Her Master's Voice

Following the scorning advice of mother-in-law Elizabeth Patterson, Edward Everett Horton asks for a raise and gets fired. He, Patterson and his wife, Peggy Conklin get tipsy, and while the ladies sleep it off, Horton straightens the house. In marches Peggy's rich aunt, Laura Hope Crewes, who mistakes him for the houseman. Horton plays along; they have never met, and Miss Crewes advised against the marriage. She is taken with the respectful servant, and when she takes her niece along with her, she offers Horton a job as a handyman. He accepts.

It's from a play by Claire Kummer. Despite the screenplay co-scripted by Dore Schary, and direction by Joseph Santell, it remains a three-set stage play. The performers are engaging; Miss Conklin has a distinctive voice, and the other performers are accomplished farceurs. The lines are amusing, even if the situations are standard. Cinematographer James van Trees keeps changing the camera position in an effort to lend some cinematic movement to the effort, but the score by Heinz Roemfeld is poor, and the effort winds up looking slightly less visually interesting than a three-camera set-up in a 1950s TV situation comedy.

This is the first movie I have ever found on IMDb which has neither a plot description nor any reviews. Surprising since this is a rather charming comedy and is lots of fun. Is it a screwball comedy? Maybe not in the classic sense but it has its moments. What you get is many of the best character actors of the 1930s doing what they did best. I watched it to see Ruth Warren who was always a treat. As a bonus, this is one of only five films made by the wonderful Peggy Conklin. I was unfamiliar with her work but am now a fan. She reminds me of Patricia Farr. One item that is hard to get past is Miss Conklin being married to Edward Everett Horton in this outing. She was 30 and looked to be 20 and he was 50 and could pass for 60! Well, it was Hollywood and we have seen this situation before. Watch this if you get the chance, it is worth your time.

I'll admit that the plot to "Her Master's Voice" is a bit tough to believe. However, the dialog and acting (particularly by Edward Everett Horton) is so enjoyable that I easily was able to suspend disbelief and just love the story nevertheless.

When the story begins, Ned's wife and mother-in-law pester him to DEMAND a raise from his boss...or quit! Now, considering this was in the midst of the Great Depression, this was absurd. After all, he liked his job, lived a much better life than the average American family of the time and he had nothing to fall back on if his boss called his bluff...which he did! Now, out of a job, Ned is at his lowest...and things only get worse when his wife's rich aunt arrives to stay with them. After all, she was against the marriage and thought Ned was a loser! But in a twist, she's never met Ned and when she meets him, she thinks he's a handyman/servant and she really takes a liking to him! What's next? See the film!

Although Horton is best known today as a supporting actor, in the 1920s and 30s, he often starred in comedy shorts or B-movies like this one...and most are really enjoyable. His lovely acting and screen persona really work well here and you can't help but like him and root for him through the story. Enjoyable and a lot of fun...even if the plot does get a bit silly after he meets the aunt!