This was two-thirds of a great movie, but my god what a two-thirds! The media satire and the romantic comedy elements are where this was strongest. The expedition to find the lost brother didn't add too much for me except make this at least 20 minutes longer than it had to be, although they did find a way to tie it back to the opening scenes. Gable and Loy were obviously great. Walter Connolly was a hoot, although I could have used a little more of him. Where the film doesn't age as well is in its approach to primitive cultures, although this would have been par for the course when this was made. It was more than a little ironic to have an isolated South American tribe's ritual being filmed as entertainment and then have them (in the context of the film) react to watching film clips as if they were dark magic. Overall, while a bit overlong --particularly dragging in the middle-- there was plenty of madcap banter and surprisingly au courante digs at #FakeNews. Most of the journalists staging newsreels for public consumption would not have been out of place as CNN field reporters covering the first Iraq War.
Random aside: There was a throwaway line about "Dromedary Cigarettes." Oblique reference to Camels?
Random aside: There was a throwaway line about "Dromedary Cigarettes." Oblique reference to Camels?