No More Orchids

Rather schizophrenic comedy-drama from post-Prohibition but pre-Hays Code, meaning Carole Lombard gets to strut around in her flimsies, make prurient wisecracks, and be not the least timid about getting what she wants. She's a rich girl with a bumbling banker dad (Walter Connolly, playing virtually the same role as a year later in "It Happened One Night") and an aren't-I-adorable grandma (Louise Closser Hale, trying to be May Robson) who falls for unrich Lyle Talbot (a perfectly OK leading man, who looks a bit like the pre-mustachioed Gable, and has some of the Gable swagger). Why her awful grandpa would insist on her marrying somebody else isn't clear, nor is it clear why the sacrifice at the end makes everything all right. But ignore the plot and enjoy the ribald ripostes, and, especially, Carole looking gorgeous and wriggling around with great vivacity. She has star quality, but beyond that, she's a real actress, and you'll notice how carefully she's building and sustaining a not-always-likable character. Fine work.

This is one of Carole Lombard's best early films. It goes a long way to sort of proving that it was Harry Cohn and Columbia Pictures, not the actress's home studio Paramount, that gave her the chance to shine most. The casting in this picture is flawless-- Lyle Talbot turns in a surprisingly good performance as the romantic interest and generates a lot of chemistry with Lombard; C. Aubrey Smith is letter-perfect in his villainous role as the tyrannical grandfather; and both Louise Closser Hale as the charming grandmother and Walter Connolly as the financially- troubled father give the story its heart and soul. Even the smaller roles (the catty rival, and the European prince) are filled by capable performers. But it's the story that captivates the viewer. An opposites-attract romance, it combines elements of comedy and melodrama, moves briskly and is very entertaining. For a product from a then-poverty row studio, this Columbia Pictures release is as sharp and polished as anything that came out of MGM or Paramount at this time. Highly recommended and worth seeing!

Carole Lombard is spoiled heiress Annie Holt - in the '30s, it seems like everyone was writing about spoiled heiresses. Anyway, she's engaged to a prince, but while on a cruise, she falls for Tony Gage (Lyle Talbot). He has no money, isn't impressed by hers, and pays no attention to her. He ultimately tells her that her values are shallow and he doesn't respect her. Lombard cleans up her act and the two fall in love.

This is a bit of a sticky wicket - Annie's father (Walter Connolly) is in financial trouble and is planning on this marriage to help him out. And Annie's grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith), who set up this royal marriage, is looking forward to it as well. Put it this way - if she doesn't marry this guy, daddy's going to jail.

Good movie because of the wonderful cast, though the ending is a little bit of a downer. Lombard is gorgeous. She was a gal who could really turn a phrase. I wish that I could have met Lyle Talbot when he was alive - in a 56 year film career, he worked with everyone. The stories he could have told of his experiences in film, on stage, and on TV, where he did two series at one time.

Walter Connolly was a wonderful and sympathetic actor who died way too young, but he certainly made his mark. C. Aubrey Smith did an excellent job being mean as dirt, and Louise Closser Hale did a good job as the no-holds-barred grandmother.

A good film to watch but sad, too, to think that Lombard died so young. She was a true star, beautiful, radiant, funny, warm, and above all, an excellent actress. Always worth watching.

Grace Perkins, the author of this story also wrote MY PAST and NIGHT NURSE which were both big impact, big juicy dramas for Warner Bothers around this time as well. This picture has that same strong narrative, a well-crafted sense of direction and an empathy with the charismatic leads. The characters feel like real people, they work well together and develop together. When however you stand back and look at the family to which Carole Lombard's character belongs you have to admit that such a family could only ever exist in fiction, they are a little ridiculous but because they're acted so well with such authenticity, you've abandoned your sense of reality ages ago. One of the reasons it all seems so believable is because for the first half of the film it's a kind of light comedy and the way your mind accepts such something like that is less critical than if it were a tough drama. By the time the film switches from comedy to tragedy (or rather something a bit more dramatic) your mind is fully engaged; a common but still clever little trick.

In essence, it's about a rebellious young heiress (yes, another one!) who rather unsurprisingly falls for the wrong guy (yes, it is that predictable). That's how the film hooks you in, using a familiar story peppered with good witty writing and convincing performances. About half way through it starts to get down to business but still retains that lightness and humour - mainly down to the Granma (played by Louise Closer Hale) who is brilliant...... and so is Walter Connolly (was it in his contract that every father in every Columbia picture of the early 30s had to be played by him?) and so is Carole Lombard (genuinely funny and lovely without doing all that annoying screeching she did in her later films). They're all so good - they're 'proper actors!' And I know I left Lyle Talbot out of that list..... he's not a bad actor he's just incredibly dull. Why would someone as bubbly and vivacious as Carole Lombard's Annie fall for the dullest man in America?

In summary, this is a really worthwhile way to spend an hour and a half if you enjoy a better than average early thirties drama with a splash of comedy thrown in. It's made by Columbia which was not known for its extravagant production budgets but this one feels as classy as anything MGM might have made. It's not got a deep message, it isn't one of those a Warner Brothers/Zanuck movies that will make you angry and want to change the world but it's engaging and good fun.

Ok, listen Talbot is good too, and although I hate seeing my 30s films with too much screen time for old dudes and grandmas, Lombard was so sexy, witty and hot that it is definitely worth checking out.