What a surprise! I find most 1930s comedies decidedly unfunny, a lot irritating, a few reasonably amusing and a handful such as OH MR PORTER and BRINGING UP BABY funny - this now joins that select list.
We're not too sure whether we're going to like Larry and Merle in this when it begins. She's a self-centred, spoilt brat and he's your typical 1930s toff - the sort of person who never says please and thank you. By virtue of a clever script, dynamic direction and excellent acting, although you've got nothing in common with this pair you quickly begin empathising with them and they become really likeable. That ticks the most essential requirement for a film like this - it's thoroughly enjoyable.
Olivier could easily have been a successful star of light comedies had he wished. If you'd have never seen him in anything else, watching this you'd just assume that he was a leading light comedy actor like William Powell. In this picture he's an entitled, stiff-shirted snob but a cuddly teddy bear under the surface. We like him but we still want to see him knocked down a peg of two and put back in his place and that's exactly what happens. It's good to see this arrogant toff shown up as a hopeless gullible twerp getting taught a lesson for being so sexist
Had she not gone down the dramatic route, Merle Oberon could have been an English Joan Blondell. She's absolutely delightful in this and unlike most 1930s female roles, it's her who is firmly in charge here.
It's also in colour - in fact England's first proper Technicolor feature and whilst us 1930s film fans swoon over the nuanced shadows of black and white photography, the colour really adds an extra dimension making it extra special. If you like films from this era and are frustrated with the disappointment that most 30s comedies aren't funny, watch this.
We're not too sure whether we're going to like Larry and Merle in this when it begins. She's a self-centred, spoilt brat and he's your typical 1930s toff - the sort of person who never says please and thank you. By virtue of a clever script, dynamic direction and excellent acting, although you've got nothing in common with this pair you quickly begin empathising with them and they become really likeable. That ticks the most essential requirement for a film like this - it's thoroughly enjoyable.
Olivier could easily have been a successful star of light comedies had he wished. If you'd have never seen him in anything else, watching this you'd just assume that he was a leading light comedy actor like William Powell. In this picture he's an entitled, stiff-shirted snob but a cuddly teddy bear under the surface. We like him but we still want to see him knocked down a peg of two and put back in his place and that's exactly what happens. It's good to see this arrogant toff shown up as a hopeless gullible twerp getting taught a lesson for being so sexist
Had she not gone down the dramatic route, Merle Oberon could have been an English Joan Blondell. She's absolutely delightful in this and unlike most 1930s female roles, it's her who is firmly in charge here.
It's also in colour - in fact England's first proper Technicolor feature and whilst us 1930s film fans swoon over the nuanced shadows of black and white photography, the colour really adds an extra dimension making it extra special. If you like films from this era and are frustrated with the disappointment that most 30s comedies aren't funny, watch this.