Salvo Pelo Gongo

The awesome Joan Blondell is assistant to popular writer Kenneth Bixby (Warren William). Bixby and Julie (Genevieve Tobin ) had dated way back when... which could be a problem, as Julie is now married to Harvey (vaudeville guy Hugh Herbert). William would probably best be known from the "Lone Wolf" films and the detective Philo Vance films. and the incredible Joan Blondell would go on to do How to Marry a Millionaire and Desk Set. The story is so-so. the picture and sound quality are quite good, for such an oldie. The plot is pretty lighweight and flimsy, but ah well. Herbert is quite understated in this one; in some of his films, he plays the mumbling, absent-minded cluck, and goes over the top. Not so much in this one. It's more of a love-triangle farce. must have been made JUST before the enforcement of the film production code... story of a married woman running after a single man wouldn't be considered proper pretty soon. and a son in addition! Blondell had started right about when the talkies were invented, but she's stuck in a light little caper here. Another Michael Curtiz production, but nothing on the level of Casablanca, which he would make ten years later.

About halfway through I realised I'd seen this before - only about a year ago but I'd instantly forgotten it. Kind of sums this nondescript nonsense.

Although we've got Michael Curtiz in the chair and Joan Blondell in full cuteness mode, what we haven't got is fun or drama or indeed entertainment.

Two problems: the studio and the cast.

Obviously WB made all sorts of movie genres back in the early 30s but those which stand the test of time are those in tune with the people struggling to get by as a result of the depression. This movie isn't about those people, it's about people we don't really care about. This type of movie needs more gloss so might have been better had it been made by Paramount etc. Who were used to that more superficial style.

Second problem - William Warren and Joan Blondell were the unlikely couple who just clicked a few months earlier in the fantastic Gold Diggers of 1933 - they're here again playing not too dissimilar roles but in this one they just don't click, there's zero chemistry between them. When we watch these types of romantic comedies (although this one isn't funny) we're hoping that the boy and the girl get together and live happily ever after. That doesn't happen in this, it just makes us annoyed that lovely Joan throwing herself someone whom we have no empathy for and clearly doesn't deserve her. There are quite a few underlying themes in this which, if better written, could have been explored more, maybe turning it into a more dramatic film rather than a weak comedy but as it is, it's a waste of everyone's talent.

The premise to this film, its cast, and pre-Code status all made it promising, but unfortunately it fell short for me. Warren William is at it again as a suave yet unscrupulous author, his secretary is the plucky Joan Blondell, and the love interest who emerges from his past (despite now being married) is Genevieve Tobin. The film then follows the author's attempts to overcome his libido and say "goodbye again" to her, helped along by a chorus of characters who serve as his conscience (her husband, played by Hugh Herbert, her sister, her brother-in-law who is also a lawyer, and of course, his secretary).

The opening scene is amusing in that it shows the author's novels in the window of a bookstore, and we see such titles as The Boudoir Cloister (with a book cover that has a woman in lingerie reclining back on her bed, arms thrown back), A Saint in Scarlet (which has a woman with a fashionable bob and low-cut dress looking pensive), Ecstasy (flowers splaying out wildly), The Woman Who Gave (a close up of a woman's face, perhaps as she's about to give or receive), Purple Passion - a Novel of Burning Love in the Tropics (with a woman beneath a palm tree in an exotic place), and Miriam (with a woman clutching a pillow while lying on her stomach smiling joyously). Naturally, women in the bookstore are all clamoring to get copies.

There are also some wonderful little moments with William and Blondell, who were at the height of their pre-Code powers. Seeing William singing a camping song in closet, mocking the lawyer by repeating what he says as he says it, and hopping up on a window ledge and maniacally threatening to jump make the film worth seeing if you're a fan of his, and it's only 66 minutes anyway. Blondell slapping him in the face with tears welling up in her eyes, after earlier being the no-nonsense type who bargained with the hotel porter over the price of a bottle of rye, showed her wonderful range. Towards the end the film seemed like an early version of a screwball comedy, which may hold some appeal as well.

However, for me the film lacked that certain pre-Code sizzle, suffering from a weak script and some uneven storytelling from director Michael Curtiz. There's not enough passion between William and Tobin's characters, and when the weak nothing of a husband and the extraneous characters of the sister and her husband show up, it led to a lot of talking and hashing things through instead of the emotions and passion that would have made this interesting. There are a couple of clever little lines with inuendo, such as when the author says he slept well but "on and off," when we know his lover has been with him on the train, but there's not enough of this sort of thing.

It's clear to the audience that they've had sex in the past, though a portion of his recollection about a night he spent with her in college was censored, with a noticeable skip in what he says about it. That may have been by a local censor board from which the print survives (before the Production Code was enforced, different cities routinely had films hacked up according to what they believed best for their community), or been an edit required by Joseph Breen after 1934, when the film was considered for re-release. It's hard to know if other scenes were excised, though we know from the breakfast scene, that clear pre-Code signal to the audience, that they've had sex in the present too. The trouble is, it just doesn't seem like there was a lot of fire here, maybe because Tobin was miscast, maybe because of edits, or maybe because the script just wasn't daring enough.

It's not too surprising where this film is heading, and it was even a direction I'm usually a sucker for, that of the "she was right next to me all along, what a fool I've been," but even then it didn't feel natural here. Maybe I'm being a little harsh in my review score as it's not all bad, but I just thought this one was a bit of a waste of Blondell and William, who are so great elsewhere.

Warren William is the very successful romance novelist Kenneth Bixby. He is on a publicity tour for his new book "Miriam" with his assistant / lover (?) Anne Rogers (Joan Blondell).

They're in Cleveland for the usual round of radio interviews, lectures, and book signings when his old college flame shows up at his hotel. Julie Wilson (Genevieve Tobin) is a delusional dingbat married woman who is convinced that Kenneth never got over their brief romance and that she is the inspiration for many of his books. She shows up to renew their affair and isn't aware that Kenneth barely remembers who she is.

Kenneth, being true to his lothario nature, sees an opportunity to add another notch to his bedpost so he arranges to go out with her ... but assures Anne that he will be a perfect Cad with her to discourage any further delusions of romance. While he steps out to escort her downstairs to a taxi Julie's sister and brother-in-law show up at his room. They engage Anne in a plan to keep Kenneth away from Julie, because they know how crazy she is and how likely she is to throw herself at him. After they leave, Julie's husband arrives, but he's not upset or anything, he's just tired of hearing about Kenneth and simply wants to meet him in person.

The rest of the film revolves around this motley crew as they hound Kenneth from Cleveland to the train bound for Albany to his hotel room in Albany ... and there are some really funny moments!

Warren William shows that he's just as adept at playing comedy as he is playing the nefarious type, and Joan Blondell is fabulous as the world-wise wise-cracking assistant.

Recommended!

Delightfully absurd comedy in which Joan Blondell is the long suffering secretary to a bestselling author (Warren William) who is being pursued by his ex girlfriend (Genevieve Tobin) who is convinced she is the model for the heroines of his books. To add to the confusion, her sister and brother-in-law turn up, determined to avert a scandal, and her hapless husband also gets dragged into the perplexing situation. It is all very funny with Warren William particularly amusing as the egotistical but charming author. A treat for anyone who enjoys screwball comedy.