La Folle Alouette

A top cast -- Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, and Brian Aherne star in "Skylark," a 1941 film directed by Mark Sandrich, and based on the play.

Milland and Colbert are Tony and Lydia Kenyon, celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary, and they're having a party. Tony is in advertising, so all of his clients' products have to be on display. He's preoccupied with one client in particular, Frederick Vantine (Grant Mitchell), from whom he's trying to get another million dollars in advertising.

At the party, and right after an altercation with her husband, Linda meets a charming attorney, Jim Blake (Aherne) who becomes very smitten with her. She takes a drive with him to a diner. When she arrives home, the party is over and Tony is furious. The attorney was a guest of the Vantines, and Mrs. Vantine (Binnie Barnes) is angry that she went off with him. He demands that she call and apologize. Lydia does, and then she leaves him and spends more time with Jim -- against the wishes of Mrs. Vantine.

Funny marital comedy about a woman who doesn't want to be a second thought to her husband, and a husband who adores her but is afraid of not being good at his job. He's also jealous of Jim.

Some wonderful scenes and performances: the cast is top-notch, and Colbert's scene on Jim's boat is hilarious, and her encounters with Barnes are delicious. Aherne is likable, debonair, and charming, and Milland shows vulnerability as Tony.

"Skylark" could have better directed, which would have brought the film up a couple of notches. If Leo McCarey or Ernst Lubitsch had directed it, it might have been up there with "It Happened One Night." Nevertheless, it is delightful, with the three stars at the top of their respective games.

Or, if you prefer, Comedy Lite, because 'Skylark" is only semi-funny. I can only guess Director Mark Sandrich didn't have a good feel for comedy as several scenes which could have been funny seemed forced and heavy-handed. A Leo McCarey or Mitchell Leisen could have gotten more mileage out of them, but, as is, "Skylark" is unsatisfying and leaves you feeling unfulfilled, like Lite beer or diet soda.

Other reviews recount the plot, but just let me say that the main reason to watch this one is to watch several old pros give their all and try to make a mediocre picture better just by their presence. It belongs mainly to Claudette Colbert, who tries mightily and comes off the best of the principals. She is ably supported by Ray Milland and Brian Aherne, who also do their best. Walter Abel does not come off so well and is better in straight drama parts. And the old pop standard 'Skylark" is apparently not from this picture. I put my star rating in the heading as the website no longer includes them.

This is one of those movies where a childless, jobless wife has an enormous, beautiful house, a cook, a butler, more exquisite clothes than she can count, and we're supposed to feel sorry for her. Because she is married to Ray Milland, who, after five years, gives her a huge, passionate kiss when he comes home. Yeah, that's suffering, all right.

Claudette Colbert's problem is that Ray spends too much time and thought on his job--you know, the one that provides the house, cook, butler, etc. So she flips and takes off with the pleasant but sexless Brian Aherne. Wouldn't be my move.

True, Ray is something of a bully. He literally strong-arms Claudette into coming with him, and harshly orders her in a way that a servant wouldn't take these days. So, to satisfy the women in the audience, he has to be made to grovel. And to keep Claudette from a complete triumph that would make her look domineering, she has to be made ridiculous.

It's all part of the movie's desperation to pretend marriage is romantic and amusing. Can I explain something? It isn't.

The opening scene of Skylark is hilarious. Claudette catches her husband's pal ordering her anniversary present at a jeweler, since her husband is too busy and nearly forgot. I always like to see Walter Abel in a sizable part, even though in this movie, he gets terribly insulted. He insists not everyone is in an untrusting relationship, and his wife quips back, "Sure I trust you, but look at you!" I don't know why they kept such a mean line in the script, since he's a good-looking man.

But back to the movie: Ray Milland is a workaholic whose wife feels neglected. She's fed up and flirts around with a handsome charmer at a party, Brian Aherne. In the middle of his come-on, Brian correctly assumes that Claudette isn't really interested in him. She wants to "play at meeting him" and then return home grateful for the near-miss. Once challenged, Claudette leans back and says, "Okay, show me the moon." That's not the end of Brian, however. Ray Mi-bland turns out to be too "bland" for Claudette, and she files for divorce while pursuing an affair with the Errol Flynn look-a-like.

This movie is full of funny one-liners, even though I didn't like the way it ended. When they first go out together, Claudette orders her hamburger with onions; Brian orders his without. The waiter rolls his eyes and says, "You might as well order yours 'with', buddy." Later in the movie, when she warms up to the idea of an affair, she smiles at Brian before ordering her hamburger "without". In another scene, Ray argues with Claudette over the monotony of marriage, insisting she can't have ecstasy all the time. It's like eating caviar three times a day, he argues. "If I liked caviar, I'd eat it three times a day," she quips back.

If you like domestic comedies, you'll probably like this one. You've got a beautiful leading lady, a handsome leading man, and a "bland" husband trying to win her back. Just kidding; Ray is a cutie, too. But Brian is the star of the show. He's wise, smooth, and also extremely nice. In other words, he's completely unrealistic!

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. In the end when Claudette is on a boat, the camera bobs and tilts, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

Skylark finds Claudette Colbert feeling like she's just running second fiddle to her husband Ray Milland's advertising business. So at another party where she's simply to function as the decoration on his arm, Claudette becomes susceptible to lawyer Brian Aherne who turns on the charm and makes her feel important. This woman is a Skylark and needs to spread her wings so he tells Milland.

In no time at all Aherne has moved right in as Claudette divorces Milland. After that Milland is busy planning his campaign to win her back.

Skylark probably needed a Mitchell Leisen or an Ernst Lubitsch to have been a real classic. Still all three of leads acquit themselves well. Aherne has a part that was normally reserved for David Niven, all charm and smiles. There's also a nice turn by Binnie Barnes as the hard hearted wife of Milland's boss Grant Mitchell who has her own claim on Aherne and his vocabulary. Her confrontation scene with Colbert is priceless.

As is Colbert trying to take to a life at the sea when tries whip up enthusiasm for Aherne's passion for sailing. Her scenes on Aherne's boat are priceless.

A good comedy of the era, a bit shy of greatness however.