User Reviews

Joy of Living is not one of Irene Dunne's five best movies, but she does what she can with a plot that often seems like a blend of "Theodora Goes Wild" and some of her earlier heroines she played so seriously and so well. In my opinion, it never quite gets off the runway, even though it has a long list of well-known character actors such as Eric Blore, Alice Brady and Franklin Pangborn and some able talents such as Douglas Fairbanks and Lucille Ball.

The trouble I had with "Joy of Living" is the fact it's too close to previous roles Irene Dunne played with distinction. How best to describe it? Going to the well once too often? Taking advantage of past successes audiences loved in order to leverage their drawing power? I thought the plot was weak and the writing less than top-notch, which was also true of the cinematography. The sequences in the roller skating rink were not well done; and the one real highlight of the film was Irene Dunne's impishness when she finally lets loose.

I don't blame Irene Dunne for making this movie; but the director failed in my opinion to develop it in such a way as to draw out and highlight her monumental talents. The music written by Jerome Kern, who is one of my favorite composers, doesn't reach up to his usually high standards either.

This movie is not a waste of money; and I hate to pan it. But I'm afraid Irene Dunne spoiled me with efforts like "Back Street"; "Ann Vickers"; "Consolation Marriage"; "Theodora Goes Wild"; "The Awful Truth"; "Love Affair"; and "I Remember Momma" and this movie simply isn't in that league.

Comedy about a famous singing sensation Maggie Garret (Irene Dunne) who is constantly hounded by the press and rabid autograph hounds, and that's not all - a man (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) who is crazy in love with her from afar is busy chasing after her too, but she doesn't seem to care for him and sees to it he is arrested for "mashing". But when he is sentenced to six months in jail (and based on the fact that he is rather handsome and charming, I surmise) she agrees to become his "probation officer" so that he can be released. Next thing you know he's advising her that she needs to live for herself and have some "fun". Soon they out on the town boozing it up on gigantic mugs full of beer, becoming very, very drunk to the point where they are playing face slapping games with other and end up stealing a bunch of signs from local businesses - h'm, at this point she actually begins to really like him for the first time, I guess all it took was the drink.

Nothing great here - but still entertaining, silly, and fun to watch. I didn't find this film particularly laugh-out-loud funny (except for the scenes with Billy Gilbert which ARE quite funny) - but it is amusing and has a number of scenes featuring favorite comic actors from the thirties including not just Billy Gilbert, but Franklin Pangborn, Eric Blore, even Lucille Ball - all seen in very small parts. The film also features a number of catchy songs performed by Irene Dunne, especially "You Couldn't Be Cuter" - so catchy, in fact, I am still singing it aloud as I type. Worth seeing.

Irene Dunne is glamorous Maggie Garret, famous Broadway star, who is supporting her family in "Joy of Living," a 1938 comedy also starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Alice Brady, Jean Dixon, Guy Kibbee, Lucille Ball, and Eric Blore. When Dunne meets the wealthy, carefree Dan Webster, he tries to show her what it's like to have fun and also to convince her that her family is freeloading off of her.

This film is so lightweight it practically drifts upward. Dunne sings the same song at least 40 times (or it felt like it), "Just Let Me Look at You." It was okay the first time; after that, you longed for another number. Dunne was adept at both comedy and drama, and she sang well. In comedy, she had the knack of appearing to have a good time and of improvising (which in "The Awful Truth," she was). I loved her scene in the courtroom when the judge says a respected person can be the parole officer/civilian guardian for Dan Webster, whom she has accused of stalking her. "You must know lots of important people," she says. Webster shakes his head. "The only one I know is you." Dunne purses her lips and, frustrated, says under her breath, "What a pity," while it never occurs to her that she's being set up. The roller skating sequence is very funny; the scene in the bar goes on a little too long.

Fairbanks, a very versatile and charming actor, is lively and attractive as Dan. Lucille Ball has a small role as Maggie's whiny sister/understudy. As Maggie's mother, Alice Brady is quite dramatic and overblown, as she tended to be, having come from the stage. However, Brady was an excellent actress, and her acting was appropriate for the role.

Nothing special, and I would submit that in order to enjoy it, you have to be a fan of Irene Dunne's.

