patriciahammond

As the only comment on this excellent production seems to find fault with Rula Lenska's resemblance to Joan Collins (??) and Loretta Young (??), that the men aren't more hunky and steamy, and the fact that the dialogue is talky, I feel compelled to leave MY two bits' worth.

Talk is what we expect from Noel Coward. Reams of it. Clever, witty, bizarre, offbeat, and yes, not what one would expect of people in real life. Since when does drama have to follow normal speech? If such were the case, then anyone with a tape recorder could become a playwright.

Rula Lenska is divine, preposterous and hilarious. I'd only seen her on tabloid covers taken from Celebrity Big Brother, alas, and to see this televised play was most illuminating. Her two gentlemen are, yes, a little limp by today's Hollywood standards, but a lot more clever. It is easy to see why this trio of misplaced bohemians must always be together. They feed off one another, and are more alive when all three are in the room together. The actors convey this admirably. The costumes, hair and so on are beautiful, giving the sparkling dialogue a perfect setting.

Bravos all round. If something half this good were produced today, the critics would be ecstatic.

What an enjoyable piece of fluff. Though I'd say it was a bit more than a piece of fluff, really, as there is subtlety galore, and philosophy, and irreverence and some macabre/screwball humour when the love rival for Fred MacMurray says in an offhand way that she'd attempted suicide but then got married, but then found it hard to be sad when her husband was killed playing polo... That kind of humour would raise eyebrows even today! Alan Jones sings his manly heart out while wearing a pencil moustache, and Madeleine Carroll says some very clever and deep things about the nature of female independence. You can tell that the actress really thought these lines were quite wise and put a lot of feeling into them, even though the film is at pains to prove the opposite view. Likewise subtle is the fact that MacMurray is a bit of a cad, not a straightforward hero. I actually hated him for a good few minutes. The small roles are played with great skill and elan, particularly the fortune teller with her blithe, witty delivery and of course Window-cleaner philosopher Akim Tamiroff, whom I ended up applauding out loud for his sheer verve, and the comedy and character he packs into each gesture. The fly in the ointment, to this cow-poke anyway, is the truly cringeworthy little girl. Ugh! You can just see her pushy mother urging her on to become the next Shirley Temple. Sorry dear, that requires talent, not just a shrill voice and a pudgy face.

I cannot believe how mean-spirited so many of the comments are on this delightful piece of froth. It is a Rom-Com, a fun way for a war-weary people to loosen up and forget about their troubles. Betty Hutton does yell. And how. Her sense of rhythm, quick gestures and dance moves are extremely well-honed, and she nails these songs with a precision and joie-de-vivre that is a lesson to anyone in show business. The story is implausible. Good! That's what makes it so fun and such good escapist value. Look at Rom-Coms today and they're not that much more plausible... The set design is fabulous, the gowns are gorgeous, the girls vivacious, and the band excellent. The songs aren't amongst the forty best tunes of the century, but they're memorable enough that I'm humming one of them right now. Can't say fairer than that.