One Sunday Afternoon

The film begins in a dental office, as the dentist, Biff (Gary Cooper), talks to a friend (Roscoe Karns) about this relationship with Hugo (Neil Hamilton) back in the Gay 90s when they had been friends. This is instigated when Hugo comes to the office and sees Biff for the first time in decades. Hugo needs a tooth pulled and while he is sedated with gas, Biff recalls their past when they were both ardently pursuing a pretty young lady (Fay Wray)--while pretty much ignoring her more plain but much sweeter friend (Frances Fuller). Through the course of the film, Hugo stabs his supposed friend in the back again and again.

This movie is the original--with remakes in 1941 (THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE) and 1948 (ONE Sunday AFTERNOON). While I rarely prefer remakes, I must say that the 1941 version is much more watchable and fun. Part of this is because the 1933 version is so very, very quiet--with very little music to help set the mood. Also, the whole mood of the 1933 film is more somber and the story a bit more direct and "bare bones" in style. Also, while I like Gary Cooper films, for a comedy like this one, Cagney was better and the supporting actors he had were also superior and gave THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE so much more energy. This film is still well worth seeing, but the 1941 film has a more polished plot, better characters and the full Warner Brothers package (wonderful and first-rate production values) that this Paramount film lacks.