Does anyone know whether this movie is based on the Mary Astor case? Poor Mary, like the actress in the movie, had parents who sponged off her something rotten. They lived in a mansion she bought for them and, no matter how much money she gave them, spent it and demanded more. After she tried numerous times to curb their extravagance (she was spending more on them than on her own family), the case ended up in court, where the judge took Mary's side. After her parents' death, Mary discovered diaries in which her mother had written viciously about how much she hated her.

Given that the court case took place four years before this movie appeared, and that portraying parents as evil is highly unusual for Hollywood, especially in a musical comedy, it seems that this element of the movie was inspired by Astor's troubles, but does anyone know for sure?

This ecstatic little musical comedy pageant must sport the highest level of springy, rambunctious, impromptu optimism of any film, right down to the lighthearded silliness of the whole movie which, at the same time one can feel underwhelmed by it, the filmmakers are holding true to the spirit of its characters, allowing no room for ardor of any kind.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.'s supposedly self-styled sprawlingly open and adaptable stream-of- consciousness maverick is not a very good person. In spite of guiding the always outstanding maven of feminine supremacy Irene Dunne to break free of her oppressive, controlling family, he is oppressive and controlling, too. He is essentially a stalker whose influence on his object of fondness (no description of anything regarding this film could get more passionate than that) causes her to reciprocate. This, however, is no matter, because by means of the movie's completely detached, carefree spirit, it doesn't matter what he's like.

Joy of Living's philosophy seems to border on reckless, Fairbanks and gradually Dunne feeling overly optimistic and expansive, disregarding the resulting difficulty with commitment and trustworthiness as the itch for fun and free-flowing unpredictability of events call the shots. But it's a perfectly cast film with hilarious scenes featuring a fat German man dancing.

Wow! This film fails on so many levels; and it fails badly.

During its intro credits, I noticed three screenwriters were listed. Often, that's a red flag. In this case it's warranted. The script is horrendous--positively gastly.

There is little chemistry between the two stars, who are generally quite likable in many other films--Dunne especially. I like Dunne throughout most of her career, and I think Fairbanks Jr's pre-Code work is often appealing.

The story and the story's characters are presented in a very unappealing manner. Another reviewer pointed out the valid similarities between this flick and "Ninotchka." Go with the latter and jettison the former.

And finally, the music...oh my, the music. Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields wrote brilliant music! This film is proof the pair also wrote bad--not mediocre, but BAD--music.

The film's strong point is seeing more than a half-dozen capable and recognizable character actors strut their stuff. But they have little to do and the lame script hampers them beyond repair.

Given its stars, era and studio (RKO), I'm surprised to say, "I'd almost rather watch a blank screen than this film." At times, it's truly painfull.

The 1930s were one of the worst decades in our history in terms of economics. People if they were lucky to have even the most menial of jobs, just scrimped and got by. You did that too if you were on what was then called relief.

Lots of socially relevant films were made, but they didn't draw flies as compared with escapist entertainment like Joy of Living. That's what people wanted to see, to keep their minds off their troubles.

And they wanted to see beautiful people and certainly stars Irene Dunne and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. fill that bill. Dunne is a musical comedy star on Broadway who has these leeches of a family dependent on her. And she meets playboy Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. who is a sea captain by avocation who wants to take her to the South Seas. Experience the Joy of Living.

I'm convinced part of the charm of this movie at least for the men is the notion they could escape with Doug and Irene by signing on as a deckhand. And the women sat in the audience hoping that a Fairbanks would come into their lives.

Well, maybe if they sang like Irene Dunne. Playing a musical comedy star gave her to sing some tunes from her favorite composer Jerome Kern. Besides Joy of Living, Irene Dunne did four other films with Jerome Kern scores. Sweet Adeline, Showboat, Roberta, and High Wide and Handsome were the others. From the score of Joy of Living, Just Let Me Look at You and You Couldn't Be Cuter sold quite a few 78 rpm platters back in 1938.

Escapist stuff like this depends on the charm of it's leads and charm is what Fairbanks and Dunne have in abundance. Nice and entertaining and easy to take is Joy of Living.

