Beauté sur commande

Thin production courtesy RKO Pictures has a plot-line that Lucille Ball's Lucy Ricardo would positively envy. Ball plays the inventor behind a pricey face cream for high society customers; she makes a fortune with it and draws a former flame back into her life. Relatively low-keyed comedy from the era of the screwball farce, relying on cynical jabs at the beauty business rather than sight-gags. Script was worked on at different times by five writers (Grace Norton, Adele S. Buffington, Edmund L. Hartmann, Doris Anderson, and Paul Jarrico), none of whom provides that much-needed hilarious set-piece. Some leisurely laughs along the way, mostly forgettable. Lucy-addicts will raise the rating a notch. ** from ****

I really enjoyed "Beauty for the Asking" but felt a bit disappointed that the ending was a bit weak. Still, it is well worth seeing.

The story begins with Denny (Patric Knowles) dumping his fiance, Jean (Lucille Ball), for a rich woman. Jean is naturally heartbroken but manages to collect herself and begin working on her pet project...a face cream. Soon, she has financial backing and opens up some elite beauty salons...and the money comes pouring in to her. However, her backer turns out to be Denny's rich wife....and Jean STILL is in love with the idiot.

The acting is very good in this one....and Lucille Ball is particularly good in this non-comedic role. The plot is also clever and creative. My only problem is the ending...the new man in Jean's life seemed tacked onto the story and didn't have the necessary foundation to make much sense. Still, it is very good overall.

Beautician Jean Russell (Lucille Ball) gets dumped by Denny Williams who marries wealthy Flora instead. On top of that, she loses her job. She tries to launch her face cream with the help of ad man Jeffrey Martin. They get backing from Flora who doesn't know Jean's previous relationship with Denny. Denny has since become a kept man. Jean wants him to work again and puts him in charge.

This could work if Jean is more obsessive in her love for Denny. Lucille Ball may not have the range. She needs more desperation. She needs to be pathetic in loving such a jerk. She is too self assured to play that. If she has the desperation, she could break down and get saved by Jeffrey. That's the romantic move. That's the melodrama. As it stands, it couldn't reach quite that level. Also Lucille Ball is not using her funny bone. It's nice to see her do something else but this doesn't have much juice.

Lucy tells the story of a woman who is dropped by her fiance, but who goes on to bigger and better things. She takes on selling of her beauty cream, and parlays it into a multi-million dollar industry. She blusters he way into Jeff Martin's (Don Woods) office, and bullies him into helping her set up the business. they also get her ex-boyfriend and the new girlfriend involved for financial help in setting up the salon to sell the beauty products. The stress of having the "ex" involved is one of the sub-plots. It's also interesting that one of the characters is called Eve Harrington. Eve Harrington will also be the star of "All About Eve". Patric Knowles, Frieda Inescort co-star. It's mildly interesting, considering its based on a true story. Script could be a little stronger... i found it difficult to believe that so few people in the story would know that Denny was Jean's fiance originally. I think it would have been a pretty well-known fact. and this one has a bit of the back-stabbing wit that we see in "the Women" from 1939. Directed by Glenn Tryon. started as actor in the (silent) 1920s, did some writing. "Beauty" was one of the eleven films he directed in the 1930s and 1940s. and of course, Lucy would end up OWNING the RKO studio lots, as Paramount.

It starts like a formulaic 30s romance, but the female leads (Ball, Inescort, Courtney) play surprisingly savvy - though definitely fallible - women.

The male leads play their roles quite well, Patrick Knowles especially, but it's Ball and Inescort, and their relationship, that really stand out and make this movie well worth watching.

Even the beauty salon theme feels more honest and better thought-out than what you'd expect from a Depression-era rags-to-riches tale. Ball's character even emphasizes that good health is the key to beauty.

FWIW, I watched this (thank you, TCM) with someone who almost never has patience for old films, and she was hooked after about 20 minutes.