Travesuras de una bella

Greer Garson is again teamed up with Walter Pidgeon in the delightful comedy, "Julia Misbehaves," which also stars 16-year-old Elizabeth Taylor and a very adorable Peter Lawford. Taylor and Lawford are a subplot in this film, which mainly concerns Garson as Julia, an entertainer, showing up to attend the wedding of the daughter she hasn't seen since infancy. Because of the breakup of her marriage and her transient lifestyle, she left the child with her husband's family.

This is a fun movie with some great scenes, the best of which is an acrobatic act featuring Julia. It is hilarious. Cesar Romero makes a game attempt at a Cockney accent, and is very good as Nicky, the head of the act who is interested in marrying Julia. Nigel Bruce is a man conned out of 6950 francs by Julia, and Lucile Watson is Julia's disapproving mother-in-law. Pidgeon plays Julia's husband, who hasn't seen her in years, but on encountering her again, realizes what he's been missing.

Wedding plans don't go as expected once Julia is in the house. A very pretty Elizabeth Taylor gets her first screen kiss from Lawford, and they make a charming couple. But this isn't their film, it's Garson's, in a different type of role for her. She is up to the task. Over the years, perhaps due to some of the sentimental movies she made and being raked over the coals by Pauline Kael, Garson's reputation has suffered. However, she is terrific in "Julia Misbehaves," and this entertaining film is well worth seeing.

This is a slight story and it's obvious where it's going but the fun of it is the journey getting there as we follow the exploits and misadventures of the titular Julia, wittily and intelligently played by Greer Garson. She has good chemistry with Walter Pidgeon's masculine everyman type and the young pairing of Peter Lawford and Elizabeth Taylor are appealing enough, but what really makes this film is an embarrassment of riches in the ranks of the character actors present here. Lucile Watson and Mary Boland are shown to good effect as very different types of matriarch, Henry Stephenson and Aubrey Mather are fun as a twinkly Lord and a endearing vicar respectively and Reginald Owen, Edmund Breon and Fritz Field all have nice moments as a put upon pawnbroker, a cheery Scots ghillie and a money grabbing informant. But leading the field in this illustrious company are an amusing Cesar Romeo as a muscle bound, love-lorn acrobat and Nigel Bruce as a lecherous but still loveable old roue. Arguably the highlight of the film are the music hall scenes that include the acrobatic troupe, a cheeky contortionist and even a performing seal. Great fun.

I adore this nutty little film. I love Garson, Pidgeon, Taylor, and Lawford in almost any movie and particularly teamed together. Cesar Romero also adds flavor in a comedic supporting role. I enjoy classic and screwball comedies and have a long list made of those (this one is on it). Is this the best of the best? No, but it's fun and well made. That's a prerequisite for my list. I own it and still watch it each time it comes on TCM.

Elizabeth Taylor, as the mutual daughter and young bride, is so young and lovely. She still has an innocence to her performance at this stage that I enjoy. Peter Lawford is young, suave, and cocky. Walter Pidgeon is typical Walter Pidgeon. But it's Greer Garson's movie and in it she shines. She produces screwball romantic comedy antics worthy of Irene Dunne or Jean Arthur.

This is a must see for Garson fans. I highly recommend it to fans of any of the cast or of the genre. It's not perfect, but it sure entertains. And isn't that the point?

Both Greer Garson and Walter Pigeon, having made several dramas together, have done a remarkable switch to comedy. Both are charming and classy in their romp of delight. Along the way with the help of the likes of Caesar Romero, as the head of a family of acrobats, the zany Mary Boland, his alcoholic mother [loved her hanging from the smoke stack of a liner], Nigel Bruce, a woman chaser, attempting to pick up Greer in a lady's clothing shop, Elizabeth Taylor, all of 16 years old and gorgeous, Peter Lawford, also young and gorgeous and Lucille Watson, the wealthy grand dame of the family, Greer and Walter go through the antics of falling into mud puddles, sinking into the water in a beaten up old row boat, being forced to go through a high flying acrobatic act, being slapped on the rear by a trained seal and generally having a grand time of it. Hats off to a slick and silly script and a cast of performers who don't take it seriously at all.

"Julia Misbehaves" is a charming comedy filled with romance and touching moments. Greer Garson sparkles as Julia, a penniless showgirl who has been invited to attend the very formal wedding of her daughter, Elizabeth Taylor, whom she hasn't seen since she was a baby. Along the way, she encounters acrobat Cesar Romero and his wacky family, rich aristocrat Nigel Bruce with an eye for pretty girls, and estranged husband Walter Pidgeon who begins to wonder how he ever let her go in the first place. All of the interactions lead into one humorous complication after another and show off Ms. Garson's comedic timing that was rarely seen in her usual dramatic roles.