One Rainy Afternoon

Picture quality is pretty rough at the beginning, but this thing is already 85 years old, so i guess we should just appreciate still having it around. Produced by Mary Pickford, it stars Francis Lederer as Philippe, who is planning on meeting his (married) girlfriend in a Paris Theater. He mistakenly kisses the wrong girl, Monique, played by Ida Lupino. this starts a huge uproar in Paris, as the President of the Purity League was also in the theater. and no comedy would be complete without Donald Meek. and Erik Rhodes and Hugh Herbert. Roland Young (Topper!) this one is just loaded up with the best comedians. and we sit through the whole court case as they demand to know why Philippe kissed a girl. kind of like Much Ado about Nothing! a kissing caper. fun. moves right along. ice skating. Directed by Rowland Lee, who had directed some biggies, Count of Monte Cristo and Three Musketeers. Pickford played such a HUGE role in all aspects of films over her career, although it seems to have stopped when she divorced Fairbanks in 1936. THIS film was one of the last ones she produced. looks like she mostly retired from the biz when she married Buddy Rogers. Definitely catch One Rainy Afternoon if you can find it... Roland Young does a really FUN version of "Rainy Afternoon"!

This was wonderfully enjoyable! Men probably disagree since it is most definitely Woman's Movie!! The leading man is almost too handsome and then he smiles!! Wow! Plus, Ida Lupino is so young & gorgeous! I doubt the film maker was hoping for an Oscar but an offering of romance and comedy!! Why not!! It's perfect in that category!!

This is a fun romantic comedy which relies upon Ida Lupina's face expressions to do much communication. This is an under rated enjoyable movie w lots of laughs. Ida is terrific.

It's a darkened theatre where Phillipe leans over to kiss his philandering girlfriend Yvonne. But it's not her he mistakenly kisses; instead, it's an uptight young Monique who's instantly insulted and causes a commotion. From there events spiral away in Hollywood fashion, such that Phillipe may lose his acting job, go to jail, and get a "monster" reputation. Talk about a mountain out of a molehill: it's that in spades. Good thing for Phillipe that Monique eventually takes a shine to the handsome actor.

It's a hard movie to rate, since it mixes so much cuteness with so much silliness. Too bad comic actor Herbert does his silliness bit in about every scene. It's like pouring sugary gravy on more flavorful soup. Still, lead actor Lederer as Phillipe manages an upbeat charm; at the same time, a youthful Lupino gets a dewy-eyed ingenue role as Monique, a long way from a hardened Road House (1948). And get a load of Eidy Malyon, President of the Purity League, who may make you rethink the notion of kindly old ladies that amounts to the movie's masterstroke. Also, Roland Young gets an amusing role as a theatre owner driven to frazzle. And I especially like that courtroom sequence where the Judge, Donald Meek, slowly comes unglued

Anyway, the comedy's a difficult mix of the silly and the cute. Nonetheless, you may find the 81-minutes a worthwhile gamble.

Middle thirties studio fodder that would be completely forgotten if it didn't have Ida Lupino in one of the star parts. She's very young although starting to move away from the English Jean Harlow mold the studio tried forcing her into when she first arrived. Her voice is still high and light not having yet acquired the smoky whiskey tinge that was to come within a few years. Some fun is provided by two members of the supporting cast, the always reliable Roland Young and the buffoonish Hugh Herbert plus Ida and the forgotten Francis Lederer make an attractive couple but this is a minor romantic comedy nothing more.