La joyeuse héritière

One of the forgotten screwball comedies of the 30s, which is a shame. A wealthy man decides to change his will leaving his entire fortune to his faithful secretary rather than his foolish nephew. Of course the secretary is in love with the nephew and wants to get on the right track. The comedy ensues from the lesson she wants to teach him. Madeleine Carroll is the plain Jane secretary who sets out to win handsome Francis Leaderer. Along the way we have fun people like Misha Auer, Franklin Pangborn and Grace Bradley all contributing to the fun. The film while not in the same class as The Awful Truth or Bringing up Baby is nonetheless a fast paced comedy, attractively played and worthy of a look.

When a wealthy American industrialist dies suddenly, his rakish nephew "Jimmy" (Francis Lederer) expects to inherit a substantial chunk of his late uncle's $4m fortune. It turns out, though, that he leaves him just $1, with most of the rest going to his loyal secretary "Linda Gray" (Madeleine Carroll). She is a little upset by this arrangement but together with his old business partner "Duncan" (Charles Waldron) decides that young "Jimmy" needs a lesson in hard knocks to make him grow up - so she takes the money and he has to become her assistant on the princely sum of $75 per week. She goes off on a spending spree and "Duncan" warns "Jimmy" that he had better pursue her and try to dissuade her from running through all the money before he has a chance to contest the will. What now ensues is quite a fun cat and mouse game, with the hapless "Jimmy" being quite effectively manipulated. Misha Auer is also on entertaining form as her pursuing admirer the "Baron Rene", and the comedic elements of this rather obvious, but still amusing, love triangle all play out quite amiably in this well paced drama. It's a fine example of a solid cast with some solid writing that still manages to raise the odd smile.

Madeleine Carroll is totally miscast in a role that cries out for Jean Arthur, in which the usual shenanigans ensue when she plays a mousy secretary nursing a secret crush on millionaire playboy Francis Lederer, who is led to believe all his inheritance has gone to her in order to "make a man of him".

Ho hum.

Francis Lederer is the loved wastrel nephew of J. C. Nugent. Nugent is dying, so he works out a scheme with his partners to cut Lederer off with a dollar, and leave the bulk of his wealth to his secretary, Madeleine Carroll with instructions to reform the fellow. Carroll has loved Lederer hopelessly for years and no discernible reason. After Nugent kicks the bucket, Miss Carroll goes on a bad investment spree, which causes Lederer to follow her to keep an eye on her, until he can have a witness to his uncle's will thrown out. In the meantime, European fortune hunter Mischa Auer....

Well, it's actually pretty amusing, although listening to Lederer complain about foreigners is very odd. Auer, as usual, is very funny, and so is Victor Kilian in a small role. Elliott Nugent directs competently, although with those two holes in the movie, he has some issues. I kept hearing Fred MacMurray in the Lederer role, and that worked very well.

It's odd to have Czech actor and a British actress in the leads in a romantic comedy set in the States, but if you can look past that, "It's All Yours" is a very sweet film....and it's well worth your time.

When the story begins, you learn that Jimmy (Francis Lederer) is a playboy and has come from Europe to stay with his very rich uncle. However, Jimmy's crazy and lavish ways worry the uncle...so much so that an odd arrangement seems to have been worked out after the old man's death. So, instead of Jimmy inheriting everything, the fortune apparently goes to the secretary, Linda (Medeleine Carroll). She shocks Jimmy by becoming an even bigger spender with a very lavish lifestyle. What Jimmy doesn't know is that this is all for show, as she is trying to reform him and get him to grow up...and hopefully one day marry her. Gumming up the works are two folks pursuing each of them for their money. What's to become of all this?

While you wouldn't normally think of either of these folks in a comedy, it works out well...so well I nearly give the film an 8. Well made and clever.