A successful star, a sponging family, and a wanderer with a pencil-thin mustache to upset the apple cart. With its antecedent in proto-screwball BOMBSHELL, 1938's JOY OF LIVING has a clear model that allows us to note its strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths first: Irene Dunne and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Miss Dunne sings here, something she did all too rarely in the movies. She was also a perfect foil in screwball comedy. As for Fairbanks, he was made for light comedy, one of those great leading men who never seemed to understand how good-looking he was. Their scenes together are a delight. The sequence where they go out for a cheap night on the town is simple, lighthearted fun. There's also a gret cast in support, including Guy Kibbee, Alice Brady, Lucille Ball, John Qualen Billy Gilbert....

The weakness, however, is that most of that cast is wasted. They are so wasted that there's no real sign that they are leeches. Kibbee and Miss Brady as Miss Dunne's parents might just be retired and enjoying having a daughter so successful she can keep them all on Sutton Place. Kibbee drinks secretly, Miss Brady flutters, Miss Ball seems a trifle clingy, but there are twins for Miss Dunne to sing "You Couldn't Be Cuter" to. The movie feels unbalanced, as if editor Jack Hively (who, as a director, may have invented Film Noir) tossed out the scenes establishing their character in favor of the leads drinking beer and playing "Crack the Whip" on an ice-skating rink.... which is understandable. Or perhaps director Tay Garnett thought the plot was so common he could just indicate it.

It's a close decision, and while I enjoy watching Billy Gilbert berating waiter Bert Roach, I don't think it's a favor to the movie. Still, it's great fun.

"Joy of Living" is an awfully bad film. I know that some other reviewers were pretty positive about this one, but I found it horribly written and, at times, tedious. Part of the problem is also due to Irene Dunne's singing--which is so high-pitched that you wonder if it would soon become impossible for anyone but dogs to hear it!

Dunne plays a successful but highly put upon Broadway star. Not only is her extended family made up of a bunch of spongers, but she has an annoying stalker (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) who continually annoys her. It culminates with him being taken to court for this and the judge (insanely) appoints Dunne to be his probation officer! On what planet does this make sense? What also makes sense is that the film is intended as a romantic-comedy--although what about stalking is romantic or funny, I have no idea! It begs you to question who would think any of this would make sense?! And, given that Dunne was a star, you wonder why she would agree to be in such a bizarre and irrational picture. It would seem to promote stalking as a great way to fall in love and get close to famous women!!

All in all, this is a terribly forced comedy--one that isn't particularly funny and one that marks a low point in the careers of both Dunne and Fairbanks. I cannot understand the positive reviews for such a badly written and horribly contrived film--let alone the insane message that stalking is pretty cool!!!

The script is what prevents Joy of Living from being the fabulous movie it could have been. Did the audience of 1938 find Fairbanks character -a stalker, controller, manipulator - appealing? Did the audience cheer when Dunne dumped her grasping family and abandoned her Broadway career for Fairbanks and an island in the South Seas? An island escape is fine for a 2-week vacation, but will forsaking all one has worked for and achieved, and abandoning stardom for fun and sublimating herself to her husband's goals of having a good time be satisfying? Also, Fairbanks is not stellar. He's an OK actor but not equivalent to Cooper, Gable, or even Scott or McCrea, not that any of these talents could have made a silk purse out of this sows ear of a character.

Fairbanks introduces the career-oriented Dunne to the Joy of Living, which is accessed via getting intoxicated on pitchers of beer. She cuts loose, has a barrel of fun, and in her inebriated state finds him so appealing that she marries him. And then runs away with him. He's besotted with the Great Star, but she's spent so little time with him that she doesn't know him or have any realistic idea of what life with him on his island will be like. Had the film ended 6 months after their marriage, we would have seen a very unhappy Dunne back in New York filing for divorce and returning to the Broadway stage.

What Dunne deserved is a husband of substance and merit who would have loved her - not just her public persona - and supported her in her career while pursuing his own career goals. Instead, as there were no other suitors, she tumbled to Fairbanks, who made noises like Donald Duck to show his displeasure and demonstrated his joie de vivre by whooping it up like an Indian brave going into battle.

Yes, I do understand that this is screwball comedy, but it falls far short of the great classics such as My Man Godfrey and Dunne's The Awful Truth. Still, despite the poor script, Dunne's performance makes this film worth watching.

