Julia Misbehaves

Now, you may say to yourself "Greer Garson **gasp** comedy?!" But this is actually a lovely movie about an actress who is attending her daughter's wedding. She hasn't seen her daughter in many years, since her husband, after "one year and two months (of marriage)... said 'Julia, I don't love you anymore. I think it's better if we separate.'" Julia was only invited by "accident", but one certain daughter insists that she stay, contrary to her grandmother's opinion. The film is very fun, if you don't have one of those minds that have type casted Greer Garson, and can't accept that she has a wider range than "Mrs. Miniver" type roles. She proves very adept at comedy, and also look for what seem to be "inside jokes" in some scenes.

Greer Garson had a charmed film career. She was discovered on the English stage by Louis B. Mayer when she was 33. Her MGM career stalled until she was cast opposite Robert Donat in the classic "Goodbye Mr. Chips"(1939) which made her an immediate major star and a worthy successor to fading MGM superstars Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and Garbo. Her lovely, charismatic performance in this film brought her the first of seven Best Actress Oscar nominations. Truth be told her role was too small for such a nomination and Shearer's and Crawford's superb work in "The Women"(1939) should have gotten the nominations. Garson's next film was the disastrous "Remember"(1939) a glossy flat so-called comedy that had her much too prim and proper. But after Shearer unwisely passed on "Pride and Prejudice"(1940) Garson was cast in the central role and received raves from everyone. In retrospect she seems too old for this and the more youthful-looking classy Shearer would have been much better but this film made Garson an enormous star which she remained until a string of entertaining disasters in the early 50's. Of course Garson would win her Oscar for the excellent blockbuster "Mrs.Miniver (1942) -another dumb Shearer turn-down- and Garson would now be typecast in generally too noble and ladylike roles. Nonetheless Garson gave a sparkling performance opposite Crawford in the forgotten "When Ladies Meet"(1941) and gave marvelous natural performances in the hugely popular yet maligned "Adventure"(1946) and superb in the disastrous "Desire Me"(1947). The comedy "Julia Misbehaves" came right after and proved a tremendous hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Though superficially "the lady" once again this role allows Greer to be the comedienne and she succeeds splendidly. The sparkling script and direction, the MGM gloss, her great chemistry with Pidgeon, and the beautiful young co-stars Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Lawford add to the non-stop fun. She plays a wayward showgirl who wants to be part of her daughter's wedding even though she has not been around for years. It's the kind of light hearted romp that Hollywood tries to do now in days with Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Reese Witherspoon and surprisingly Diane Keaton. Of course these recent films rarely work as well as the delightful "Julia Misbehaves." After this Garson returned to the lady roles and had her last big hit with the stodgy technicolored "That Forsythe Woman"(1949). Most of the films that followed were failures except for her outstanding work in "Julius Caesar"(MGM,1953) and Oscar-nominated as Eleanor Roosevelt in "Sunrise at Campobello"(Warner Brothers, 1960).

This is a slight story and it's obvious where it's going but the fun of it is the journey getting there as we follow the exploits and misadventures of the titular Julia, wittily and intelligently played by Greer Garson. She has good chemistry with Walter Pidgeon's masculine everyman type and the young pairing of Peter Lawford and Elizabeth Taylor are appealing enough, but what really makes this film is an embarrassment of riches in the ranks of the character actors present here. Lucile Watson and Mary Boland are shown to good effect as very different types of matriarch, Henry Stephenson and Aubrey Mather are fun as a twinkly Lord and a endearing vicar respectively and Reginald Owen, Edmund Breon and Fritz Field all have nice moments as a put upon pawnbroker, a cheery Scots ghillie and a money grabbing informant. But leading the field in this illustrious company are an amusing Cesar Romeo as a muscle bound, love-lorn acrobat and Nigel Bruce as a lecherous but still loveable old roue. Arguably the highlight of the film are the music hall scenes that include the acrobatic troupe, a cheeky contortionist and even a performing seal. Great fun.

