Lucky Partners

Passing on the street, caricaturist Ronald Colman wishes complete stranger Ginger Rogers good luck. When luck comes her way, she decides Colman is her lucky charm, and suggests he go into an Irish Sweepstakes ticket with her. She is scheduled to marry bespectacled "insurance engineer" Jack Carson and move to Poughkeepsie, without a honeymoon. She wants her own money. Colman agrees, if she will take all the money, save for enough for a honeymoon. Insulted, Miss Rogers fetches Carson, expecting him to thrash Colman. Instead, Colman convinces him that she will marry him win or lose, and the chances of winning are millions to one; any trip with Colman would be as brother and sister. Convinced he is in on a cinch, Carson agrees. Instead, they draw a horse. Carson surreptitiously sells "her" half of the ticket. When she gets her money, she tells Colman, and they go on a trip. Complications ensue.

It's carried on the charms of the two leads, of course, but I always thought there was something odd about the rhythms. I've just done some digging and discovered it's based on a movie written, co-directed and starring Sacha Guitry. Of course! I can just see Guitry in the Colman role, talking nonsense a mile a minute; there's even a moment in which Colman's manner suggests Guitry.

The considerable charms of the leads overwhelm me, of course, but the best realized characters are in support: Carson's dull but suspicious "insurance engineer"; Spring Byington's bookstore owner; and Harry Davenport's judge who provides a third-act deus ex machina.

Guitry's original version doesn't seem to be easily available, much as I would like to see it for comparison. What we have here is a rather sniggering crazy comedy that doesn't quite work, however much I enjoy watching it.

It's not in the league of It Happened One Night or His Girl Friday. The story line is nonsensical and the pacing can be slow and ultimately, it just doesn't work. So why 7 stars? Because Ronald Colman is having a ball playing a sexy rogue and every romantic scene works perfectly. He drops some incredibly flirty dialogue and Ginger Rogers reluctantly being proper and locking the door to their adjoining rooms is ALL OF US (whew!). There's a scene that's a precursor to "Pillow Talk" that's just as romantic. This movie just doesn't really work, it should have been better, but it's worth it to watch just for Colman and his scenes with Ginger Rogers.

Lucky Partners, released in 1940, paired Ginger Rogers with Ronald Colman. The movie starts with Colman (Dave Grant) wishing a stranger "Good Luck!" as he passes her (Rogers playing Jean Newton) on the sidewalk, catching her off guard. After a brief exchange, they continue on their ways. Right away, the director is letting us know that this is a whimsical story, so criticisms about its implausibility should be few.

It turns out that Jean, who is engaged to Freddy (played by Jack Carson), crosses paths with Dave again, sending the story of this romantic comedy on its way. I was pleased to find this film uses both broad humor and comedic subtlety, with elements of farce. Director Lewis Milestone uses a deft touch to keep us guessing at the next plot twist and to keep the chuckles coming. I'm afraid I was not cognizant of Milestone's accomplishments before seeing Lucky Partners. He won the Academy Award for All Quiet on the Western Front, and directed the excellent Front Page, and the quirky Hallelujah, I'm a Bum. Milestone was known for his innovative filming techniques and his quirky sense of humor.

Ronald is his usual smooth self (does anyone else think Hugo Weaving was copying his voice in V for Vendetta?); Ginger, who I am partial to, plays her vivacious, funny-face persona. She would win the Academy Award for her role in Kitty Foyle, also released in 1940.

There are some humorous supporting cast portrayals, particularly the hotel maid who is the victim of Ginger's curious behavior.

Before it ends, the story morphs into a mystery that resolves in a courtroom setting.

Watch how the director creates viewer interest by allowing action to occur off-screen; he is very good at that. When the two men go into the back alley to fight (off-screen), watch Ginger's face. And you can see the moment (crossing the bridge)when Ginger realizes how much she cares for Ronald, accomplished without words--evidence of Milestone's silent film experience.

I really enjoyed this film.

Lucky Partners was the first of two films that Ronald Colman together with director Lewis Milestone signed on to make at RKO Pictures. For box office sake he was lucky to get Ginger Rogers who was their top moneymaking female star to be the leading lady. Though their styles don't quite mesh, it's a pleasant enough bit of viewing.

Colman is a reclusive artist and Ginger is a bookseller in Greenwich Village of the Forties, then as now a home and haven for non-conformist spirits. Maybe in another neighborhood a story like this just couldn't happen.

Just one fine day as Colman passes Rogers on the street he wishes her a casual 'good luck'. When she gets the gift of an expensive coat that someone is discarding, Ginger decides that Colman apparently has a lucky streak going. What to do, but bet on the Irish Sweepstakes and take him in as a partner. That does not sit too well with fiancée Jack Carson who is playing a typical Jack Carson blowhard type.

The whole business arrangement in fact the whole business eventually winds up before Judge Harry Davenport who sorts out the legal and romantic complications for all concerned. Very much like Judge Granville Bates does in My Favorite Wife which also came from RKO the same year and is a much better film.

With possibly a different director like Preston Sturges or Mitch Leisen, or Leo McCarey, someone who is known for comedy Lucky Partners might have been a better film. As it is it's pleasant enough viewing for the fans of the leading players, but that's about all you can say for it.

Ronald Colman fascinates me. Perhaps more than any actor ever to grace the Hollywood sound stages (and silent-era stages), he is a truly unique actor. And, as the epitome of suaveness, with that once-in-a-lifetime voice, like Jack Nicholson and Spencer Tracey, I can enjoy a Colman film if for no other reason than to revel in his screen persona. Having said that, this is far from Colman's best film, but it is pleasant enough. Due to the era -- 1940 -- one might expect this to be a screwball comedy. Rather, it is a sophisticated comedy, so don't expect to laugh out loud...it's just not that kind of film. Ginger Rogers is also very pleasant here, and Jack Carson plays his role of jilted fiancé perfectly (he really was quite a versatile actor). Some people believe that the obvious difference in the age of Colman and Rogers makes this film improbable, yet I can imagine Hepburn and Tracy in the star roles, and that age difference wouldn't have bothered us. Spring Byington is pleasant, but in terms of the character actors who fill out the playbill, it is -- as is often the case - Harry Davenport (as the judge) that really shines here.

As a Colman fan, I enjoyed this film. It's pleasant, humorous, and heartwarming. It's perfect for a night in front of the fireplace and television.