So This Is London

The most famous quote attributed to Will Rogers is "I haven't met a man I didn't like"...yet in "So This Is London" he plays a man who hates the English...and for no particularly good reason. So when Hiram (Rogers) is forced to go to Britain on business, his family accompanies him to keep him out of trouble. However, as the story progresses, the young man falls for an English girl whose father hates Americans every bit as much as Hiram hates the English! Naturally, fireworks result!

I can assume that Rogers deliberately played against type in order to show how silly bigotry is. I also laughed when he yelled at the obnoxious little girl on the ship...and she said she came from Claremore, Oklahoma...the same town Rogers actually lived in at the time! I also think he played a stupid stereotype of an American Indian (to scare the family of the Engish girl his son is smitten with) because in reality Rogers WAS a Native American...again, I think he's parodying these stereotypes.

So is this any good? Yes...and the film sure fits Rogers' world view. I found the movie charming and fun. My only complaint is that Rogers' style of speaking was a bit mumbly and his asides were often forgettable...something he corrected in later films. I also think editing these remarks a bit would have helped to make a more polished film.