Reviews

Well, the star of this film from start to finish was 18 year old Janette Scott of "The Day of the Triffids" fame. It was also a pleasant surprise to see Celia Johnson some 12 years later from the classic film "Brief Encounter", and looking very good indeed. She brings the same understated charm to this part as she did to that one. You genuinely feel the admiration between her and the character Jess Oakroyd. Janette Scott brings her all to this part; dancing a few simply numbers very nicely and lip syncing with aplomb. She does lack the gravity of a superstar, but this part is perfect for her as the up-and-comer. The movie does quite a good job of covering what in novel form is some 640 pages. Of course the movie can't compete with the book in its detail, but it does nicely cover the story line and give each character a chance to shine, and it does manage to capture that "good companion" atmosphere by casting good character actors who are obviously having a good time making the film. All in all much fun and many musical stage numbers. The ones at the end of the film were even good enough to remind me of similar numbers in the movie "Funny Face". Don't miss this one if you have a chance.

Warner Baxter does a bang up job as the Arizona Kid. The facial and vocal characteristics are charming and spot on all the time. He portrays a criminal with a heart. And there is many a twist in this tale of love. The character actors that come in and out of scenes briefly are all great. There are some great location shots and an authentic stage coach that helps introduce our main character in the beginning and is a vital link to the outcome of the film. The scenes are varied and short, so the pace of the film is good, but enough time is taken in the scenes between the Arizona Kid and Virginia (Carole Lombard) to allow us to believe they are falling in love. Unfortunately, Carole Lombard's acting is at its worst in this film. Her lines are delivered as if she was staring in a grade school play. However, the film keeps up ones interest and Carole plays quite a different part than is her norm, so it is well worth a viewing.

This film started out slowly and I was expecting a real stinker. However, each and every story-line as it developed caught my interest and sympathy. Carole Lombard's part here is very small and she is perhaps the least interesting character of them all. I must admit, there may be something I'm missing because the excellent print that I viewed was 51 minutes long and the documentation says it should be 70 minutes in length. Jack Oakie's part as the announcer at the track was very smooth and entertaining. He brings a little comic relief. It was nice to see Sidney Blackmer from the Cary Grant movie "People will Talk" and an episode of "The Outer Limits" as Lombard's love interest. Each couple bets on a different horse in the race and I really was on edge to see who of the many likable characters would win. The innovative scene at the track where the camera is placed on a long boom which swings in and out at different locations in the stands and focuses on one couple at a time is interesting if not dizzying.

The picture and sound quality of this French language addition is quite good. By the quality of the production and direction I would say this was considered a first rate film in its day. The songs are quite catchy and the performers are obviously happy to be preforming and are giving it their all. I could hardly detect a flaw in the final musical number where everyone is lip sinking to a record off stage while half the band members are out searching for the baby. If you enjoy listening to songs from other countries that are not necessarily in your native tongue, you will find a lot to enjoy in this picture. There are cute musical numbers throughout. At one point the whole band sings to the baby in an attempt to get him to eat. I must say that Audrey Hepburn's makeup and lighting have something to be desired here. She is still beautiful but not flawless. She does not have the benefit of the long close-ups, and slow, deliberate lines that she does in "Roman Holidy" and she is not sweet and vulnerable as she is in "Young Wives Tale". She appears in four or five short scenes and for the most part speaks English when she does appear. Although a smattering of French is thrown in. She does not get a chance to win our sympathy, but it is interesting to watch her in this early film. She speaks quickly, sharply and runs in and out of scenes with verve. You can get an excellent copy of this film from cdjapan.

First of all I was pleased with the large amount of screen time that Carole Lombard had in the film. I would say she gets the best lines of the three girls and the best dresses. Her delivery was also not as stilted as in many other of her early films. Perhaps the quick pace and light atmosphere of the film kept the dialogue more natural. All three girls sing a song to our leading man in an attempt to win his love, but sadly Miss Lombard only talk-sings her song. I thought many of the songs were enjoyable, although none of them were up to the standards of Lombard's other musical "We're Not Dressing". I was impressed, however, by the special effect of the silhouetted dancers dancing over a montage of New York at one point during the feature number. This film did have a heart, but it would have been so much better if we had been able to see any real development of the relationship between Buddy Rogers and the girl he chooses. As it was I can't say there was any reason to chose her over the others. He said he loved her; but why?

