The Golden Arrow

Johnny Jones (George Brent) is a cynical newspaper reporter assigned to get an interview with reclusive millionaire heiress Daisy Appleby (Bette Davis). When the two meet, there are sparks, but he doesn't want to be a "kept man". Little does he know that Daisy is actually a phony, a promotional gimmick for a cosmetics company acting the part of a glamorous socialite in order to garner headlines and sell facial cream.

I liked Brent quite a bit in this one, but conversely I felt Davis didn't come across as well, as playing fluttery "girlish" roles really wasn't her strong suit. She's not bad, but the material would have been better served with some one else. The finale, involving Davis showing up at a social event with a black eye, much to the smirking amusement of those in attendance, is definitely a sign of the times.

At first sight this movie doesn't look like a particular great one. After all a Bette Davis movies with only 166 votes on IMDb and a rating of 6,5 must be a rather bad one. But the movie turned out to be a delightful and original surprise.

You would at first expect that this is a normal average typical '30's movie with a formulaic love-story but the movie is surprisingly well constructed and has an unusual and original story, which also helps to make this movie a very pleasant one to watch.

The story is carried by its two main characters played by Bette Davis and George Brent. Their helped by a cast of mostly amusing characters but the movie mainly involves just around them two. Their character are involved in a most unusual and clever written love-story that work humorous as well. It makes this movie a delightful little comedy to watch, that is perfectly entertaining.

The movie is quite short (just over an hour long), which means that the story doesn't waste any time on needless plot lines, development and characters. It makes the movie also rather fast paced, which helps to make this movie a perfectly watchable one by todays standards as well. It does perhaps makes the movie a bit of a simple one at times but this never goes at the expense of its entertainment or fun.

A delightful pleasant simple romantic-comedy that deserves to be seen by more!

8/10

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The Golden Arrow (1936)

** (out of 4)

Pleasant, if rather forgettable, romantic comedy from Warner has a heiress (Bette Davis) growing tired of people controlling her life so she hits the town with a reporter (George Brent) who had previously tried to get a story from her. While out the duo have a good time and the rich lady requests that they get married for convenience sake but the reporter requests that he not use any of her money. The plot of this thing is rather stupid and goes in all sorts of directions. While the film remains entertaining thanks to the stars, one can't help but feel that their talents are being wasted in such a minor film like this. Again, if you're a fan of Davis or Brent then you're going to at least be entertained from start to finish but this is clear case where the studio factory was just pumping out material without putting too much effort into it. The film starts off well enough as Davis does a very good job playing the fun loving girl who's just wanting to get out from under the control that people have on her. I thought the scenes with her and Brent at the fair were a lot of fun and it really did seem as if the two stars were having a blast. The film certainly takes a nose dive after the marriage as the screwball elements start to come into play and they just don't contain any spark or laughs. I thought the material just wasn't strong enough and Brent's constant hissy fits were more annoying than charming. Both leads are very good together and we get some nice support from Dick Foran and Eugene Palette but the story lets them all down.

Twenty-eight-year-old Bette Davis had been making films for five years, quickly working up to lead, and pretty much the same for George Brent. They would appear in about TWELVE films together in the 1930s and 1940s. Rich girl Daisy (Davis) meets reporter Johnny (Brent), in a case of mistaken identity. At first, she is angry at him, but they quickly hit it off. Eugene Palette is in here too, with his deep, booming voice. Some interesting bits about Palette's life, if you have the time to read it. The story here has ups, downs, around the mulberry bush, as they used to say. Rawtha a silly plot, but easy to watch, and its only 68 minutes long. One odd bit of timing... at one point, Daisy yells "If you don't stick to our agreement, I'll break my contract", and soon after filming "Arrow", Davis DID walk out on her contract. Showing on Turner Classic now and then. Directed by Alfred Green, who had directed some of the biggies in the business, starting in the days of the silents. Story by Michael Arlen, who had created the character "The Falcon", in all those films in the 1940s.

I love seeing George Brent teamed with Bette Davis and according to a Davis biography, she also loved being paired with this amiable actor. So I began watching the film with high hopes--expecting to like the film. Well, although I didn't dislike the film, I certainly didn't like it all that much due to terrible writing and some ridiculous situations they placed these hapless actors in with this film. I won't even try to explain the stupid plot--it's THAT difficult to believe! So what we are left with are two excellent actors trying their best with drivel. As a result, it's good drivel, but drivel nevertheless. If you are a huge Bette Davis fan (like me), then see this film. Otherwise, it's very skip-able and only a time passer.

By the way, films like this one are the reason that Ms. Davis walked out on her contract with Warner Brothers. She reasoned, quite naturally, that after becoming an Oscar winner for Best Actress in DANGEROUS (1936) and being nominated for OF HUMAN BONDAGE (1934), she'd get better scripts--which she didn't. Despite the walkout, she was eventually forced to return to work, but somehow Warner got the point and began giving her better material over the next couple years. Looking at this dull film, I am glad she walked out for better films!