Il faut que tu m'épouses

This movie is basically a trite variation on the "Ruritania" romances that were still popular at the time, and unfortunately so, because the wonderfully modern and very American Clara Bow was bound to seem out of place amidst aristocrats of the Old Country. "Get Your Man" is set there to provide the plot with its necessary mechanism: Arranged marriage between nobles, an outdated concept even then that provides the necessary conflict here, as Clara learns she must liberate her newfound French love from pre-arranged imminent nuptials. Neither he or his intended really want to go through with it, but they both feel obligated to follow their titled parents' wishes to unite the family trees.

Clara is pretty unlikely as a wealthy American socialite "touring the Continent," but then the equally all- American Charles "Buddy" Rogers is no more credible as a French baronet or whatever he's supposed to be. There's nothing wrong with making such leaps in a movie as frivolously escapist as this one. But the problem is that the "refined" setting means Clara has to be relatively restrained, getting few opportunities for the kind of ebullience that is her trademark. Late in the movie there's a bit quite obviously shoehorned in to provide at least one opportunity for her natural physicality, when she wildly throws things about her guest bedroom in order to fake some sort of amorous abandon that others will hear (thus creating a scandal that will free Rogers from his wedding). And indeed it's the highlight here.

Otherwise, this is a pleasant enough but forgettable vehicle cranked out on the Paramount assembly at a time when Bow was making one movie after another--six in this year alone. Significant chunks of it are presumed permanently lost, and those gaps are filled in by a combination of titles and production stills.

Unfortunately, that includes most of what was obviously intended as the standout novelty sequence, in which the two leads find they're been locked overnight in a creepy Madame Tussaud's-style wax museum. Seeing Clara assume the same comical "I'm scared!" expression in multiple, very posed-looking publicity stills does not, alas, give much sense of how the gags would have played out in the complete original sequence. But hey, we'll take what we can get with what survives of her movies.

As a boy, handsome Charles "Buddy" Rogers (as Robert Albin) was betrothed to fetching young Josephine Dunn (as Simone de Valens), by respective fathers Josef Swickard (as the Duke of Albin) and Harvey Clark (as the Marquis de Valens). Seventeen years later, the French noble class prepare for Mr. Rogers' pre-arranged wedding. Rogers is sent to the city (Paris) to pick up a string of pearls for the bride, and meets sexy Clara Bow (as Nancy Worthington). Rogers continually runs into Ms. Bow, a New Yorker spending her first unchaperoned day in the romantic city.

By their third meeting, Rogers and Bow are clearly becoming attracted to each other. They fall in love in a wax museum. Bow thinks, "It must be fate." Rogers is stricken with Bow, but feels honor-bound to go through with his Saturday wedding to Ms. Dunn. Sadly, Rogers and Bow part. But, Bow has a plan to "Get Your Man". She stages an automobile accident at Rogers' château, and ingratiates herself into the family. After learning that Rogers' intended wife has a lover, Bow is more determined than ever to break up the unhappy couple.

Reels #2 and #3 of this slightly damaged, six reel feature are lost, but it's still a cohesive, enjoyable film.

The missing footage contains more of Bow and Rogers romancing in Paris, then Bow's staged accident at his château. The accident and aftermath are certainly missed, but it isn't too difficult to comprehend what's happened. Director Dorothy Arzner and photographer Alfred Gilks capture their stars beautifully. That Rogers catches his sleeve on a suitcase while packing, and has to kick a fallen pillow out of the way gives his performance a natural spontaneity. Bow is fresh and playful. The supporting cast is a treasure chest. Hopefully, this film has been saved from any further deterioration.

******* Get Your Man (12/4/27) Dorothy Arzner ~ Clara Bow, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Harvey Clark

