The Big Pond

"The Big Pond" is a rather archaic sort of movie...even compared to many other films from 1930. The sound is the major problem. Although it has a few musical numbers, the sound quality is pretty shabby on the copy I saw on YouTube. Could there be a better copy? Sure...but the film's problems aren't all because of the sound. The film itself seems as if the filmmakers weren't sure how to use the sound they had...and compared to the other musicals of the time it just seems flat and unappealing...which is amazing because Maurice Chevalier's films he made just after this were terrific.

The film begins with the Billings family in Europe on vacation. There, Barbara (Cluadette Colbert) falls in love with Pierre (Maurice Chevalier). The problem is that she comes from a rich family and Pierre is without a job. Her father agrees to bring Pierre to America and gives him a job in his chewing gum factory. While it might seem that the guy likes Pierre, he plans on giving Pierre a hard time--to work him so hard that he'll quit and the wedding plans will fall apart. However, Pierre manages to make good and become an important part of the family...and practically loses Barbara as a result.

Apart from having a chance to hear the same song made famous in the Marx Brothers film "Monkey Business" (where Groucho, Chico and Harpo try to use Chevalier's passport to disembark from the ship...and by singing "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" (from "The Big Pond"), there isn't a lot to distinguish the film. Chevalier is good in spite of everything and Colbert is, essentially, there but not particularly distinguished.

FYI--In the film, someone tells Pierre that a decent salary to obtain to enable you to get married is $20,000 a year. Back in 1930, the average salary was only about $1900 a year!

"The Big Pond" is the only film thus far that I've seen not directed by Ernst Lubitsch to star Maurice Chevalier, excepting the Lubitsch-esque "Love Me Tonight" (1932) and his supporting roles later in life, such as his cringingly pedophilic "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" in "Gigi" (1958). Although he was nominated for an Academy Award for both his performance here and in Lubitsch's "The Love Parade" (1929), the gulf between these two performances and films in terms of appeal and quality seems as large as the Atlantic Ocean, from which this film derives its title.

In this one, Chevalier plays a French tour guide in Venice, I guess, who plans to marry an American (a pre-stardom Claudette Colbert), whose father owns a chewing-gum factory in the states. To make good, Chevalier works his way up her father's factory by inventing liquor-flavored gum (without the alcohol, of course, as this was made during Prohibition) and by writing lyrics to advertise it. To the shock of Colbert's character, but to nobody who has ever worked for a living, Chevalier doesn't have as much time for romancing her with all of this newfound hard work. The resolution to this conflict is predictable enough, of course, although it involves abduction.

Lubitsch was a master filmmaker, who collaborated with his screenwriters, acted out every part himself for the actors, mapped out elements such as camera placement and blocking ahead of time, and he was one of the most respected cutters in the business. Mary Pickford even turned to him to fix her film "Sparrows" (1926). This level of care and craft is evident in "The Love Parade," which was a musical ahead of its time in that many movies for a few years after it were of subpar quality, even technically. "The Big Pond" is one such subsequent production. Its average shot length of 12.4 seconds is a rather typical slow pace for an early musical ("The Love Parade" is no quicker), but the edits tend to be awkward--cutting away from characters as they're still delivering lines or even from Chevalier during his first song. Character blocking also clearly wasn't planned thoroughly, with the camera doing quite a bit of panning just to try to keep most of the actors within frame and often not successfully. And all of the claustrophobic interiors and dialogue-heavy action make for a stagy look.

Although it has a couple repetitive songs performed by Chevalier, they're mere show-stopping interludes, as opposed to the integrated numbers that were the main attraction in "The Love Parade" and that elaborated and commented upon the story. Plus, Chevalier doesn't break the fourth wall to wink at the camera and address the audience, to serenade us, as he does in Lubitsch's films. Instead, he and the other actors, notably the one playing the father, tend to gesticulate wildly. Lubitsch also would've likely done something more interesting with the love triangle here--making it something of a sophisticated sex comedy--and he may've included another woman to tempt Chevalier away instead of the throwaway plot of the child he befriends here. Unfortunately, however, Chevalier and his character may've been working hard for this one, but it doesn't seem that anyone else was.