Irene Dunne plays a Broadway singer who serves as her family's meal ticket. Her family, including sister Lucille Ball, don't do much, other than enjoy the wealth and status (by association) Dunne's success brings them. Dunne is exhausted, but is constantly pressured into taking more and more responsibilities on and Dunne does so as to not disappoint her family. Despite all of her hard work and wealth, her family's spendthrift ways have plunged Dunne deeply into depth. When she finds out about her financial woes, she is very disillusioned (who wouldn't be?).

Dunne ends up meeting heady and fresh Douglas Fairbanks Jr. At first she is put off by Fairbanks' pushiness and even has him arrested at one point, accusing him of being a masher. Fairbanks manages to charm his way out of jail time and even gets Dunne appointed as his probation officer. Legally he has to report to Dunne two times a week. As she gets to know Fairbanks, Dunne finds out that he comes from wealth but has chosen to live his life as a pleasure seeker. He also claims to own an island in the South Pacific and urges Dunne to leave her stress behind and live in paradise with him.

Lucille Ball is good as Dunne's younger sister (and understudy), but her part is so small, she doesn't really get to make much of an impression. Though, she continues to prove that she is good with the one-liners. It must have been frustrating for Lucy to have come from such a great supporting part in Stage Door, only to be put into another small supporting part, but in not as prestigious a film. Irene Dunne is good here, even though it is only sightly above average material. Douglas Fairbanks Jr is always a charmer and he's very handsome in this film. It's easy to see why Dunne would have a hard time between choosing Broadway or Fairbanks.

The elegant and circumspect soprano Irene Dunne, the charming and sophisticated Douglas Fairbanks Jr., the vivacious and witty Lucille Ball, a host of character performers, including Alice Brady, Warren Hymer, Eric Blore, Phyllis Kennedy AND Franklin Pangborn, with a score by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields... What more talent could a comedy require to fulfill the screen classics' mold?

"Joy of Living" (RKO-Radio 1938) contains all of this and more, considering the wisecracking antics of Margaret Garret's (Miss Dunne) Assistant, Harrison (Jean Dixon), who helps to advance this film's plot whereas most other characters--including that of leading man Dan Brewster (Douglas Jr.)--are written without very much in the way of dimension.

Here, it is (quite naturally) up to Irene to serve as Moral Center and Douglas (with able assistance from Miss Dixon) to advance the story of Musical stage star Margaret Garret's decision to continue along with her overly-demanding career or to sail away in a carefree lifestyle.

Whether or not she may balance both entities isn't an option granted to Margaret Garret, although Irene would play the character as responsible as the script allows.

Sometimes one wonders why Miss Dunne would pass on a script like "Follow the Fleet" (RKO 1936) - an Irving Berlin scored picture - in order to embark upon a lesser Musical later on. One may speculate that she has already "Been there, done that" with Randolph, Fred and Ginger in "Roberta" (RKO 1935) - also a Jerome Kern scored film; perhaps for the choice of songs, perhaps to co-star with Douglas?

In many another film, Irene Dunne conveys to an audience her characters' motivations and decision-making processes, enriching her pathos therein. Here, she explains to her Assistant (Miss Dixon) her reasons for desiring to support her family (which hadn't much in the way of material wealth before she arose to Broadway fame) and toward her feelings of the moment for Dan, usually when she loves him not.

Margaret's family consists here of parents, Minerva (Alice Brady) and Dennis Garret (Guy Kibbee), sister and brother-in-law Salina (Lucille Ball) and Bert Pine (Frank Milan) and twin toddler nieces, Dotsy (Dorothy Steiner) and Betsy Pine (Estelle Steiner).

Minerva cherishes Margaret's theatre wealth to purchase antiques, Dennis to stock up on alcohol, Bert to sponge idly. Salina, too, depends entirely upon her sister but also serves as her understudy, publicly complaining about the importunity to appear on stage, yet privately gloating over the opportunity to share Margaret's illustrious living quarters.

"Joy of Living" opens lavishly with Margaret, attired in exquisite white gown with a dozen or so tuxedo-clad escorts on hand, to serenade "What's Good About Good Night?" as her show's finale. After being "received" by family and admirers in her cramped dressing room, she exits the theatre to be hounded by a mob of autograph seekers, who uncontrollably begin to usurp her wrap and accessories.

Enter Dan Brewster, to whisk Margaret to the safety of his limousine; yet, from there, upon her appreciative rejection, he begins to stalk the star for his own purposes, which include his attempt to free her of her responsibilities to career, fans and family.

