Vieni a vivere con me

I was a little bored with the first half hour of this film, but a well-written turn of events sends this movie in the right direction. It mixes a few classic themes (marry vs. deportation, country comes to town, wealth vs poverty, town goes to country, etc...) that could have made this movie completely formulaic. However, formula goes out the door with Jimmy Stewart's charm and Hedy Lamarr's stunning beauty.

Once both characters spend screen time together, consistently, the energy of this slightly screwball romantic comedy picks up quickly. The grandmother is all wisdom, wit, and heart. Her common sense needlework samplers are artfully placed and still hold true today. The grandmother's calm voice, the sound of crickets chirping, and the other country nuances slow down the pace to a level that seems so foreign to an actress like Hedy Lamarr. She seems so out of place, but that is what makes her so enjoyable to watch. She melts slowly from the WWII city girl ice queen fugitive until she's relaxed and calm as if she can go home again, but this time to a slice of Americana rather than Austria and with a moral upstanding young man if that's the choice she's willing to make.

This has just been made available for purchase on DVD. It's now on my "to buy" list and certainly worth a watch on TCM if you enjoy this genre and these wonderfully magnetic actors.

This is a wonderful Jimmy Stewart and Hedy Lamarr movie. Very romantic and sentimental. Jimmy Stewart's grandma in the movie is priceless. A must for your collection - not available to buy; however, sometimes comes on American Movie Classics. I have had a recording of it for years. It's one of my favorites.

I loved every frame of this 1941 light romantic comedy when Hedy Lamarr is paired with Jimmy Stewart.It has been said so many times before but Hedy had such beauty both in body and spirit that it is almost worth seeing a film with her in it just to gape in awe at her.I am gradually building up my collection of Hedy's films which include Exctacy (1933), Algiers (1938), Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945) and Dishonored Lady (1947).We must not forget that she also had intelligence and invented in 1942, at the height of her Hollywood career, a frequency-switching system for torpedo guidance that was two decades ahead of its time which with a colleague, she patented.

In this film Hedy has overstayed her visitor's visa and the immigration officials are on to her.This is unfortunate for her in war time as she would have to return to her native Vienna.Of course as the good natured immigration official suggests, if she could find a husband within the week he decides to turn a blind eye, she could stay in America.Cue Jimmy Stuart failed writer who has the rejection slips and pawn tickets piling up in his flat.Can he meet this week's rent?Hedy has an idea.She requests he writes down his weekly expenditure and she will pay him regular amounts based on this budget in consideration of a civil marriage of convenience, thus avoiding deportation.Jimmy Stewart will regard as an accumulating loan until such time as his novel is sold to the publisher's and he will have enough money to pay off the debt.The coincidence is that his publisher (Ian Hunter) is simultaneously having an affair with Hedy.She only visits him at his flat to pay him his regular instalment, so despite being husband and wife, at least in the eyes of the law, they never really have got to know one another.

As time goes by Jimmy is starting to care for Hedy and he invites her to visit his grandmother in the country where passions deepen.Hedy is still unsure at this stage and uses a ruse to phone her married sugar daddy Ian Hunter giving him directions where she is.It is night and Hedy and Jimmy both must go to their respective bedrooms but Jimmy keeps making excuses to stay in her bedroom before reluctantly leaving.Their bedrooms have a partial wall over which light can be seen so they can converse with one another when both in their beds.The Grandmother has a hobby of embroidering sayings all around her home some of which humorously fit the action on the screen.When Ian Hunter arrives at the address to fetch his mistress, guess who Hedy selects? What I find fascinating about Hedy in her film roles (apart from her obvious physical beauty) is her genuine Viennese accent, her honesty, integrity, and intelligence and she is every inch the lady.

In 2013 I wrote a general amendment to this and other user comments which also applies to those actresses whose films I have already commented on IMDb.com in recent years.My love goddess/film actresses are Margaret Lockwood, Jennifer Jones, Vivien Leigh, Hedy Lamarr & Ava Gardner.Perhaps you will notice they were all dark brunette 1940s (& 50s) stars.It occurred to me that there should be one defining film which perfectly encapsulates for me their intrinsic personality, talent glamour & intellect.These are my choices after years of deliberation: Margaret Lockwood - "The Wicked Lady" (1945), Jennifer Jones - "Portrait Of Jennie" (1948), Vivien Leigh - "That Hamilton Woman" (1941, Hedy Lamarr - H.M.Pulman esq (1945, Ava Gardner "One Touch of Venus" (1948).

Hedy Lamarr is as dazzling as ever with a wardrobe to match in "Come Live with Me," a 1941 light romantic comedy directed by Clarence Brown and also starring James Stewart.

Lamarr is Johannes "Johnny" Jones, a showgirl who has immigrated from "what was Austria"; however, her visa has run out. Her boyfriend, publisher Barton Kendrick (Ian Hunter) has an open arrangement with his wife (Veree Teasdale); he also has connections, but immigration shows up too soon.

The immigration officer takes pity on Johnny and gives her one week to get married so she can stay in the country. He assumes, wrongly, that she is going to marry Kendrick.

Obviously, she can't, but then she meets a down and out writer, Bill Smith (Stewart) and talks him into marrying her. She agrees to pay him $17 a week, which equals his living expenses.

"Come Live with Me" is not a rip-roaring screwball comedy but a nice romantic one with some fine performances from Lamarr, Stewart, Hunter, Teasdale, Donald Meek, and Adeline De Walt Reymolds as Bill's grandmother.

De Walt Reynolds had only begun her acting career the year before, in 1940, at the age of 78. She lived to be 98 and worked mostly on television until she died. She's excellent here.

Stewart and Lamarr do well together. Worth seeing - no blockbuster, but it will leave you with a smile on your face.

This is an MGM comedy starring Hedy Lamarr & Jimmy Stewart. Hedy is a wealthy Viennese refugee living in New York. Her worst fear is realized when she's threatened with deportation, unless she can get married within 7 days. She has a willing, wealthy suitor, but he has a wife, and Hedy, being a kind soul, does not want to be a homewrecker. Enter Jimmy Stewart, playing a broke, down on his luck writer. Jimmy and Hedy find themselves sharing a lunch counter, courtesy of a serendipitous rainstorm. Before you know it, they're married. Both get something from this living apart, transactional affair: Jimmy receives a weekly stipend, and Hedy gets to stay in America. Of course, we know what Jimmy's character really wants.

There's little chemistry between the two leads. Hedy is very glamorous, but her performance is rather one-note. The script, however, doesn't give her much to do. Since it's Hedy Lamarr, her screen presence makes up for it. The supporting cast adds the necessary flavor. Ian Hunter as Hedy's lover. Verree Teasdale (one of the great character actresses) as his savvy wife, and Adeline De Walt Reynolds as Jimmy's no-nonsense grandmother. Barton MacLane shows up as a sympathetic immigration official. Overall, it's a pleasant excursion, with echoes of The Awful Truth (1937), minus the biting wit and manic energy. Although the Nazi occupation of Austria isn't mentioned, it's obvious the reason why Hedy's character can't go back.