Inimigos do Batente

When this story begins, you learn that Max (Bob Cummings) and Florian (Nigel Bruce) are son and father....and they are dirt poor. They live by finding girlfriends to support them in the way they've become accustomed and Max is determined to marry a rich lady. In addition, they are fourflushers and don't pay their debts. They are SUPPOSED to be charming...but to me they just seemed like nasty sociopaths. Perhaps this is why this MGM film lost money, as making you like people who are essentially selfish jerks is a tough sell (though it can work...such as in "The Lady Eve").

During the course of the story, Max pursues two women---Joan (Judith Anderson) and Martha (Ruth Hussey)....and he is neither subtle nor coy about either. Joan is rich...Martha isn't. Yet, despite himself, Max decides to marry Martha and then actually WORK for a living! But this plan is derailed when Florian runs up a huge gambling debt...so large he'll end up in prison or dead. So, Max abandons the notion of love and decides to marry Joan. What's next??

This film is a remake of an earlier movie, "-But the Flesh is Weak"...which I also did not like. Both suffered from having leading men who were pretty despicable...and it's so difficult to enjoy any film with such unlikable cads in teh lead. A lot of polish and nice acting, but these aren't enough to overcome the writing.

A FREE AND EASY father and son are dependent upon the largess of rich ladies to continue living comfortable lives.

Running less than an hour, this bit of inconsequential fluff is dignified by its fine cast. Nigel Bruce and Robert Cummings (using a British accent) are the father and son constantly on the prowl for wealthy women. Cummings provides an honest, appealing performance, as was his wont, while Bruce's usual cuddly persona is not tarnished a bit by his somewhat rakish behavior.

Lovely Ruth Hussey is the penniless girl upon which Cummings sets his affections; fusty, fuming Reginald Owen is her lover who wants no rivals. Marvelous old Sir C. Aubrey Smith appears as a horse-loving Duke who can't keep a secret.

Best of all, Dame Judith Anderson plays Sir Aubrey's daughter, a plain-faced woman with an immense amount of money who dotes on Cummings. Portraying a female experiencing unexpected joy and terrible disappointment, Dame Judith gives the kind of beautiful performance one doesn't expect to find in a rather negligible comedy. Having displayed her formidable talent the year before in Hitchcock's REBECCA, and even though possessed of one of the Century's most remarkable speaking voices, it became quickly obvious that Hollywood really wasn't big enough to showcase her properly. Her greatest triumphs would be on the stage.

This is a remake of MGM's BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK (1932), which also starred Sir C. Aubrey Smith, along with Robert Montgomery, as the father/son duo. MGM had previously used the title FREE AND EASY in 1930 for a comedy starring Montgomery and Buster Keaton.

Max Clemington and his father are both looking to marry rich. Neither has money. Max is taken with Martha Gray. She rejects his proposal since she isn't rich either. She is pursued by Sir George Kelvin.

As a rom-com, this couple needs a meet cute. The male lead has a sly demeanor. The female lead is functional. The coupling is a bit flat. He does have a meet cute with Lady Joan. Her monocle is a winner. That would have been an interesting pairing. It's an early full length movie for director George Sidney who would go on to do better things. This is not one of them and it's not even over an hour long.

Shiftless father and son (Nigel Bruce, Robert Cummings) are looking for rich women to marry. The son falls in love with a woman (Ruth Hussey) but she's as broke as he is. What in the world will happen next? Predictable but easygoing comedy. Short runtime and good cast helps. Bob Cummings is fun. Ruth Hussey is lovely and charming. Change of pace roles for Nigel Bruce and Judith Anderson. Both are great. It's especially nice seeing Judith Anderson playing a light-hearted character. I'm used to seeing her play characters more like the one she played in Rebecca. There's nothing here you haven't seen before and better but it's a pleasant enough way to kill an hour.

An absolute little comic gem of a film running at only 55 minutes. It's essentially a B movie or support feature but has a wonderful cast of Robert Cummings, Ruth Hussey, Judith Anderson, C Aubrey Smith, Nigel Bruce & Reginald Owen (Anderson, Bruce and Smith had all been in the classic Rebecca the year before) . Bruce is billed fifth as Florian Clemington but is very central to the action as a wonderfully roguish but charming father to Cummings.