Paradise for Three

Multi-millionaire soap industrialist Frank Morgan (as Rudolph Tobler) holds a slogan contest for his company, with the winner and runner-up prizes awarded a two week vacation at his ritzy Palace hotel in the Swiss Alps. Unbeknownst to all, Mr. Morgan has entered his own contest under the name "Edward Schultz" and come in second place. First place winner is Robert Young (as Fritz Hagedorn), an unemployed American in Vienna who is several months behind in his rent payments. Morgan decides to go on the vacation and see how poor people live. Concerned about her eccentric boss receiving less than spectacular service, his possessive housekeeper Edna May Oliver (as Mrs. Kunkel) calls to let the hotel staff know Morgan is arriving incognito...

Due to a mix-up, the staff thinks Mr. Young is the soap tycoon. Both men attract attention from fortune-hunting divorcée Mary Astor (as Irene Mallebre). Long-time MGM editor-turned-producer Sam Zimbalist scores a real winner with this comedy. It started with the common "rich/poor" switcheroo, given a good treatment by successful story-teller Erich Kastner. Hollywood writers added some fine lines for the marvelous cast. The skiing segments reveal a less than spectacular budget, but these type of silly skiing scenes were common, at the time. Under the circumstances, not having Edna May Oliver mug and take a tumble on the Alps would have been filmmaking blasphemy. Everything is skillfully managed by director Edward Buzzell.

******** Paradise for Three (2/15/38) Edward Buzzell ~ Frank Morgan, Robert Young, Mary Astor, Edna May Oliver