Goldie Gets Along

For a 30's classic this is not worth watching. I had trouble finishing the movie. At first I thought I should like all classic movies but this one is bad. Nat Pendleton is funny in this movie but we don't see enough of him. She tries to be a "naughty" girl from a small town but it goes off as phony.

"Goldie LaFarge" ( Lili Damita ) is determined to get out to Hollywood, to be discovered. She stays out all night, and doesn't care who knows. Of course, her boyfriend "Bill" (Charles Morton) might have something to say about it, as well as the family with which she lives. Black and white film buffs will recognize Nat Pendleton as the motorcycle cop. Pendleton usually played the thug, the wrestler, or the goofy older brother. Bill keeps bailing Goldie out of trouble, and wants to marry her. Goldie's actions are pretty un-even... she pretends to be horrified and rebuffs the men that try to take advantage of her, and in the very next scene, she bats her eyelashes and uses her baby voice and wiles to try to get rides, money, and whatever she can get. Damita had come over from France, and her accent is still pretty strong in this one, in spite of being in Hollywood for several years. Another uncredited appearance by Walter Brennan, as the stuttering waiter. Wow, he had so many uncredited roles, right up to the mid-1930s. The sound quality is pretty hit or miss, but it's not surprising, as talkies had only been around a couple years. Towards the middle, there is a background equipment buzzing sound that disappears after a while. Another RKO shortie. That ending leaves us with a strange taste... there's good news, and there's bad news. Pretty mixed messages there. Directed by Malcolm St. Clair, who had directed many a Hollywood big shot. He directed Laurel & Hardy, as well as Harold Lloyd and even Buster Keaton. We'll call this one "just okay". weird daydream sequence towards the end... was probably hailed as "great special effects" at the time, but just looks amateurish by today's standard. Only rated 4 out of 10, but of course, only 38 votes at this point.

There were a lot of cynical movies made about Hollywood. The various versions of A STAR IS BORN are the best known of them. GOLDIE GETS ALONG is a lesser work.

Lily Damita is a French girl stuck in New Jersey. Thinking she has a chance in Hollywood, she breaks with her obnoxious foster family, abandons her fiancé, Charles Morton, and strikes out for Tinseltown. She uses various questionable tactics to achieve her goal -- the Production Code had not come into full force when this movie was released -- albeit nothing that would offend Joseph Breen beyond repair. Eventually she winds up in Hollywood, to discover that her struggles have only begun.

While there are some interesting bits and pieces in this movie (keep an eye out for Walter Brennan as a stammering waiter), it never aspires to be more than a programmer, leaving its leads to carry it along its over-edited length. Alas, they don't succeed very well. Miss Damita's career would end later in the decade, when she would retire to the career of being Errol Flynn's wife. This would be Mr. Morton's last major credit in any movie, although he would continue for decades as an uncredited extra.

I noticed that there were a few reviews which gave this film a 1. Well, that seems overly harsh, though I must admit that this isn't a great film. The biggest problem was that in the story, Goldie (Lily Damita) is supposed to be so vivacious that all men are putty in her hands. She's so pretty that she wins seven beauty contests in a row! But the problem is no woman is that amazing....and Damita isn't the best choice for this if you are going to write a plot like this. I know I sound a bit harsh...but she couldn't carry it off nor could 99% of the actresses in Hollywood!

The film begins in the small town of Springfield. Goldie (Damita) is out all night and her aunt and uncle and the rest of the family attack her for her loose morals. Of course, they are all a bunch of stick-in-the-muds...and Goldie storms out...vowing to never return. Her boyfriend, Bill (Charles Morton) wants her to marry him and stay in smalltown America....but Goldie wants to go to Hollywood and make something of herself.

During her trip west, she gets involved in all sorts of shady activities...which are NOT her fault but which seriously derail her journey. The worst is a total jerk who runs phony beauty contests. She wins seven in a row...all offering trips of Hollywood or cash...and she sees none of this and exposes the fraud.

Once in Hollywood, she finds that breaking into pictures isn't as easy as she thought. And, soon the crook with the beauty contests comes looking for her to exact his revenge...though this makes no sense as the last time you saw him in the film he was about to be cross-examined by a district attorney because of the fraud! What's next? See the film...or not.

So is it any good? Not especially. Much of it is as I mentioned above...no one is THAT vivacious and Goldie gets men to do her bidding so easily....too easily. Additionally, some parts of this B-movie just are indifferently written..and the ending was just awful! Not a terrible film but certainly one that leaves you wondering WHY Damita was a famous leading lady when she married young Errol Flynn in 1935.

Watching Goldie Gets Along I think I was viewing one of the great tease roles of all time. Lili Damita better known as the first Mrs. Errol Flynn plays a woman who cab charm the heck out of the male of the species.

Damita has one goal in Goldie Gets Along to get to Hollywood and she works a beauty contest racket right across the country. She promises but never comes around to coming across with the goods for the various gullible judges. It nearly winds her up in the slammer.

Other than Nat Pendleton as a motorcycle cop and Walter Brennan in a bit role as a stuttering waiter I doubt anyone would know most of the cast. Damita's leading man Charles Morton was of the most bland variety.

Goldie Gets Along has its moments, but it's a most dated film.