden Age Hollywood. This is about the third film of his I've seen in recent months and it strikes me that his individualistic mixture of excitement, romance and comedy combined with big epic occurrences will draw me back to sample more of his work.
For this film, to which someone could surely have dreamed up a punchier title, he mixes elements of romantic melodrama, gritty toughness, comedy and disaster movie in a very eclectic way.
Jean Arthur is the posh-frocked New York socialite driven to seek a divorce from her filthy-rich husband, Colin Clive's all-consuming possessiveness and jealousy. He won't allow it of course, taking it as an affront to his masculinity as much as his social standing, so that he engineers a devious ploy while they are staying in a swanky Paris hotel, to blackmail her into dropping her suit by paying his chauffeur to enter her room along with a photographer to catch her in a compromising and divorcable position. The plan goes west however when the suave, handsome hotel head-waiter, played by Charles Boyer, intervenes, rescuing Arthur and laying out the offending chauffeur. When he discovers the failure of his plan, Clive then goes to a hastily improvised Plan B which will see Boyer sought for murder.
From this violent episode, Borzage then changes pace entirely, as Boyer and Arthur fall madly in love, do the town together and introduces an element of humour in the person of Boyer's best mate, the hotel's celebrated chef, Leo Carrillo, who certainly plays up his temperamental Gallic part.
Clive then persuades Arthur to go back to New York with him in return for not involving Boyer in the ensuing murder case but the smitten waiter, with his gastronomic chum in tow, follows them to America. There are more twists and turns but the major development is the return of the loving couple, plus one, to Paris, to help clear the innocent man who is now being set up for the homicide. To do this they board Clive's new ocean liner (I told you he was filthy rich!) giving Clive one last chance to recklessly disrupt Boyer and Arthur's plans, which action leads to a heightened finish evoking memories of the Titanic disaster of 25 years before, as well as resulting in a violent conclusion to Clive's grudge.
The cinematography is let down by some ugly model-work for the climactic scenes involving the ship and there's even one lazy set-up with Boyer and Arthur supposedly walking down a New York street in front of a garishly obvious back projection of fellow-pedestrians. The story is fantastical and the mood-swings of the film are certainly noticeable. Still, if you park your credibility meter, the final outcome is a film which despite its unusual narrative drive, is just about held together by Borzage's overarcing direction and fine star-acting by Boyer and Arthur.
It's just a pity mind you, that that the real Titanic wasn't designed the same way as Clive's "Princess Irene"...
For this film, to which someone could surely have dreamed up a punchier title, he mixes elements of romantic melodrama, gritty toughness, comedy and disaster movie in a very eclectic way.
Jean Arthur is the posh-frocked New York socialite driven to seek a divorce from her filthy-rich husband, Colin Clive's all-consuming possessiveness and jealousy. He won't allow it of course, taking it as an affront to his masculinity as much as his social standing, so that he engineers a devious ploy while they are staying in a swanky Paris hotel, to blackmail her into dropping her suit by paying his chauffeur to enter her room along with a photographer to catch her in a compromising and divorcable position. The plan goes west however when the suave, handsome hotel head-waiter, played by Charles Boyer, intervenes, rescuing Arthur and laying out the offending chauffeur. When he discovers the failure of his plan, Clive then goes to a hastily improvised Plan B which will see Boyer sought for murder.
From this violent episode, Borzage then changes pace entirely, as Boyer and Arthur fall madly in love, do the town together and introduces an element of humour in the person of Boyer's best mate, the hotel's celebrated chef, Leo Carrillo, who certainly plays up his temperamental Gallic part.
Clive then persuades Arthur to go back to New York with him in return for not involving Boyer in the ensuing murder case but the smitten waiter, with his gastronomic chum in tow, follows them to America. There are more twists and turns but the major development is the return of the loving couple, plus one, to Paris, to help clear the innocent man who is now being set up for the homicide. To do this they board Clive's new ocean liner (I told you he was filthy rich!) giving Clive one last chance to recklessly disrupt Boyer and Arthur's plans, which action leads to a heightened finish evoking memories of the Titanic disaster of 25 years before, as well as resulting in a violent conclusion to Clive's grudge.
The cinematography is let down by some ugly model-work for the climactic scenes involving the ship and there's even one lazy set-up with Boyer and Arthur supposedly walking down a New York street in front of a garishly obvious back projection of fellow-pedestrians. The story is fantastical and the mood-swings of the film are certainly noticeable. Still, if you park your credibility meter, the final outcome is a film which despite its unusual narrative drive, is just about held together by Borzage's overarcing direction and fine star-acting by Boyer and Arthur.
It's just a pity mind you, that that the real Titanic wasn't designed the same way as Clive's "Princess Irene"...