Salvo Pelo Gongo

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!

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.

Goodbye Again (1933)

A rollicking, smartly written, snappily acted comedy farce. Yes, I loved it.

Joan Blondell is the famous leading woman here, but it is really the witty, sharp performance by Warren William that lifts this great comedy to a true high. Add the very canny direction by none other than Michael Curtiz and you can see why this is a must see. You might even call this a screwball comedy, though coming a year before screwball's more official inception with "It Happened One Night."

The first real scene here might lead you to think it was going to be one kind of comedy, filled with subtle playacting and a kind of mismatched couple sparring. Hugh Herbert is a quirky character actor at his subtle best here, with mannerisms that surprise every time I see him, and he plays the bewildered husband perfectly. His wife, played well by Genevieve Tobin, is a ditzy but not stupid woman with a crush on an old flame who is now a famous author.

But wait for the real wit and cleverness to begin when this very author (Warren William) comes to town and she goes to seduce him. William is a perfect cad. He's without scruples, which makes you love him even if you might (might) disagree with his actions. (No one is ever actually hurt in these matters.) Blondell plays his secretary, supremely capable and devoted and yet independent. You suspect they should be the real couple in the movie, but they aren't.

Things only compound and get more zany with each scene, ending with exactly the fast, laugh out loud conclusion you kind of wanted all along. This is true pre-Code comedy, with adultery barely veiled (or not veiled at all if you're awake), and with no required justice for "crimes" committed along the way. Which makes it all terribly fun and funny and just slightly naughty. For all these reasons this is a movie not to miss.

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.

It's GOODBYE AGAIN as a loyal secretary tries to help her weak-willed, philandering boss out of the romantic complications caused by an old girlfriend, now married.

This was the sort of ephemeral comic frippery which the studios produced almost effortlessly during the 1930's. Well made & highly enjoyable, Depression audiences couldn't seem to get enough of these popular, funny photo dramas.

Joan Blondell & Warren William are perfectly matched as a memorable comedy team. She was the great Hard Times sassy, brassy blonde who always got her man, no matter what travail or comic bumps she encountered along the way. Nearly forgotten now, William is best remembered for the hard-boiled, cynical tycoons & shysters he played to perfection. It is great fun to see him essay light comedy.

Wacky, whimsical Hugh Herbert appears as a blithely unconcerned cuckold. Whether stalking his faithless spouse through trains & hotels or gleefully pushing for a divorce, he is equally hilarious. Behind him comes a rank of character actors - Genevieve Tobin, Wallace Ford, Helen Chandler, Hobart Cavanaugh, Ruth Donnelly - all equally adept at catching the comedy in the story line.

Much of the dialogue & plot is vintage pre-Production Code material.