I Lived with You

At first glance when this came on TV I thought 'Ivor Novello, meh, probably some cheesy songs and dated, creaky humour'. But how wrong I was. The fast-paced dialogue and frenetic plotting are imbued with a casual but knowing wit that gives the piece an amazingly modern feel for a film made in 1933. Novello himself is the big surprise, there's real panache in the way he drives it all along from within his character's louche, offhand manner. The rest of the cast are well up for it, conveying the chaos caused by Novello's superficial and fickle (though fatally charismatic) character - an exotic stranger who quietly invades the suburban family home in which he becomes a temporary guest, heedless of the trail of disruption he leaves in his wake.

I approached I LIVED WITH YOU with trepidation. While Novello had appeared in 16 silent films, where his beauty and ability to act with good direction stood him in good stead, from his RAT trilogy to his two films with the budding Alfred Hitchcock. Talkies, however, were a different ball game. He made only six. His second, THE PHANTOM FIEND, was a remake of his silent Hitchcock film, THE LODGER, and he was just awful, as was the film, over-acting and emoting all over the studio sets. His next, a turgid melodrama with Ruth Chatterton, ONCE A LADY, gave him only a brief supporting role in twelve scenes.

I LIVED WITH YOU is an adaptation of his own play, in which he starred on stage, and it is a revelation. Very funny, very well crafted, with great lines and astute observations of character and mood. Ursula Jeans is perfect as the good daughter, Gladys. Ida Lupino in her fifth film is unrecognizable, she is so fresh, minor her later mannerisms in voice and posture.

The whole cast is full of great character acting and in the middle is Novello, totally charming and totally believable as a romantic Russian prince whose involvement in the lives of a poor but happy British family, upsets their lives in many ways. Later films to use this idea of a stranger entering family lives and changing them for ever were mainly comic (MY MAN GODFREY, MERRILY WE LIVE), but often moving and thought-provoking (BOUDU SAVED FROM DROWNING).

Novello has lost all of his theatrical mannerisms and theatrical emoting. He is fresh, funny and ultimately very moving. Facial and vocal expressions are fit and apt to the sound film. I've never seen a better performance of his and the film is absolutely wonderful.

Seek it out!

In his day, Ivor Novello was a beloved Welsh actor and singer. However, today, especially outside the UK, he's a pretty much forgotten man despite his having once been a star. Part of this might be because he died in his 50s. Part of it might be because times and tastes change...which is what I think of when I think about "I Lived With You".

The play was quite popular and Ivor Novello both wrote it and starred in the production. So, it's not surprising that he'd bring the story to the big screen.

Novello plays Prince Felix...who was once a rich Russian before the revolution. But now he's homeless and with no job...nor a desire to get a job. Gladys meets him in the maze at Hampton Court (a palace owned by Henry VIII which is just outside of London). She learns of his plight and invites him home to stay with her and her family.

For the most part, Felix just lies about the home and interferes with the family. For example, he encourages Gladys' father to get a mistress...with predictable results. On the positive side, however, he is able to pay for his way, as he has some gems which he's kept since fleeing Russia...and he sells them in order to help the family.

So is this any good? Well, it's okay. I think Novello overacted a bit here and there, as did Ida Lupino (Novello's real life goddaughter). As for Lupino, this was well before she came to Hollywood and had a HUGE makeover. She looks and sounds VERY little like the Lupino of the 1940s....almost like they are two different people. And, fortunately, with a new image came much better acting and she honed her craft.

Overall, this film is an oddity but one that just hasn't aged all that well. After a while, it all becomes a bit annoying and bellicose. Watchable but not all that good.

What fun this movie is! And splendidly restored. Ivor Novello is such a charmer, and the story very entertaining. To anyone interested in 30's movies or especially the great Ivor Novello, this surely is a must.

Yes, it's strange that the son of the family vanishes early on, as though the radio spirited him away to another continent! I wonder if it was the same in the original stage play - perhaps the young actor had to leave early to get to bed at a sensible hour! Why would no-one notice the youngster was missing when this film was edited? Perhaps there was to be some vital broadcast on the radio that we've now missed?

Well, I didn't even notice the youngster went missing, I was so enjoying the rest of the movie.

I for Novello was principally a stage actor and he only made a handful of film appearances in the sound era.In fact it has to be said watching this film that he looks every bit the stage star.Every time he appears on screen the focus is really on him.He plays a Russian Prince who has found his way to London with a cache of priceless jewels.He is discovered at the maze at Hampton Court by Ursula Jeans who decides to take him home to her parents home where he is invited to stay.This disrupts everyone including young her boyfriend,an impossibly young Jack Hawkinns and her younger sister,Ida Lupino.He is used by the film as a sort of device to solve all of the characters problems,not the least being that of Elliott Markeham who has becomec romanticallybinvolved with his secretary,who is determined to take him for all that he has.