A a writer, i enjoy the spaciousness of this story. This is a sense-of-life portrait of an indomitable woman with a keen sense of Ionic humor, the ability to defend herself when verbally attacked and a very bright and honest mind. In her youth she had married a rich man's son and thought him strong enough to stand up to parental disapproval for the sake of his young actress wife. They had a child, a girl, then later he said he did not love her and called off the marriage. She has gotten by somehow for years; he raised the child. Only now the daughter, about to be married, wants her mother beside her at the wedding. Julia, a female in the United States where few people have any rights and females less, is cadging money off old philanderers who should know better for services not rendered; the latest is a friend of her husband's. She arrives at the house and charms everyone...from the first, the husband wonders why he had ever let her go. She finds her daughter's fiancée hopeless and makes sure she gets interested in a young painter instead. Somehow she gets involved on the way there with the Flying Ghenoccios, in whose balancing act she makes an hilarious debut atop a human pyramid, winning the eldest brother's heart. He shows up then too, complicating life for the husband. They end up nearly drowned and arguing vociferously before she finally accepts her husband's second proposal and his explanation that he had allowed his snobbish family to talk him out of love when he as young. All turns out well for all concerned; but not until after many enjoyable and sometimes farcical complications, and touching moments, occur including Julai's explanation of why "cylamen pink" would be a disaster as a color for bridesmaids' gowns. This film has luminous style in B/W and an expensive look about it, the MGM touch. The roster of those who contributed to this handsome and large-appearing production is a long and much-honored one: gowns by Irene, script adapted from Margery Sharp's "The Nutmeg Tree", direction by Jack Conway, music by Adolph Deutsch, set decorations by Edwin B. Willis, art direction by Daniel B. Cathcart and Cedric Gibbons, with cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg, script by Arthur Wimperis, Harry Riskin and William Ludwig, with adaptation by Monckton Hoffe and Gina Kaus. In the large cast Greer Garson and Walter Pigeon are the mature couple, and they are unarguably wonderful together, as always. Lucile Watson as his mother, Peter Lawford as the painter, Mary Boland as the mother of the Ghenoccios and Cesar Romero as her eldest Joe are all very good. Nigel Bruce, Elizabeth Taylor as the daughter, Reginald Owen, Ian Wolfe, Henry Stephenson, Veda Ann Borg and Phyliis Moore have less to do but all do what they are asked to do very well. This is a long, pleasant and occasionally brilliant satire of its own plot line--taking responsibility for one's own values. The rich and the deluded in this trenchant look at human errors and choices do not come off particularly well; virtues, though not exclusively, seem mostly to belong to those who deal with reality and not social-class expectations and conventions and appearances---in a nation that was not supposed to have any such folderol. Julia in the person of Greer Garson is a stiff breeze of fresh air; and in the brilliant and only modestly-stuffy person of Walter Pigeon we see a human edifice in exact need of that cleansing stir, motion and source of verbiage. She is obviously exactly the woman he should have married after all and should never have let go for any reason. Forget this is Greer Garson; the film would have been accepted by public and critics in 1938 as the beautifully-made gem it is; if it was made too late, it was not too late for its genial look at human honesties and foibles, but for a nation's folk no longer much interested in realities, as it s citizens had been during the late war. A true delight and a rare and major comedy appearance for the witty and delightful stars.

Greer Garson, soaking in her tub and locked in her room, pretends she's about to end it all. All this is a ruse in order to get her good friend Reginald Owen to pay her creditors, who are at her door. Ms. Garson's carefree, gay, and a delicious tease in this fun-filled romp that is sure to please even the crankiest of viewers. This shows Ms. Garson in a new light from her usual fare of melodrama, as she lets her hair down and has all the men around her on a string and using them to her advantage. It happens that she gets an invitation to her daughter's impending wedding. She had left her years ago, with her husband, of whom she never divorced (played by Walter Pidgeon,) because she is an stage actress and travels a lot. When she arrives, we see that most of them are not glad to see her, after all this time. But what happens next is a riot. Cesar Romero is great as part of an acrobatic act and as a suitor vying for Greer, giving the debonair Walter Pidgeon a run for his money. "What muscles am I using now?" If you've never seen this, you're in for a real treat, the cheery side of Miss Greer.