Maurice Chevalier charms America and gets the bosses daughter in this early sound rom-com featuring a few of his songs along with his straw boater. Not as polished a film as his other early work with Lubitsch and Mamoulin, Chevalier still conveys his irresistible charm battling primitive early sound while exhibiting his exuberantly lush accent.

Chewing gum magnet's daughter Barbara Billings has fallen heavy for her Venice guide Pierre Mirande but the xenophobic old man sees him as a gigolo looking for an angle to get at his empire. Billings is an abusive blow hard but his daughter has him wrapped around his finger so he devises with Barbara's American suitor a plan to take him to America and make life miserable for him. The indefatigable Pierre however wins over all those around him as well as come up with a gum that sends profits through the roof that in addition assists the prohibition campaign.

Chevalier carries the picture while Claudette Colbert as Barbara offers up a touch more coquette than standard innocent abroad while old man Billings manically played by George Barbier is a bombastic chauvinistic bore given to shoving his wife.

Hobart Henley's direction underwhelms while some comic dialogue ("Don't talk when I'm interrupting you.") is offered up by Preston Sturges but it remains Maurice's picture and his unchained joie di vivre that gives Across the Pond the buoyant life it has.

I apparently liked this one more than most people, and I thought it was a thoroughly charming romantic comedy. I see that Preston Sturges was a writer on this one and his touch shows. Chevalier plays Pierre, a guide of rather noble background whose family lost their money in the first World War. Barbara (Claudette Colbert), the rather spoiled daughter of the wealthy Billings family, falls for Pierre during the family's European vacation. When her father first finds out that Barbara wants to marry this man, he explodes. But then he reconsiders. He figures his best option is to take Barbara's side, take Pierre back to America with them, put him to work in the family business - they make chewing gum , and show Barbara that he could never fit in.

So this boils down to your basic fish out of water story, but Pierre is a very sincere and charming Gallic guppy. In America he wins over everyone from his rooming house landlady who also happens to be French to his gruff coworker (Nat Pendleton) who was instructed to "give Pierre the business" by Mr. Billings but lightens up after he just can't help liking the guy.

However, Pierre's blessings - his quick wit and likability - are also a curse. His reluctant father-in-law to be soon finds Pierre quite the idea man and pretty soon Pierre has worked himself up from hard physical labor to a nice job and a nice office to match. This has him spending much time at work, neglecting Barbara, and even turning his love song to Barbara into a chewing gum jingle much to Barbara's dislike. Will things work out for Pierre and Barbara? Watch and find out.

Chevalier is pretty much the whole show in this one since it really is Pierre's story - Claudette Colbert is not given that much to do. Maybe that's a good thing since she is playing a very spoiled girl that must think the money with which she parties is heaven sent since she is so opposed to the men in her life working long hours and upsetting her social calendar. But this is a comedy, so her excesses and shortcomings are not explored here. The song "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" gets reprised to the point of excess, but still it manages to not wear out its welcome.

I just viewed "The Big Pond" on DVD, having purchased it through a private collector. Although the film is stagy (especially the over-acting of George Barbier), I found it quite enjoyable. Having just seen (for the 20th time) the Marx Brothers "Monkey Business", I wanted to see the Chavalier film that introduced the song, "You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me" to movie audiences. You get a healthy dose of the song throughout this film, but it's such a great song, I was happy to hear its various reprises, vocal and instrumental. Another excellent Chevalier song from this film, "Living In The Sunlight, Loving In The Moonlight" brought back memories of Tiny Tim's rendition of this song on his "God Bless Tiny Tim" album. I found Chevalier to be at his best in this film, and highly recommend it to anyone that can track down a copy!