Along the way, Margaret cleverly ushers Dan to a police station, to have him arrested although he does not seem to mind in the least, laughing off this action as he does most throughout the film. According to this script, she could spare his incarceration if only in the event that she would volunteer to serve as his custodian. Okay.

Film quality ranks a little below standard for cinematography in certain scenes although overall fine. Sound quality, however, leaves plenty to be desired.

In short, it's noisy. For one thing, its score wouldn't have made Jerome Kern or Dorothy Fields famous of its own merit. There is much cacophony on the home front from the twins and other distractions, as well as that duck quacking going on.

It's supposed to be a distracting setting in order for Margaret to need a reason to escape if she likes. But if you listen at low volume, then you may miss a deal of conversation involving our soft-spoken stars.

Douglas appears in four comedies in 1938, "Joy of Living," the first and longest. He plays his leading roles in the other three a bit more seriously than as Dan Brewster, here: as Jim Trevor in "The Rage of Paris," at Universal, co-starring the lovely Danielle Darrieux; as Chick Kirkland in "Having Wonderful Time," back at RKO, opposite the glamorous Ginger Rogers; and as Richard Carleton in "The Young in Heart," at United Artists, along with the perky Janet Gaynor, in her last feature film starring role.

Irene, however, makes her sole 1938 feature appearance in "Joy of Living," which she sandwiches between two other RKO productions, "The Awful Truth" (1937), opposite Cary Grant, and "Love Affair" (1939), co-starring Charles Boyer.

Alice Brady marks one of her last appearances in "Joy of Living," with a mere two to follow before her untimely passing. Actually, Miss Brady and Miss Dunne share an age difference of six years, a shorter span than the difference between Irene and Douglas, one of her youngest leading men in a Romance.

So, whether or not you may consider "Joy of Living" a film classic, it still serves as a gem in the Golden Age archives because of the elegant and circumspect soprano Irene Dunne, the charming and sophisticated Douglas Fairbanks Jr., the vivacious and witty Lucille Ball, a host of character performers, including Alice Brady, Warren Hymer, Eric Blore, Phyllis Kennedy AND Franklin Pangborn, plus a score by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.

The 32 previous reviews on here are, to say the least, wide-ranging. Some are from people who don't like musical comedies, so their reviews are little more than an exercise in futility. Others show little knowledge of what Hollywood was producing in the late 1930s. Some are very perceptive indeed.

I particularly like Irene Dunne and Fairbanks Jr., so I was disappointed with this entry in their filmographies. On a second viewing, I can see where much of the problem lies: the script, the direction, and the music (all things some previous reviewers have praised, I know).

The movie opens with the finale of Broadway musical star Maggie Garret's (Irene Dunne) new show. Dunne appears in a beautiful gown, surrounded by handsome young men in formal attire. She sings a number while dancing with one of the men. And it's boring. The music is instantly forgettable, and the choreography, despite the great staging, does nothing to capture our attention. This from RKO Studios, which at the same time was producing all those Astaire-Rodgers movies, many no doubt filmed on the same sound stage with the same sort of costumes, but with infinitely more interesting choreography and often truly memorable tunes - some of them by the same composer, Jerome Kern.

One of the scenes several reviewers singled out for praise was the skating rink scene. It's mildly amusing, because neither of the main characters knows how to skate, but only mildly. Again, RKO had produced similar scenes with Astaire, and Fox with Sonja Henie, that were both much better staged and filmed and much funnier.

The problem, then, in part was that the forces behind the screen - director, choreographer, composer - just didn't do a very good job here. Some of them did elsewhere, certainly. The director, Tay Garnett, produced classics like *The Postman Always Rings Twice*. The composer, Jerome Kern, gave us masterpieces like *Showboat* and *Roberta* (in the movies of which Dunne also starred). But here, they seem to have fallen down on the job.

The script is also weak. As others have remarked, the various family members are not developed. They have no individual personalities. I was also bothered that Dunne's Maggie was given no good reason for putting up with her free-loading family. In most respects she is presented from the beginning as an intelligent professional woman. It's therefore hard to buy why she would have put up with them so long.

So, as with the opening musical number, there's nothing really wrong with this movie. Dunne and Fairbanks are fun to watch, together and separately. But there's nothing memorable here. The actors and these scenes have been better elsewhere.

