Vies privées

Noel Coward wrote and acted in this stage play in 1930 and this movie preserves the behaviour and colloquialisms of the original play in a contemporary manner - a fact we may overlook with our 20-21st century liberal mind-set. I believe there is film somewhere in the UK TV archives of Coward in the part but it is either just clips or not available on general release.

I really liked this well-paced production - even with the alterations for the North American audience (typical of studios in those days) - both Shearer and Montgomery take their parts well. I am familiar with the play but have never seen it on the stage. I thought the physical humour by Shearer very funny and could not imagine Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence as the protagonists (while wonderful with their period lethargic mannerisms) doing anything similar.

This film brings the characters brightly to life in a very warm way and it's a shame not to be able to get it on DVD.

In MGM's rendering or Noel Coward's classic "comedy of bad manners," PRIVATE LIVES, about a couple who can't live without each other but can't live WITH each other either, the best of Coward's famous lines are preserved by a generally superior cast and the film is close to brilliant for it.

It's our loss however, that Noel Coward didn't have the clout or the concern that Bernard Shaw had in the 30's to demand that he himself provide his own screenplays when his stage plays were translated to the screen. When Hans Kraly, Richard Shayer and (the uncredited) Claudine West insist on earning their "scenario by" credit, the leaden insertions stick out like proverbial sore thumbs.

Only the charming, brief coda on a train added to the film after the play script ends is a satisfying addition, but it is a nice way to finish a delightful 84 minutes.

SOME of the ham handed alterations are not the fault of the Screenwriter's Guild contract or the Studio's concern that the film "not be TOO British." The time wasting substitution of a hiker's hostel (and, later, a private chalet) in the alps and a German speaking guide (played with a twinkle but no actual laughs by Jean Hersholt) for Coward's borrowed Paris flat and hilarious French speaking maid was clearly a bid for the then thriving pre-war German film market. It doesn't seriously hurt the film, but it doesn't help it an iota either.

Top billed Norma Shearer is quite fine as Amanda (Chase) Prynne who runs away from her honeymoon with Victor with her first husband, Elyot. She even sounds remarkably like the original stage Gertrude Lawrence, when she sings. Reginald Denny is everything one could wish in the role of the dimly proper Victor Prynne that gave Laurence Olivier his start on the stage, and Una Merkel is equally fine as the air headed Sybil Chase (famously asked not to "quibble"), the new wife abandoned by Robert Montgomery's Elyot Chase.

If there is a weakness in the film's acting, it is in the merely solid performance from Robert Montgomery - playing totally American and closer to Robert Young than Noel Coward (who wrote the part for himself and originated it in the London and Broadway stages). Nevertheless, to date, PRIVATE LIVES has been on Broadway at least seven times, and with the exception of Coward's original and Brian Bedford's dazzling work opposite the Tony winning Tammy Grimes in David Merrick's 1969-70 production, Montgomery may be the best of the major Elyots. The role's insecure flippancy makes it a close to impossible one to pull off as well as it is written, and Montgomery comes very close indeed.

Coward's other immortal comedy, BLITHE SPIRIT, which kept audiences on both sides of the Atlantic laughing through most of World War II, was filmed in England (and in color) just after the war, with a cast and script even closer to the spirit of the original, but the cinematic style has not aged nearly as well as this generally excellent PRIVATE LIVES. Still, BOTH of them should be near the top of the "must see" list for any lover of classic literate comedy.

I happen to adore this movie; it's my favorite classic comedy. Surely Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence did a better job than Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery, but Norma is my favorite actress, and Robert is my favorite of her many co-stars. The dialog is marvelous, and the plot is fun. I like the idea of the two exes who spend their honeymoons in adjacent suites. The fight between Norma and Robert could very well be one of the best ever filmed. This is such a fun movie, but is sadly a little forgotten. I hear that the MGM video release isn't being made anymore, so if you don't want to watch this gem on a grainy, used video, hurry to your local store and watch the clerk look at you funny when you sigh with relief over having gotten the last copy.

Probably not for everyone. It's stylised but stylish. It thinks it's so frightfully amusing but actually is genuinely funny. The acting is terribly theatrical but completely engaging. It's affected and pretentious but nevertheless sophisticated and intelligent.

I watched this immediately after watching Russel Brand in the rather different GET HIM TO THE GREEK - which is hilarious. Maybe that put me in a chilled, receptive mood but I watched this smiling from beginning to end. Yes, this is obviously very different to Brand's film, it's definitely not a laugh out loud movie but I enjoyed it just as much. It exemplifies everything you expect from Noël Coward. It's witty, biting and sarcastic but also cleverly endearing.

Unlike his DESIGN FOR LIVING, which was completely changed from a stage play into a fantastic film by the great Ben Hecht, this is pure Noël Coward. Having watched a few films however actually starring Mr Coward, I'm glad he wasn't in this. He may have been watchable on the West End/Broadway in the thirties but his presence on film for a modern audience can be quite grating. Instead of him, the much more personable Robert Montgomery dons the silk dressing gown and is amusing without being irritating. It's gives us the best of both worlds - a perfect blend of theatre and cinema.

Then there's Norma Shearer. Again, she's not to everyone's taste. Her silent film gestures, her stagey delivery can sometimes feel old fashioned but in this, she displays a brilliant sense of comedy. She's a natural comedian. Some 'proper actors' seemed to forget how to act if they were in a 1930s comedy but she handles this professionally creating a likeable character you can believe is absolutely a real and authentic person. She also displays that inexplicable skill she had of making you think that despite her not being particularly beautiful, she's the sexiest most alluring woman you've ever seen in your life!

I had the pleasure several years ago of seeing Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman on Broadway in Noel Coward's durable comedy, "Private Lives," and they were magnificent. I admit I had low expectations for a film version. I was pleasantly surprised that, though scenes were added and changed, the film keeps the tone of the play.

I actually saw part of this movie when I was about nine years old. James Card of the George Eastman House introduced it on a weekly old film program. To a nine-year-old, it seemed very foreign, given its age. Strangely, I have always remembered the line, "We're married in the eyes of heaven" - from that TV showing! And sure enough, my memory was correct - that either says something about Montgomery's line reading, or that I had no understanding of what the line meant, or I have a weird memory. Not sure.

I thought the two stars, Robert Montgomery and Norma Shearer, portrayed the couple excellently. Shearer is so often criticized for her acting, but I'm sorry, I've seen her in some very good performances, although I grant you, she was a movie star first and foremost. The couple also has great chemistry.

I understand the apartment in Paris was changed to attract the German market, which eliminated the great part of the maid.

In the end, the film is very enjoyable and the play, of course, set the stage for many ripoffs. I agree with another of the comments, it would have been fabulous to have Coward and Lawrence preserved on film.