Calm Yourself

The title "Calm Yourself" is so generic, even for 1935, that I always have to look it up on IMDb to make sure I get the right movie. Otherwise, this is a fairly good film that fills its 70 minute format with ease. It sort of runs as a TV sitcom before there were TV sitcoms. Part of this is due to the fine cast that includes Robert Young before he became typecast as either the perfect father, Jim Anderson, or the perfect family doctor, Dr. Marcus Welby; Betty Furness before she became a refrigerator; Madge Evans, somewhat of a silent child star who developed into a talented actress yet never received stardom as an adult; and a covey of skillful character actors including Nat Pendleton, cowboy regulars Raymond Hatton and Ward Bond, and Paul Hurst.

The story is an amusing one, if a bit confusing, involving Pat Patton (Robert Young) who tries to impress his girlfriend, whose father has just fired him, by opening a confidential agency. His new career gets him involved with a new girlfriend while the old one is still around plus an assignment that turns into an unintentional kidnapping. There is also a temperamental dog that keeps nipping at his backside. Beware that there is a bit of unnecessary Hollywood racism thrown in near the end which was not uncommon for that time period.

Of interest is Pat Patton's agency which seemed unusual until a new movie just out at theaters, "Inside Man," presents a new version of a confidential agency with Jodie Foster at its head. Many viewers, myself included, were at first unsure just what Jodie Foster's job entailed. This old Hollywood flick helps to explain it.

This programmer's plot doesn't always make sense, but it is nonetheless an amusing way to spend an hour and 10 minutes. Young is appealing as always, but quite a bit scrappier than in his later, long-running TV roles as Jim Anderson and Marcus Welby. Evans also is very likable. With a supporting cast including such dependable 1930s performers as Nat Pendleton and Claude Gillingwater and future 'Today' regular Betty Furness, this breezy comedy is well worth a look.

Claude Gillingwater fires Robert Young for making love to his daughter, so Young heads out and starts of 'Confidential Services". Among the services he provides is keeping Ralph Morgan's daughter, Madge Evans, hidden without her getting suspicious.

There's the typical MGM gloss that keeps this movie watchable, with lots of interesting character actors like Herman Bing, Paul Hurst, Shirley Ross, and Clyde Cook. What it lacks is a sense of fun, despite the direction of George B. Seitz. Perhaps it's because Young keeps repeating his catchphrase, "calm yourself" any time anyone becomes upset. Perhaps it's because the comedy bits, like a shoe-eating Great Dane, seem a bit too calculated. Whatever it is, it all falls a little flat.

It's not terrible. It actually gets better as it goes along. But emblematic of the frantic efforts for a laugh is the shoe-eating dog: Robert Young, who has set himself up as someone who can resolve sticky situations for pay, finds himself saddled with a huge dog. The dog is ill behaved in the extreme and neither cute nor likable. When things seem to have slowed down, the dog is, no pun intended, trotted out again to give proceedings a hectic flavor.

Madge Evans, the daughter of client Ralph Morgan, is appealing. Betty Furness is fine as the girl Young is after when we meet him. Nat Pendleton is always good for a smile when he shows up, as he does so often in movies of this decade.

There are far worse movies. But this one can get on one's nerves in its attempts at being funny every second.

This movie is carried on Robert Young's charm and youthful optimism that it will get him out of any jam, and into the land of milk and honey. Don't let the fact that the plot hinges on Young's character getting a millionaire's baby who just happened to be handed over by the baby's nurse, who looks more like street person than the nurse of a milionaire. The baby is given to his would be rival to Young's first girl friend, who happens to be the daughter of his boss. Young gets the baby because his fledgling business - Calm Yourself; takes on clients with such problems. Like what to do with a baby. If this sounds crazy, watch the movie. Its one of those movies that somehow can take the edge off a blustery day and bring in a little black and white sunshine.