Bola de Cristal

Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard star in "The Crystal Ball," a 1943 comedy. Goddard plays Toni Gerard, a Texas beauty contestant who comes to New York with no money and consults Madame Zenobia (Gladys George) about her future. Madame Zenobia is a big fake who relies on maids and social registers for her info. She doesn't know Toni's future, but since Toni's a crack shot, she sends her to her friend who runs a shooting gallery (Cecil Kellaway) who can use Toni's shooting to attract customers. She also offers Toni a room to stay in.

Toni spots attorney Brad Cavenaugh (Ray Milland) when he escorts Jo Ainsley (Virgina Field), his client, to Madame Zenobia to ask for help finding her ring (which the maid put down the drain and then tipped off Zenobia). Toni is instantly attracted to him and pursues him in her own way. Meanwhile, the widow Ainsley is doing the same thing.

This is a silly, somewhat convoluted comedy bolstered by some delightful performances from Milland, the beautiful and effervescent Goddard, William Bendix as Cavanaugh's chauffeur, Gladys George, Cecil Kellaway, and Sig Arno, who is plagued everywhere he works by problems, thanks to Toni.

See it for the performances and for Goddard's beautiful gown toward the end of the film. What a wonderful screen presence she had.

The Crystal Ball (1943)

Utterly fun, snappy, well written, smartly filmed, and all round entertaining. Yes. But also dependent on a plot device or two that push credulity. It's made to be a bit mad-cap, if not true screwball, and so it's easy to look the other way. If Paulette Goddard as the leading lady (ladies, in this case) is charming and friendly (and pretty, which is her main calling card to some), she is also a bit thin, and even comedies need complexity of character. Across from her is Ray Milland who has always been an odd leading man, likable and probably handsome to some, but lacking some kind of gravity or depth or charm to make him truly leading.

So this movie has it all and yet not quite all.

Goddard became famous when she got involved (literally) with Charlie Chaplin, and starred in his fabulous "Modern Times" in 1936. She was then set for all kinds of roles including comedy spots like playing opposite Bob Hope a couple times. I find her always fun, and maybe she's perfect for movies that have no pretensions, just as much as she seems to have none. Ginger Rogers was originally intended for this role in "The Crystal Ball" but the Goddard stepped in, and you can feel (maybe) the part fitting Rogers just as well or better.

Milland, a British (Welsh) actor who still hadn't found his stride in Hollywood, is almost working too hard here. At times he pours on the cheerful energy and you see his inner playfulness, but it comes off a little intentional. He isn't, maybe, actually playful on camera, always too self aware. He is, though, a decent substitute for Charles Boyer, who would have played the part with more mystery but maybe, judging from his other films of the time, less natural humor.

And then there is the story itself, a clever, marshmallow version of a Shakespearean identity switch. The main idea, that the same woman can put a veil over half her face and fool people who already know her, is one of the conceits of the movies (seen in masquerade balls most often) and I don't buy it. You won't either. Instead you have to just enjoy the idea and the fun to be had. The additional twists of an actual swindle involving the government and, briefly, a government agent is a bit much, too, but just go with the flow.

I'm being a bit critical all along because I really liked this film and found the weaknesses unfortunate. It has the bones and the great filming style of a great one. I'd watch it again, if that's some clue. William Bendix is fun, as always, and Cecil Kellaway, the man at the carnival booth, is pretty terrific.

Director Elliott Nugent is one of those workaday standard bearers who can pull a good crew together and he does well here (in the same way as he did in "The Cat and the Canary"). Cinematographer Leo Tover, though less known that some of the legends, has a whole slew of great movies to his name ("The Day the Earth Stood Still," "The Heiress," "Dead Reckoning") and he deserves a lot of the credit for holding this all together and giving it ambiance. It's the small things like this that make this film look and feel even better than it is, all told. Give it a cheerful chance. It may surprise you.

Zany wartime madcap from Paramount. Seems Texas girl Toni (Goddard) has designs on handsome city attorney Brad (Milland) but has to out-compete sophisticated rival Jo (Field) for his affections. But don't worry, she's a dead-shot with a rifle and can fake a good crystal ball when she has to. Plenty of chuckles and mild innuendo, throughout, along with nifty scene-ending touches that work as comedic embroidery. Okay, the storyline would flunk a logic course, but who cares, since it's the humor that counts. All in all, the flick's a Goddard showcase that includes snappy support from a Johnny-on-the-spot Bill Bendix, a brassy Iris Adrian, and a fumbling Sig Arno who won't be table-waiting the President anytime soon. Then too, note that the ladies goody gowns are from Hollywood's premier fashion designers Edith Head and Adrian- I wonder if they did the gown that gets ripped off poor Toni.

Trouble is chuckles tail off toward the end when things serious up a bit. Also, Milland's fine for Brad's serious side, but adds little to Brad's lighter side. Nonetheless, it's an entertaining 80-minutes that gives Mussolini I good kick in the butt. So catch up with it despite the obscurity.

It was wonderful to see the stars at their peaks. Paulette Goddard, that attractive kitten, with Ray Milland at his most subtle best. They make a terrific pair and made several more films together (Reap The Wild Wind, Kitty and The Lady Has Plans) due to the chemistry of their screen partnership. This is a funny film about a gal from Texas, down on her luck, who gets a job helping out a Fortune Teller, Gladys George, and in the process falls for a well-to-do lawyer, Milland. Things, as always in screwball comedies, get mixed up but in the end girl gets guy and all live happily ever after. Enjoyed this very much. Four stars for the two stars Goddard and Milland.

Texan Paulette Goddard pursues rich lawyer Ray Milland, while working for fake fortune teller Gladys George in this funny romantic comedy.

It's a fine, cynical little late screwball comedy, starting off with Gladys George running a con on Milland's man-hungry client, Virginia Field, and Miss Goddard pursuing Milland using her fake psychic abilities. There are plenty of character-based gags for a supporting cast that includes William Bendix, Cecil Kellaway, Sig Arno, and Ernest Truex (who gets to pop Milland in the kisser). Some of the jokes refer to wartime conditions and haven't aged well, but the script keeps them coming, and Elliot Nugent directs it in a breezy manner.