Yo vivo mi vida

I Live My Life starts out as a simple story: boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, girl runs away, boy pursues girl. But the boy is an Irish archaeologist who is not afraid to get his hands dirty and who spurns "people with too much money". The girl comes from a wealthy New York/Connecticut family that cowers in the presence of the grandmother who controls the family fortune and, therefore, their lives.

During the film, the characters tell a series of lies. In the beginning, these are frivolous lies told with no concern for the feelings of others. By the end of the film, they lie for love.

I am not a huge fan of Joan Crawford, who plays the wealthy and frivolous girl, Kay Bentley. But in some of her early films she displays a great energy. I Live My Life is one of those films. On occasion, she even displays emotional subtlety.

Brian Aherne plays the boy. He is, in turns, ebullient and downcast as his character (Terry O'Neill) is buffeted by the fickle winds of Kate's affections.

The cast includes memorable performances all around, especially by Eric Blore as the Bentley butler.

The gowns and other wardrobe that were fashioned by Adrian deserve mention. Others have been critical of his efforts in this film, but I found them immensely enjoyable. Even when they are impractical, they accentuate the frivolous nature of the rich who inhabit this film. They are bold statements that sometimes transcend practicality and embrace art.

The film itself is not a masterpiece, but it satisfies

Crawford is very funny in this follow up to the trend started by It Happened One Night. Brian Aherne is miscast, but the are a good looking couple and there is some chemistry there, although not as much as there would be with Tracy or Gable. None-the-less, Crawford added a nice comedy to her dossier and it wears well even today.

Bored socialite Kay Bentley (Joan Crawford) is on vacation in Greece. On one of the island stops, she falls for archaeologist Terry O'Neill (Brian Aherne). At the last minute, she has second thoughts and gives him the name of her father's secretary. He goes to visit her in New York City and finds that he's been fooled.

The second meeting is the meet-cute or maybe it's counted as the third meeting. It's a funny move to keep pushing her down into the chair. It may be too pushy for today but for its time, it's terribly cute. It's not the most compelling rom-com but it has all the parts. It also has Joan Crawford. I don't mind the chemistry but I do need more comedy. The basic premise is that he has trouble living in her world. It's not that funny and I don't see why she couldn't live in his. The worst thing that could happen is that he goes back to Greece and she could live on the yacht.

The worst thing about this film is the title! I often feel the title can make or break a film, and if this was named something a little less clunky and serious, it probably would get more respect and be a classic comedy. This is not a "great" movie, but that doesn't lessen the entertainment factor, which is, often enough, the reason we watch a film more than once. I have no problem with either Joan Crawford or Brian Aherne in the leads. They are both charming and lend the perfect role of sarcastic flirtatiousness called for. If one needs a serious theme to enjoy a film, there is a peripheral theme of class-consciousness. One of the film's highlights is the chemistry between Crawford and Frank Morgan, who plays her father; that's precious stuff. It's easy to praise Arthur Treacher, Jessie Ralph and Eric Blore. But how about Sterling Holloway in a small but memorable role as Aherne's assistant at the archaeological dig? Aline MacMahon, Frank Conroy, all these character actors insure the acting level is high throughout. My only regret is that Granville Bates, the yacht captain, didn't have a more substantial role. From what I've seen of him in My Favorite Wife, I'd say he was brilliant, too. I love these glossy black-and-white early '30s MGM films.

After having watched this movie for the third time on TCM, I find a nostalgic and enjoyable quality to this film because of its co-stars. Brian Aherne and Joan Crawford were just wrong for the lead roles. Aherne simply lacked comedic skills and Crawford, who was in her 30's, did not fit the role of a spoiled rich teenager. However, the co-stars were a joy and the reason to watch this movie. Granted this might and probably would be a classic with Gable and Lombard as the leads, but the joy with this film is spending time with Arthur Treacher, Frank Morgan, Eric Blore, and the wonderful Jessie Ralph. It would have been nice to see more of Ms. Ralph as she was terrific in her few scenes as the overbearing and inimitable grandmother. I simply enjoyed my time spent with Treacher and Blore bringing me a whiskey, Morgan trembling around the females, and Ms. Ralph ordering me about. Perhaps, like me, you too will enjoy time well spent with some of filmdom's greatest character actors.