L'extravagante Mlle Dee

This movie is certainly not a deep or memorable movie. In fact, I just saw it again for the second time and I had forgotten so much of it--even though I saw if for the first time only a couple years ago.

Jimmy Stewart is the owner of a very tiny freight airline. During a stopover, he is accidentally united with Joan Fontaine who is running from a brand new marriage she hasn't yet consummated to a man she didn't love. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that sooner or later, Stewart and Fontaine will be a couple, though the rest of the movie consists of a series of wacky adventures until the ultimate conclusion.

So why give the movie only an 8? Well, first, Fontaine's character is rather annoying and highly reminiscent of Julie Roberts' character in RUNAWAY BRIDE. Someone that ditsy and self-centered, for me, is a little hard to really care about and you aren't really pulling for the leading man to take this shallow woman. Secondly, and more importantly, the movie has way too many contrived and "wacky" subplots--a guy running off with his company's funds, the chimpanzee who loved Fontaine and smokes cigars, the Southern-fried humor supplied by the young couple from Georgia, etc. It just seemed REALLY, REALLY contrived. Plus, the dialog itself was rather forced.

So, overall it's just an adequate film--best enjoyed by old movie and Jimmy Stewart buffs.

I think this movie is charming. It is part farce and part whimsy. It is not a great comedy, and I don't think it was ever intended to be. It has a few stereotypical characters, but that can be fun. I have seen the movie several times. It is pure escapism.

Real-life airman James Stewart is enjoyed here in the first of his pilot roles. Eddie Albert, who would somehow not enjoy outdoing himself five years later in Roman Holiday, is well cast. Joan Fontaine lifted my already high opinion of her by delightfully playing an heiress whose charm and beauty are only matched by her extraordinary wealth.

You Gotta Stay Happy is one of Stewart's more rarely seen pictures despite my high rating. Fans of the aforementioned actors should consider it recommended.

At first I thought You Gotta Stay Happy was just going to be a version of Runaway Bride (decades before that movie came out) and I was not at all excited about that. However, that's not the story being told here. Joan Fontaine isn't playing a woman who is frightened of commitment, instead she's simply a woman who hasn't found the right person. It's a subtle difference, but I appreciated that, and it made the romance click for me. I absolutely loved the early scenes with all the mix-ups in the hotel room. It was charming, and I am always entertained by what was considered scandalous behavior back in the 40s and 50s. If there was any problem with those early scenes it is how quickly the husband is written out of the story, and he doesn't even seem to put any effort into finding his own spouse.

Of course, I wasn't interested in watching a love triangle film, so in the long run I like that James Stewart and Joan Fontaine get so much time alone together (although sometimes with a monkey or Eddie Albert.) Their romance was convincing and I thought they had a nice chemistry with one another. The silly stuff that goes on with their flight is humorous, and I liked how it all snowballed from no passengers to a whole handful of people on board. It was kind of weird that we didn't see all those people hanging around all the time, but they needed to create alone time for the 2 leads. Now, every good rom-com has to have a conflict, and that's the biggest struggle with You Gotta Stay Happy. The things that upset James Stewart's character are kind of ridiculous for anyone to take as offensive or disappointing. I took it all in stride because it was matching the tropes I expect from this genre, but with some different choices I would have loved the film more.

Well, this wasn't "It Happened One Night" but, the plot line was similar. Rich girl (Joan Fontaine) secretly hops aboard a transport plane to escape a loveless marriage. Jimmy Stewart, the pilot, finds her and is annoyed to have a pretty girl hiding on board. In Hollywood guys always get mad finding a pretty stowaway, yeah, right. Anyhow, after a plane crash and lots of hanging around, nature takes over ... and you know... Actually, I enjoyed it. A little escapist comedy, that managed to entertain. Eddie Albert is good too, as Stewart's side-kick. I'd rank it a respectable 6 1/2. Also, Fontaine is as always, very feminine.