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In 1937 Darryl Zanuck, who had recently moved from head of production at Warner Brothers, was trying to get his newly created company, 20th Century Fox off the ground and on a level playing field with his old bosses at Warners and the glitter palace at MGM. "This Is My Affair" was an attempt to cash in on the current success of historical films set around the turn of the century ("San Francisco" "In Old Chicago")and in retrospect he succeeded quite mightily. The plot is fascinating. A trouble maker but heroic naval officer (Robert Taylor) is given a secret assignment by President McKinley to uncover a ring of bank robbers that are paralyzing American finance. He finds the gang but falls in love with their female mascot (Barbara Stanwyck) and must decide between love and duty.

Not everything about this vintage film works well, but overall it is a good slice of studio film-making. The plot gimmick would be borrowed by Kurt Vonnegut for "Mother Night" (the lead role of that film of the book was played brilliantly by Nick Nolte) and seems quite believable, at least within the confides of studio make believe. As a fan of old movies I am always thrilled when I stumble upon one that I have never seen and "This is my Affair" was no exception.

A pair of nuns escort a group of schoolgirls through Arlington National Cemetery, where they stop at the grave of Richard L. Perry, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. When the nuns are unable to answer a girl's query as to why Perry is buried therein, the film flashes back to 1901. The young Perry, played by Robert Taylor, is at a White House reception, where he is called into conference with President William McKinley. The President asks Perry to pursue a gang of bank robbers, who evidently have inside information from a high government source. Fearful that information sensitive to national security may also be at risk, the President tells Perry to drop out of the Navy without giving any reason, change his identity and break contact with friends, and only report by secretly coded letter to the President personally. This far-fetched premise sends Perry, without any apparent funds, to St. Paul, for no given reason, where he begins his quest for the robbers and the government leaker.

Viewers who can swallow the credibility-stretching plot conceived by Allen Rivkin and Lamar Trotti may find a few nuggets of silver among the gravel that constitutes "This is My Affair." Even the generic title, which offers no clue about the film's subject matter, is forgettable. Directed by William A. Seiter and filmed in black and white by Robert Planck, the movie is barely passable entertainment largely for fans of the stars. Robert Taylor in his youth was always too pretty for tough-guy roles, and he plays Perry without the necessary grit to convincingly stand up to his tough co-stars. Always a fascinating actress even in undemanding roles such as this, Barbara Stanwyck is Lil, a club singer and unwilling gangster moll. Lil performs, clumsily at times, in a club operated by Jock. Splendidly played by Victor McLaglen, Jock is a boorish childish jokester in love with Lil. When Taylor pursues an initially reluctant Stanwyck, the expected conflict with McLaglen arises, which, like everything else in this tired script, is a clichéd retread from dozens of other movies. Brian Donlevy as Batiste, the brains behind McLaglen, and John Carradine offer convincing support. However, Sydney Blackmer's corny impersonation of President Theodore Roosevelt is embarrassing; listening to him say "Speak softly and carry a big stick" over and over will make audiences cringe.

Although "This is My Affair" is somewhat vague as to what "affair" the title refers, the flimsy contrived plot offers little beyond a gangster story wrapped up in early 20th-century period costumes. Like the unnecessary prolog in Arlington Cemetery, the intrusive musical numbers that regularly interrupt the film only serve to extend the running time. Stanwyck was not noted for her singing or her dancing, and even her skill as an actress fails to convince that she is a great stage presence. While Taylor is handsome and Stanwyck is worth watching, McLaglen gives the film's best performance as Jock, the big overgrown kid, who always has a new joke or trick to play. However, other than McLaglen, Stanwyck, and Donlevy, "This is My Affair" could be re-titled "This is a Dull Affair."

...from 20th Century Fox and director William A. Seiter. US President William McKinley assigns naval lieutenant Richard Perry (Robert Taylor) to go undercover in order to find and stop a bank robbery ring in Minnesota. The job is so sensitive that no one is aware of Perry's true identity and mission other than McKinley himself. Once in Minnesota, Perry connects the gang to a casino run by Batiste Duryea (Brian Donlevy) and his right-hand man Jock Ramsey (Victor McLaglen). Perry tries to gain entry to the gang while also romancing Batiste's stepsister singer Lil Duryea (Barbara Stanwyck), who had been Jock's girl. This is all leads to confrontations, double-crosses, and...well, any history buff can probably guess what happens. Also featuring Frank Conroy as William McKinley.

This silly circumstances of the plot lead to a decent undercover cop story with a lot of interesting actors. Stanwyck and Taylor's real life romance helped their on-screen chemistry, although it didn't help Stanwyck's singing voice. Sidney Blackmer makes for what may be the screen's worst Teddy Roosevelt.

Did anyone watching this movie wonder if President McKinley got assassinated, because of his secret attempt to unmask one of his confidantes as the kingpin of a crime syndicate? It's a question that was left unexplored here, because, I take it, Americans of the thirties never saw the event as anything but the act of a lone fanatic instead of as a conspiracy. After all, audiences were still recovering from the aftermath of a Depression, and the movies of the time were more concerned with stamping out the Little Caesars and Duke Santees of the day than uncovering political corruption. Allan Rivkin ("The Farmer's Daughter") wrote an interesting story about a naval officer (Robert Taylor) who, in secret correspondence with McKinley, uncovers the linchpin behind a wave of bank robberies in the upper Midwest centered in, of all places, St. Paul, Minnesota. The screenplay gets sanctimonious in the hands of Lamar Trotti, and the script did not inspire William Seiter to more imaginative heights. Brian Donlevy plays the crime boss with his usual menace, while Barbara Stanwyck (of all people) as his half-sister is made to sing (She's barely on-key, like Marlene Dietrich in "The Blue Angel.") and wear big, floppy hats--even in her stage act. The only one I've ever seen on screen who could pull off wearing headgear like these is Mae West, and she was at least in on the joke. Stanwyck, on the other hand, is forced to be unswervingly sincere throughout. Her character Lil and the officer idle on Lake Como and get serious about each other, much to the dismay of Victor MacLaglen who's Donlevy's sidekick, prone to playing practical jokes, and thinks he has it in with her. The acting is uniformly bad; I guess Stanwyck and Taylor were too much in love at the time to care. The story deserved better than this. A secret only you and the President share you would think should take precedence over run-of-the mill movie romance. Unless it involves a cigar and a stained dress...

The script is not too logical, there are many blank spaces here, but the story is good, and it gets exciting towards the end. Barbara Stanwyck is the star here as always, and although a singer of the same parenthesis category as Marlene Dietrich, her acting is superb and totally convincing all the way as usual. Robert Taylor makes one of his first roles as a totally honest gentleman who gets into trouble and has a hard time getting out of it, while Victor McLaglen is the only fun here who constantly has hearty laughs at his own practical jokes on others, even when he is shortly to be hanged. Brian Donleavy plays a sympathetic gangster, while the main attraction and merits of the film are all the wonderfully recreated musical numbers of that time around 1901, when President William McKinley was shot and Theodore Roosevelt entered the White House - he is convincing enough and has a few scenes. The film is great entertainment and reaches some levels of excitement, so it is by all means worth watching.