The melodrama threatens to bubble over the edge of the pot on a couple of occasions and the change in tone in the final act won’t be to everyone’s taste, but the overall product in this comedy-drama is quite satisfying thanks to the elevating performances of the stars and supporting cast.
James Stewart, who is eminently likable in pretty much everything he appears, plays Johnny Mason, a struggling lawyer who’s at the bottom of the food chain at a stodgy New York partnership. The radiant Carole Lombard is Jane, a woman he meets on a business trip to Boston. Shortly after that chance encounter, they impulsively get married.
It should be noted this all happens before the film actually begins. For some time, Jane is known to us only by the framed photograph Johnny is carrying as he walks the streets of Manhattan. The first we see of Johnny, he’s entering the office after returning from a business trip in Boston, at which time co-workers dump confetti on his head and offer their congratulations on the nuptials. Well, everyone but Carter (Donald Briggs) a fellow lawyer who takes great delight in reminding Mason that the firm’s senior partner Judge Doolittle (the dependable Charles Coburn) was under the impression Mason would marry the judge’s daughter Eunice (Ruth Weston).
Indeed, the judge is wholly unimpressed by Mason’s announcement, makes a pointed remark about the high number of divorces and only begrudgingly agrees to give the newlyweds two weeks for a honeymoon to Europe. But wait, Mason can’t go after all because a big case that only he is familiar with is coming up. Doolittle sends the smirking Carter to fetch Mason and his bride right off the boat. It’s the first of a string of disappointments for the young couple.
There’s more trouble on the home front, where Mason’s mother (Lucile Watson) disapproves of the marriage and undermines and belittles Jane at every opportunity.
Toss in the arrival of a baby boy, mounting bills, a disastrous dinner party, a string of unhelpful cook-servant-maids and a promotion that goes to the wrong man and things get tougher and tougher for the lovebirds.
Really, what carries the picture through the soapy plot and the occasional lulls is the work of the stellar cast. Lombard in particular is earnest in her portrayal of a woman doing her best to savour the watermelon and “spit out the seeds” — a bit of charming advice that Jane receives from a sunny-dispositioned cook named Lily (Louise Beavers) who finally snaps the run of bad hires by the Masons. To the modern-day viewer, there are unfortunate racial overtones to the use of a watermelon analogy, but in reality Beavers' performance is as strong a portrayal of a black woman one could hope to find in this period. Jane treats Lily as a friend and confidante.
Making a late but important appearance in the film is Eddie Quillan as a pilot who undertakes an important mission tied to the denouement of the story. The unmistakable Ward Bond makes a cameo appearance in the going.
One account of the movie says that producer David O. Selznick, inspired by a real-life incident involving his brother Myron, tacked on the ending about medicine having to be rushed to the hospital after the original cut of the film fared poorly with test audiences. The twist is certainly jarring and some critics will have to be forgiving about this abrupt detour if they want to enjoy other elements of the movie.
The director is John Cromwell, who was also in the chair for Algiers (1938) and the 1937 version of The Prisoner of Zenda.
While there are many lighthearted moments, especially in the first half, this is not a screwball comedy. The hard times in the Masons’ marriage are not depicted with cartoon arguments and one-liners all around. The character changes from the beginning of the movie to the end are fairly honest.
Who’d like it: Fans of weepies, lovers of the aw-shucks Jimmy Stewart persona, folks who like a little of everything — comedy, drama, action — in their movies.
Who should stay away: Anyone who can’t stand any hint of melodrama, mushy romance or sentimentality.
No comments:
Post a Comment