Her Bodyguard

They might as well have done because the parade of non-entity Z listers they sent on made as much impact. This is an absolute nothing of a film: stupid story, lifeless direction, bland script, unlikeable characters and it looks like it was all written, filmed and edited during a quick visit to the local speakeasy.

The only highlight is a cameo from Arthur Houseman doing his regular drunk act right at the beginning - yes, he from Laurel and Hardy's OUR RELATIONS!

As hard it is to believe, this was made by a proper studio: Paramount, believe it or not. This isn't just a B picture, it's a Z picture. To be fair however pictures like this were never meant to be watched by us ninety years later. They were just cheap product to oblige the picture houses used to fill time as the audiences took their seats. It would be like our great grandchildren watching an hour's worth of cinema adverts from today. Even so, I'd guess they'd have preferred to see adverts for the new Ford model Y and the latest gramophone than this.

The acting from four "stars" is worse in terms of credibility than you'd see in FLASH GORDON. They show no emotional engagement with each other - you could believe that they've only just met ten minutes ago when the scrips were given out...... which was ten minutes before director William Beaudine got his!

To make it worse: the producers thought that Marjorie White was an actual actress and asked her to be in this. I haven't seen such a dreadful film since... yesterday when for some misguided reason I sat through SUNNYSIDE UP - which also featured Marjorie White. Oh and yes, we're also treated to Louise Beavers playing that usual subservient simpleton she always did. Did they think that wouldn't be seen as patronising to any black customers unfortunate enough to wander in to the theatre?

The overall impression of this is cheapness. Some quota quickies, some B movies and some pictures from the Poverty Row studios with tiny budgets are of course worth watching - this however is dull, amateurish and awful. Avoid!

Wynne Gibson is starring in Alan Dinehart's new show. She's also stringing Edward Arnold along. He's just given her a very expensive piece of jewelry. But he realizes that some thief may try to take it away from her, and hurt her in the process, so he decides to get her a bodyguard. Publicist Johnny Hines is ecstatic, since it's something to get her name in the papers. Unfortunately, it turns out to be Edmund Lowe.

Normally I have issues with Lowe. He was a very competent actor, but too many of his performance involved him being sophisticated, in the sort of role that many could play. Occasionally he cut loose in movies like WHAT PRICE GLORY, and showed what he could do. He does that here. He raises the pitch of his voice half an octave and speaks nasally, a working-class Irishman who clearly resents the whole situation, but it's a job, and he's going to do it right. He and Miss Gibson annoy each other, and it's very real, with a frisson of sexual attraction.

There are also other fine performances, including Fuzzy Knight as a songwriter, and Marjorie White (in her final film performance) as Miss Gibson's former partner in a two-act. You can see an easy camaraderie between the ladies as they start to dance with Knight playing the piano. Director William Beaudine gets excellent performances out of his entire cast, and the result is a surprisingly lively little movie.

"Her Bodyguard" may have been good had I not already seen a better version called "Bodyguard" starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Kostner.

"Her Bodyguard" was a pedestrian and rather predictable romance starring Edmund Lowe as the bodyguard Casey McCarthy and Wynne Gibson as the actress Margot Brienne nee Maggie O'Brien. Casey was hired by Orson Bitzer (Edward Arnold) a rival to Lester Cunningham (Alan Dinehart) for Margot's love. Bitzer's bright idea was that 1.) a bodyguard could protect Margot with all the jewelry she was wearing and 2.) he could be present whenever she had to meet with her director, Lester Cunningham. In other words, Casey would be part bodyguard and part cockblocker.

You knew that Margot was going to fall in love with Casey, it was just a matter of when. There was really nothing to see here. It wasn't funny or intriguing; just another movie.

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