I must say that I had high hopes for this film after reading so many glowing reviews and noting the interesting storyline. However, overall it was a disappointment. I was not impressed with Nicole Kidman's accent, although, I have no idea if it was technically correct or not. Her overall performance struck me as flat. She adopts a monotone voice and stone face (perhaps this is due to too many face-lifts?) which is in general a downer. What happened to that emotionally charged actress from "Bangkok Hilton"? I also felt absolutely no chemistry between her and co-star Sean Penn. I understand that they are both portraying emotionally damaged people who are not seeking to publicly vent their feelings and all of that, but really! If the two main characters in a political thriller are flat, what is left to watch.

O.K. the movie did start to pick up during the second half when all the action began, but it wasn't enough for me. Another drawback to this film is that no one was willing to spend the money on a quality soundtrack. What there is of a soundtrack is extremely subdued. Again this just helps things to fall flat. The story itself was too convoluted to follow, or for that matter to care about. It was all just a jumble at the end. Who were all these people, and who cared when they died? Who cares what happened to that African country? We were never shown anything beautiful in it to care about.

Having read all the bad reviews, I expected this movie to be lousy. I could not have been more wrong. In fact when I walked out of the theater I said to myself that it would be hard for me to imagine how they could have done it any better.

First of all, all the original actors from this series are dead, so I did not expect to relive the glories of the 60's with considerably more wrinkled versions of the original people. Instead what we are given is a light romantic comedy. I thought all the actors did a good job. They were interesting and believable. Both Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell took their parts seriously and had a nice chemistry on screen. Now I am not usually a fan of Will Ferrell, because he is so over the top. Here he toned it down to a believable level. He is a little nutty, because he is playing an actor who loves only himself and whose only concern is self-promotion, but this did not overshadow his humanity in the end. Nicole Kidman was attractive (although she needs to get more control over her lighting) and her spunk and tenacity kept me rooting for her to succeed throughout the entire picture.

I thought the story had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing what exactly was going to happen. And I thought the use of magic was restrained but done in a visually pleasing and clever way given the story line. By the way, I loved the dance number. It looked to me like the two of them were having fun being together which was the whole point of it.

In a day and age when so many movies are boring or crude, this is a fun time for the whole family. I will definitely want to see this on again. Shame to the people who take joy in bad mouthing this sweet gem! My 25 year old niece also thought it was good.

I enjoyed this 66 minute film despite the overly theatrical delivery of almost every line. One gets the impression that this film was directed by an eighth grade home economics teacher. Despite this annoying drawback, the story is sweet and there is a genuine chemistry between the leading lady, Carole Lombard, and the head gangster played by Robert Armstrong.

Carole Lombard is attractively photographed and has a large amount of quality screen time here. She is pulled in two directions by two men who genuinely care for her. One is a concert violinist who we are introduced to early on in the picture as a man who has been reduced to nothing more than a bum in the gutter. The other is the suave gangster who for the first time has found something in this life greater than himself. The question is: who needs her most and who truly loves her? And in what direction will fate allow her to go.

The dramatic ending will tug at your heart-strings. This was Carole's last picture for Pathe studios.

Joe is a dancer in Cuba with a chip on his shoulder. Diana is fascinated by this diamond in the rough. However, pride on both sides seems to thwart the union and Diana in despair returns to New York City and her less than exciting fiancé. Joe follows.

The main problem with this film is George Raft. His stone faced and monotone delivery mean that there is absolutely no chance for any chemistry to develop between himself and Lombard. And it is supposedly this magic between the two that propels them in and out of each others lives and causes both to risk their lives in the end to be together. The film is also weighed down by more that one overly long dance sequence. George Raft himself is an adequate dancer, but comes off as little more than a "dandy". He has non of the fire or charisma of say a Desi Arnaz, who truly comes alive with the spirit of Latin dance and rhythms.

Diana's father is here played by Samuel Hinds who also played the father in the Andy Hardy series. Monroe Owsley, who also co-stared with Lombard in the movie "Brief Moment", plays Diana's wealthy fiancé. His part here is considerably smaller, and amounts for the most part to "window dressing".

Carole Lombard does a good job here. If she had had a better leading man this film might even have been enjoyable. The production values and quality of the acting in general were actually pretty good. Supposedly George Raft was quite the ladies man in real life, and even enjoyed a clandestine affair with Lombard, but in this film he is a dud.

I liked this little movie quite a lot. It has a substance and quality that some of Lombard's other early movies lack. It is obvious that some care was taken with this screenplay. I would say that the key word for this film is "misunderstanding". It explores the question of whether someone can escape their past and whether love conquers all. This is the first of five pictures that Lombard would make for Columbia Pictures.

