Das gewisse Etwas

Just because a performer is attractive, talented and has star power and charm it does not mean they have comedic skills. This farce has few chuckles, let alone belly laughs. It would have been better with comedic actors but not great.

It is worth seeing. Power and Tierney are both attractive and charming. They even gave chemistry. They just aren't funny.

This is an odd film--not because it is a remake but because both the original (LOVE IS NEWS) and the remake star Tyrone Power. It's rare to see a star do this, as the studios often remade films but hardly ever used the same actors. In addition, both films are bundled together on one DVD so you can compare them. After seeing both, I would definitely recommend you see LOVE IS NEWS, as it's superior in every way.

The film is about newspaper man (Power) harassing a rich heiress (Gene Tierney) in order to make headlines. It really didn't seem to matter if his articles were true and when Gene finds out that Tyrone is NOT the man he claims to be but a reporter, she is furious. However, instead of blowing her top, she decides to give him a taste of her own medicine by announcing to all the newspapers that she and Power are married--as she knows that the papers will now make Power's life miserable as well. Oddly, in the original film, the heiress announces they are engaged--here she claims they are married--though this hardly improves the quality of the film (though it does provide a bit of sexual innuendo the original didn't have).

The acting is decent enough, though I really think Loretta Young did a better job in the original--probably because she seemed to have a better gift for comedy. Also, while Tyrone tries, he just doesn't seem to have quite the charm he did in the original. Part of this is naturally because it's a remake and part of this is because the supporting characters weren't nearly as strong. In particular, the Justice of the Peace was a big weak point here, as instead of coming off as comical, he's a sadist and pretty much ignores the law--surefire comedy killers! My advice is see the original. Then, if you insist, see the remake. BUT, don't see the remake first--it just doesn't stack up well and might convince you not to bother with the first film and that would be a big mistake.

I found this little gem on Hulu while in the mood for a movie in black and white. For some reason all of the movies showing on TCM were made in the 1970's (yuck).

So, not being a regular viewer of Tyrone Power, I didn't know what to expect. About mid way through the movie I thought it would really be great if this were Myna Loy and Cary Grant or William Powell.

The stars of this movie were missing that certain spark that lifts a thin storyline into something more. While the stars were very likable and attractive they had very little chemistry. Some of the dialogue was rather funny and the supporting cast was good. It definitely wasn't a waste of time.

... with Gene Tierney as a beautiful heiress who decides to get vengeance on scandalous reporter Tyrone Power, who's been writing gossipy stuff about her, by telling the world they are married. Power gets fired and laughed at and can't prove he didn't marry the lady so decides to turn things around on her.

There are no surprises here, with a supporting cast that includes Reginald Gardiner (wasted as Tierney's boyfriend who takes her out but can't get to first place with her, not that he looks like he really cares) and Lucille Watson (also wasted in a trivial role). I was a little surprised at how obviously fake are the Sun Valley, Idaho backdrops in a few scenes. This is a remake of Love Is News, a 1937 comedy Power had made with Loretta Young, making Power one of the few actors to appear in a remake of one of his own films. Why 20th Century Fox would choose to revive such weak material again over a decade later is beyond me.

Although Power is primarily remembered today for Nightmare Alley and as the hero of a few costume adventures, at the start of his career at Fox he appeared in a number of light weight romantic comedies of a forgettable, frothy nature. That Wonderful Urge, released almost a decade after the last of them, would also be his final venture into screen comedy for, unfortunately, less than memorable results. It was also around this time that he appeared in The Luck of The Irish, a somewhat more engaging affair inasmuch as it mixed the romantic comedy with fantasy by having a leprechaun play the role of matchmaker.

Robert Sinclair does not feature in my gallery of preferred directors, and after watching the supposedly screwball comedy that THAT WONDERFUL URGE was publicized as, I doubt I will be looking for his works.

That said, cinematography rates more than just competent, especially on the snowy slopes where tabloid reporter Tyrone has an accident that somehow sees him (allegedly) married to lovely rich heiress Tierney, who donates him $1 million to boot.

Talk about fairy tales, hey? Of course, only US spectators emerging from the losses and hardships of WW II would pay to watch a film resting on such a skiddy and far-fetched script. In Italy, where day to day survival proved dire, neorealism reigned.

What saves it is the star power and chemistry between two beauty-endowed humans, Tyrone and Gene, who apparently did not just act, but privately took their attraction to more physical and emotional levels. In the process, equally lovely Arleen Whelan is just jettisoned after Tyrone tries to marry her so he can prove that Tierney has been lying about her marital status. That is one detail tough to explain: Tyrone is so high-minded that he does not want the $1 million and rejects marriage to Tierney, yet he just uses poor Whelan like garbage.

As for Gardiner, in the role of leaching European aristocrat, it is just impossible to believe that Tierney would take the slightest interest in him, let alone even jokingly take his ring.

As planktonrules points out, the original (LOVE IS NEWS, 1937) is a better film. Still, Tyrone and Gene deserve my 7/10.