Clara Bow was the "It" girl and the epitome of a Roaring 20's flapper. Bow lit up the screen; she was vivacious, exuded sex appeal, and, with the flash of an eye and the glimpse of a leg, let the audience know she liked men and sex. Whenever she was on screen, all eyes were fixated on her. Well, almost all eyes; in "Get Your Man," the boyishly handsome Charles "Buddy" Rogers has his own charisma, and viewers will be riveted when the pair share the same frame. Unfortunately, "Get Your Man," adapted by Hope Loring from a play by Louis Verneuil, is a lackluster vehicle for the dazzling co-stars, who, like Norma Desmond, definitely "had faces then." Set in a sound-stage French château, Rogers is Robert Albin, son of the Duke of Albin, and he has been betrothed to Simone de Valens, daughter of a Marquis, since he was in short pants and she in diapers. Seventeen years after the betrothal arranged by their respective fathers, Robert and Simone are to be wed. Enter Clara Bow as Nancy Worthington, an American from New York, who quickly sets her eye on Robert, betrothal or no betrothal. After Robert and Nancy meet in Paris and spend some quality time together in a wax museum, Nancy manages to wangle a stay at the Albin château, where ostensibly she is recuperating after a car crash at the gates to the estate. Continuity during the first half of the movie is choppy, because two reels of film have been lost; the action jumps from reel 1 to reel 4, although viewers can easily fill in the gaps. Unfortunately, even the surviving footage is in poor condition at times. Especially distressing are handwritten notes that the characters read; only a few frames of them exist, and they flash by. Viewers must freeze the image to read them.

Beyond the allure of the two stars, "Get Your Man" is a dated production that is generally static and stagey; although made in 1927, the film does not reach the heights of the great movies of the late 1920's, which was the apex of the silent era. The contrived situations are not convincing, such as Nancy's silly flirtation with Simone's father or the nonsensical reason for her staying at the château. Bow and Rogers re-teamed later that same year in the classic "Wings" to much better effect. However, the film does have historical import in that the director was Dorothy Arzner, Hollywood's only female director during the "Golden Age." With but 20 directorial efforts to her name, Arzner was nevertheless the first woman to become a member of the Directors' Guild, and any of her films merits attention.

Patient viewers able to tolerate a partially deteriorated silent film with two reels missing will be rewarded with the glow of two enduring stars, Clara Bow of the flashing eyes and Charles "Buddy" Rogers of the boy-next-door smile. While the theatrical shenanigans on screen belong to a world that vanished nearly a century ago, the film offers the opportunity to sit in the dark and bask in the glow of bygone glamour and discover the work of a pioneering female director.

According to IMDb, portions of this film are missing--heck, two of the six reels are supposedly missing! However, despite this, I decided to give the film a watch and was surprised that the story worked out pretty well despite the missing reels. As for the remaining ones, they're in reasonably good shape but with a little degradation here and there.

When the story begins, Duke Robert is betrothed to Simone. What's so odd about this? Well, Simone is an infant and Robert looks to be about 4!

Years pass and Robert (Buddy Rogers)goes into town (Paris) to have some pearls re-strung. Once there, he meets vivacious Nancy (Clara Bow) and they soon hit it off. The trouble is that he's engaged and so they part.

Here is where the missing reels occur.

Now apparently Nancy's been in some sort of accident and is staying in Robert's home and I assumed neither she nor he realized this. Later in one of the reels you learned she arranged this accident! Robert's father is the one who took her in and he is very taken by Nancy...as is Simone's father. Later, Nancy learns separately that neither Simone nor Robert want to marry each other but are doing so simply out of obligation. So, to help them (and herself) she hatches a scheme that might enable the engagement to be broken. This scheme includes getting engaged to one of the fathers! So how does it all work out in this light romance? See for yourself...it's posted on YouTube.

As I said above, despite missing a portion of the film, the overall film is STILL worth seeing--which is rather surprising. The story also works well because if Bow's character just schemed to split up an engagement, she would have been a jerk and the story wouldn't have worked. But instead of being just a schemer, she's quite likable and the story sweet and well done.

I would sure love to learn one day that they've found the missing reels. This HAS happened with quite a few films in recent years, so we can only hope!

Clara Bow is the only reason for watching this picture: She is as vivacious, charming and funny as anyone could be on silent film. In all other respects, the thing does not really work. The plot is incredibly contrived: An arranged marriage between French aristocrats (didn't they have that revolution some time ago?) provides the background; Clara agrees to marry the father of the bride on condition that he releases his daughter from the engagement - her aim being to free up the bridegroom whom she wants to marry herself... It is all rather silly. What's more, Clara's character would not come across as particulary likeable if she was not Clara, whom it is impossible to dislike. The plot is so poorly constructed that you hardly notice that two out of six reels of the film are lost. Says it all, really.