Le parfait accord

That's the song Gloria sings over the closing credits; the reverse could be emblematic of the film, a trying-to-be-chic trifle that is nonetheless amusing in its stilted sophistication and odd cinematography. Gloria and Olivier swan about modern London--she's an American interior decorator, he appears to be independently wealthy--and do some rather pre-Code making out before deciding to marry. Misunderstandings quickly pile up as each, though nominally terribly terribly in love with each other, contemplate extramarital affairs. There's also intrigue about his suspicion that she's carrying someone else's child--it's far too racy to have been made in the U.S. at the time, and was filmed in Britain by Gloria's production company. The dialogue strains to be Somerset Maugham witty and the supporting cast is nothing special, though Miles Malleson has a nice bit. Gloria is certainly glamorous and good at eye-batting, and Olivier, playing a spoiled bachelor it's hard to root for, has some charm. Also fun is the hilariously overemphatic musical scoring--every comma seems to be accentuated with a crescendo. Not much of a movie, but an interesting look at two stars at uncomfortable times in their film careers.

A young, moustached Olivier looks extremely ill at ease in this good-looking but garrulous and boring marital drama set in the South of France but with hardly any of the cast actually leaving the studio. He later called it "the worst film ever made"; presumably that was before he made 'The Betsy'!

"Perfect Understanding" is a simply dreadful film--very, very dated, dull and filled with folks you really cannot relate to or like. It also features the rather odd romantic pairing of Gloria Swanson and Laurence Oliver--a pairing that doesn't quite work.

The film begins with Swanson singing--something you just don't need to hear unless you are a masochist. Fortunately, Olivier's character didn't love her singing either, though otherwise they play rich folks who have nothing better to do than go to parties, travel the world and talk...a lot. And one of the things they love to talk about is their love for each other. However, Swanson's character is apprehensive to marry, as she's afraid that over time their love will fade. So, they agree to marry and stay married until they begin to argue (ooo, how romantic).

The biggest problem about this film is that it was the Depression and folks were out of work. So, such a mannered and dull film involving the rich and lazy seems strange--and hard to enjoy. The characters seemed rather one-dimensional and annoying. In particular, Swanson's acting didn't help, though Olivier did a nice job in spite of the film's many shortcomings. Dull and probably not worth your time.

...from United Artists and director Cyril Gardner. Posh British society couple Judy (Gloria Swanson) and Nicholas (Laurence Olivier) decide to get married, but with a "perfect understanding" that they won't tie each other down, and allow the other to maintain their freedom. When Nicholas has a fling with an old flame, Judy spends the night with another man, and their open marriage is sorely tested.

By 1933, these "sophisticated open marriage" melodramas were already old-hat, and nothing new is added here. Swanson and Olivier have very little chemistry, and Olivier has yet to develop much screen charisma (plus he looks downright sickly in his swimsuit scene). The obtrusive, bombastic score is also a detriment. This was an expensive failure for Swanson, who also produced. Co-star Michael Farmer was Swanson's husband at the time. Director Gardner was hired as editor but took over directing duties when original pick Rowland V. Lee was fired.

American expatriate Gloria Swanson is living it up pretty good and meets up with society playboy Laurence Olivier and the two fall in love as it were and get married. But both are used to high living and going their own way. So a Perfect Understanding is reached whereby they do just that and they vow never to quarrel.

Well that's easier said than done. And Larry heads off to the continent and the Riviera as he always does partying hearty. Gloria prepares home and hearth. Larry however has mantrap Nora Swinburne chasing him and when Gloria hears about she rebounds and right there is good old John Halliday to catch her.

Gloria Swanson as it turned out had a great singing voice and at the closing credits gets to sing a song with the rather ungainly title I Love You So Much I Hate You. Good voice, mediocre song, but she probably had it tacked on to a mediocre film for those who remembered her singing Love Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere from The Trespasser.

As for Olivier, up to now I had only seen one of his films before As You Like It. I'm not as hard as he is on himself when he was widely quoted as saying that William Wyler taught him the art of acting on film and that everything he did before Wuthering Heights was garbage. This second one I saw though would validate what he said.

Quite frankly the lives of these society twits got about as much interest from me in the 21st century as it did when it was shown in Depression UK and USA. Word of mouth made the public stay away in droves. And the public is always right.