I have, since falling madly in love with her in "The Awful Truth," every movie made by Irene Dunne -- at least every one listed in the filmography here. Some of her women's pictures are surprisingly good and one -- "I Remember Mama" -- is impossible stomach, at least or me. "Shaw Boat" is my favorite movie musical.

I don't care for "My Favorite Wife," one of her most famous, because it seems snobbish and mean. And "A Guy Named Joe" rings false from start to finish.

This one falls somewhere in between but it is definitely a lesser entry. She is fine but Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., is way, way too self-consciously cute. The toy duck and the duck sounds he make are really from hunger.

I think she was a trifle old for her role in "Show Boat" but her singing works and the est of the singing, especially by Helen Morgan and Paul Robeson, is extraordinary. And the Tosti we hear her singing in the recital Cary Grant barges in on in "The Awful Truth" is delightful.

Here, the music doesn't seem to work. She was a good, but I think not any sort of great, singer. There is something static about the presentation of her songs here.

My favorite Irene Dunne movies are "The Awful Truth," which I consider the funniest comedy ever made; "Show Boat"; "Unfinished Business," which is a real heartbreaker and one of Gregory La Cava's very best; and "Anna and the King of Siam," which I consider a very beautiful movie, despite the politically incorrect casting of Rex Harrison as the king.

A determined bachelor teaches a workaholic show girl how to have fun and in the process become her own person.

It's a shame that despite all the energetic input, the result is as forgettable as it is. The madcap just doesn't come off, despite the many zany setups. I agree with another reviewer: the main problem is with Fairbanks as the obsessed Romeo. Whatever his other acting skills, madcap comedy is not one of them. Unfortunately, he's more like a grinning lounge lizard here than a charming free spirit. Then too, he's not helped by a script that turns his character (Brewster) into more of a stalker than a love-struck Lochinvar. Plus, his advances toward Maggie (Dunne) appear at times more creepy than amorous. Thus, without a strong central core, the movie flounders despite such other comedic talents as Kibbee and Ball, who are given far too little to do.

Neither, for that matter, does director Garnett manage to get the material to gel, simply going from one hectic set-up to the next in uninspired fashion. He appears to have little feel for the zany material. Frankly, the movie made me yearn for the talents of a Cary Grant or a Howard Hawks. That aside, the overall message is a good one—Brewster teaches the staid Maggie how to have fun. Now, if only the movie could have done the same-- For hard-core fans of Dunne only.

This is the first film I've seen of Irene Dunne's and I was amazed at how much she reminded me of Susan Sarandon. Take a look at the scene where she and Douglas Fairbanks are in a courtroom and I think you'll see what I mean! It's really remarkable! Part of it is her voice inflections, but it's also her mannerisms and the way she smiles. As far as I can tell, the two seem completely unrelated, however. The only biographical info I found about Dunne lists her having an adopted daughter. Anyway, it's a cute movie, but a little typical. On a side note, it's interesting to see Lucille Ball in a small role before she became really famous.

Underwhelming rom com. Don't know what it was exactly. Maybe it needed more of Irene Dunne dealing with her schnoring family and less of the lovey dovey stuff with a dull Doug Fairbanks, but I certainly expected more from the director of "Postman", although, come to think of it, Garnett dined out on that great film for quite awhile, now didn't he? Solid C.

Irene Dunne is Maggie, huge broadway star. She has the honor of supporting her family, which includes LUCY as her less talented sister. And Alice Brady as her mom. No time for fun. Until she meets Dan Brewster (Fairbanks Junior). Some similarities to The Star 1952 from 20th Century. In The Star, the dude gives her a place to stay when she has nowhere else to go when things get really rough. Joy of Living is from RKO... which of course, Lucy will own in a few years. In Joy of Living, Dan has to really throw himself at her to be noticed. Giant, fun co-stars Guy Kibbee, Eric Blore, Frank Pangborn, and Jean Dixon. Even Billy Gilbert, who usually sneezed his way through films. The budget for this thing must have been HUGE. It's pretty good. Could have had less singing, less donald duck noises, and more screen time for the (expensive) comedic co-stars, but that's just my opinion. Dunne made this one in between Awful Truth and Love Affair, both of which were so much better than this one. Directed by Tay Garnett. Had also directed China Seas and Bataan.