There's a wonderful line from Man-Proof. Myrna Loy starts the movie in love with Walter Pidgeon, and when he marries Rosalind Russell instead, she's heartbroken. She's a bridesmaid at the wedding, and in the receiving line, she shakes Pidge's hand. "I hope you'll be very unhappy," she says. The attendants gasp; is she going to cause a scene? "I mean it. Because everything I wish for doesn't come true." Incidentally, costumer Dolly Tree designed an absolutely hideous ensemble for Roz's wedding. I don't know if she meant for Roz to look terrible in comparison to Myrna, but it's impossible to watch the scene without dissolving into giggles.
Back to the story: Myrna's floozy mother, Nana Bryant, and her childhood friend, Franchot Tone, try to encourage her to get over Pidge, but it's easier said than done. Myrna tries to focus on her career and gets a job working in the same newspaper office as Franchot, but after Pidge returns from his honeymoon and wants to get in contact with her, will she be strong enough to resist?
Franchot, normally easy to root for even when you know he's not going to get the girl, was pretty irritating in this movie. He has a constant attitude towards Myrna, and he's critical while taking a holier-than-thou approach. He's not given enough character development for the audience to understand why he acts this way, or why he feels he has the right to. However, as unlikable as he is, he seems like Prince Charming compared to Pidge. If this were the first movie I saw him in, I'd hate him!
He was such a cad, I couldn't believe it actually was Walter Pidgeon. A playboy through and through, he had absolutely no respect for women or marriage, and he believed he could have his cake and eat it, too - and right in front of the first cake! It was disgusting, and it was also disgusting to know that some men really did act that way in 1938. Furthermore, it was also disgusting that nearly ninety years later, there are still men who act that way. Anyway, if you love Pidge, you might want to avoid seeing him in this role.
Back to the story: Myrna's floozy mother, Nana Bryant, and her childhood friend, Franchot Tone, try to encourage her to get over Pidge, but it's easier said than done. Myrna tries to focus on her career and gets a job working in the same newspaper office as Franchot, but after Pidge returns from his honeymoon and wants to get in contact with her, will she be strong enough to resist?
Franchot, normally easy to root for even when you know he's not going to get the girl, was pretty irritating in this movie. He has a constant attitude towards Myrna, and he's critical while taking a holier-than-thou approach. He's not given enough character development for the audience to understand why he acts this way, or why he feels he has the right to. However, as unlikable as he is, he seems like Prince Charming compared to Pidge. If this were the first movie I saw him in, I'd hate him!
He was such a cad, I couldn't believe it actually was Walter Pidgeon. A playboy through and through, he had absolutely no respect for women or marriage, and he believed he could have his cake and eat it, too - and right in front of the first cake! It was disgusting, and it was also disgusting to know that some men really did act that way in 1938. Furthermore, it was also disgusting that nearly ninety years later, there are still men who act that way. Anyway, if you love Pidge, you might want to avoid seeing him in this role.