The chemistry is good between Pat O'Brien who plays "Jimmy" the cabdriver and Carole Lombard who plays "Mae" the street-girl. Mae's sentence has been suspended by the Judge on the condition that she leave New York City. Of course she refuses. On her way home she takes a cab, but has no money to pay. She stiffs the cabdriver. Later she goes back to square things and a relationship develops between the two. We watch these two grow closer and more dependent on each other, we root for Jimmy as he struggles to fulfill his dream to become a business man, and we cry as a financial crisis and murder come between them.

This movie was a sequel of sorts to Capra's "Lady for a Day" and in it May Robson reprises her Apple Annie character. Indeed May Robson steals the show and gives by far the best performance. This film would be Carole Lombard's last with Columbia pictures. As with her film, "Brief Moment" her director at Columbia was David Burton and the character actor Arthur Hohl is on board again as costar, here playing her crooked manager.

Carole Lombard's performance is fair. She is trying hard and keeps herself animated, but seems to come up just short. She seems to suffer from a bad case of "over-acting". However, since she is playing a "bad" actress from the wrong side of town, I can't say this is too troubling. The story is complex and on the whole the acting is fine, so overall the viewing experience is pleasing and worth repeating. The ending does tug at your heart-strings and the resolution is well thought out. The characters examine their own faults and are able to take advantage of opportunities to grow...with a little help along the way.

My main disappointment with this film is the choice of leading man. Indeed Preston Foster was primarily a straight actor and unaccustomed to romantic comedy. I simply do not see why Carole Lombard's character, Kay Colby would have the slightest temptation to fall in love with Foster's character, Scott Miller, a pushy, egotistical, wiseacre. Perhaps the moral of the tale is that if a man, no matter how obnoxious, pursues a woman long enough, she will give in. The film seems to start out in the middle of the story. No background is given to explain Kay Colby's relationship with either men. And then before you know it one of them is exiled to Japan and disappears from the middle third of the picture.

Now the film does pick up as it goes along and entertains sufficiently with snappy dialog and boisterous incidents. The "storm at sea" scene is particularly satisfying. Perhaps due to the fact that Carole did all her own stunts, taking all the punishment herself and sparing her stand-in. However, the ending is much too abrupt. All the conflict is resolved in the last few seconds of the movie. The characters are not allowed to play out their feelings for us on screen. Perhaps it has all gone on inside their heads, but alas we have missed it. Overall this film is worth seeing once for Lombard fans, but it does not endear and fades quickly from memory.

The popularity of "Love Before Breakfast" was helped at the time from the success of Carole's previous film which was still in theaters, "Hands Across the Table". This film would signal her rise to fame and was a precursor to five straight hits in a row over the next two years.

Carole Lombard wanted to get out of her next project at Paramount, "A Girl Without a Room" and so went to Harry Cohen at Columbia and asked him to find her something better. He came up with this respectable play by S.N. Behrman. The two main characters, Abby and Rodney, are very ably and sympathetically portrayed, and this saves the picture. On the other hand, Gene Raymond's "best friend" in the picture, Sig, played by Monroe Owsley is a perfect devil, tempting Rodney at every opportunity to ignore his wife and instead spend his nights drinking and his days at the race track. Sig is the personification of evil because he actually doesn't know any other reality that the one he's living sponging off his rich friend, Rodney. Carole on the other hand recognizes the potential in Rodney and does everything in her power to save him.

This film is interesting and enjoyable light soap opera fair. At one point when Carole's character almost looses her composure in front of Rodney's father, the viewer is ready to applaud the explosion, but alas the moment passes. This film could have been well served by a little more action and violent emotion. Perhap's the problem stems from the rather static direction of director David Burton. This is also the first film of Carole's to benefit from the cinematography talents of Ted Tetzlaff. He was able to light Carole in such a way that removed that certain hardness from her face evident in earlier pictures.

This film is described in Carole Lombard's biography by Larry Swindell as "one of the horrendous flops of the thirties decade" and by Photoplay as "inane" and "pointless". I must say that I was expecting something as horrendous as Carole's 1933 movie "White Woman", but was pleasantly surprised to find this an endearing, lighthearted romp. The actors seemed to enjoy themselves and recognize that they were not filming Shakespeare, but a screwball comedy. The scenes are varied and interesting, the action moves along at a bright pace and things are anything but dull, including a surprise ending to top things off.

The only criticism I can make is that Carole does seem to shout her lines for some unknown reason. I assume this is the director's fault. And the overall tone of the movie should probably have been toned down and played with more sophistication in spots to give the film a little more class. In a few places it almost goes over the top into a "Three Stooges" mode. Ralph Bellamy really made me laugh a few times. However, Carole has never been more beautiful, and I was not turned off by Fernand Gravet's performance as so many seemed to have been at the time. Come on, no ones perfect. If this film had been made a few years earlier in her career, I think it could easily have been a classic.