Crociera di piacere

Can this marriage be saved, despite intense jealousy, mistrust, elaborate deceptions and prevarications? (Well, what would anyone expect in a sex farce?) I first saw this film circa 1970 when a Washington, DC television station aired it, along with several other early-thirties "pre-code" films, as part of its "Cinema Club 9" weekend program. I had always wanted to see it again, because I wasn't sure I had interpreted two key scenes correctly. (Perhaps some ambiguity was intended by the author of the play upon which the film is based, or by the film makers.) I was very pleased when TCM "premiered" the film in late 2016; and, I hope, for those who haven't seen it, they will run it again. The script is very amusing, clever and provocative; and, the acting is excellent. Roland Young plays the jealous husband, Arthur, who goes to extraordinary lengths to keep his wife from becoming seduced by shipboard Lotharios. Genevieve Tobin is especially wonderful playing her character, Shirley, as the innocent, virtuous and truthful wife; and, she is equally wonderful playing Shirley later in the film when she is . . . well, watch the film and see for yourself. Most insightful line (and key to the development of the unexpected ending): Shirley's friend, Judy (played by Minna Gombell), when she advises Shirley, "Any man will believe an explanation if it's flattering enough." Some viewers may find disturbing some of the events in the last reel, but for different reasons. The next time this film comes around on TCM's schedule, make an effort to see it, and make your own judgments. However, by all means, don't read TCM's synopsis, which not only spoils the surprises, but also (I believe) contains a gross error.

"Pleasure Cruise" is not a long movie (70 minutes), but with the story it has, it probably should have been a 15-minute short. There are two or three instances of inventive direction by Frank Tuttle, but until the last 15 minutes I was prepared to give this film a generous **. Then something happens that could only have happened in the pre-code years, and once again I was amazed by what they could get away with in the movies before the censors boxed them in. The final scene is so thoroughly pre-code and so perfectly set up that it could be used as an emblem of the freedom of that era. So my final rating goes up to **1/2 out of 4.

It is certainly possible that my mood was why I didn't find Pleasure Cruise as delightful as I had hoped, given leads of Roland Young and Genevieve Tobin, direction by the workhorse Frank Tuttle from a script by Guy Bolton. I suppose at least part of the trouble was Ralph Forbes as the "romantic threat". The studio era was full of good-looking men who acted as if they thought they looked like nothing special, and I'm sure that appealed to the women as well as easing things for the male audience. Forbes as an actor is so narcissistic as to be repellent. He's like Richard Gere or Brad Pitt without ability. No, more, he's like Robert Taylor or without the desire to be a good actor.

On the whole, though, I have to note that Guy Bolton's script was not as sparkling as could be wished, leering and suggesting but never actually delivering anything except for a few bright whoppers told by Young. Bolton had been doing this sort of script for at least fifteen years. Perhaps it was the lack of his usual collaborators (P.G. Wodehouse, with the Gershwins for musical interludes) that makes this an enjoyable but rote farce.