Irène

Watching this delightful movie I was captivated by the beautiful Anna Neagle. While watching the early part of the movie and appreciating more and more the beauty of Miss Neagle, and the beautiful dresses she was modeling, I wished that this was a movie that they would convert to Technicolor. Lo and behold suddenly the movie becomes Technicolor and the vivid red hair and Alice blue gown come alive. Her graceful movements in the dancing and modeling are memorable. I have seen some comments that her dancing was not first class but I do not recall a more alluring dance than her solo dance on the patio near the movie's end. Unfortunately at this time the movie has reverted to black and white but this detracts little from the beautiful Anna. Of course the music is dated but this movie taken as a whole is a musical comedy classic.

"Irene" is very entrancing screen version of Joseph Tierney and Harry McCarthy's 1919 stage musical, glossily directed and produced by Herbert Wilcox. I happened to catch it the other night, and I loved it. I was entranced by the charm of the actors -- and the songs, while not first-rate, are quite pleasing. Anna Neagle stars as whimsical Irish sales girl Irene O'Dare who is introduced into Long Island's high society culture, and becomes infatuated with two suitors, Ray Milland and Alan Marshall. Billie Burke plays their mother who becomes impressed with Irene, turns her into a celebrity sensation in "Madame Lucy" dress collection. May Robson is very memorable as the irrepressible Granny; so is Roland Young as Milland's partner in business. The highlight is the sumptuous ball sequence shot in Technicolor, "Alice Blue Gown", where Irene, dressed in blue, is waltzing with Milland in a very tuneful number. The other songs include, "You've Got Me Out on a Limb", "There's Something in the Air", "Worthy of You", and "Irene". Enjoyable stuff.

The musical Irene opened in 1919 and was revived in 1973, starring Debbie Reynolds.

The basic story is the same as in this film, and similar to the 1926 film of the same name.

Irene O'Dare (Anna Neagle), on an errand for her employers, goes to the home of Mrs. Vincent (Billie Burke) and meets Don (Ray Milland), a friend of Mrs. Vincent's son Bob (Alan Marshal).

Don suggests that she try out as a model in the "Madame Lucy" dress shop. For good measure, he invests in the shop himself. However, Irene isn't sure she wants the job after the store manager makes a pass. Don fires the manager and puts in another one, Smith (Roland Young), who visits Irene at her home and asks her to work for him.

Irene is a smash hit as a model, and Smith assigns her the most beautiful gown to wear at Mrs. Vincent's charity ball. Unfortunately, some Irish stew wrecks it. Irene goes anyway, wearing a stunning blue gown that belonged to her mother, and knocks everyone's socks off.

A guest at the ball, Princess Minetti, believes Irene is related to one Lady O'Dare, and Irene doesn't correct her.

Smith decides Irene is perfect for a publicity campaign to put the dress shop on the map. He sets Irene up in a Park Avenue suite, passing her off as the niece of Lady O'Dare. This way, she will be invited to social functions and wear the shop's beautiful gowns.

When a jealous fellow model tells a newspaper columnist that Irene is really shanty Irish, all hell breaks loose.

This is a nice musical, and Anna Neagle is lovely. She was an enormous stage and screen star in Britain and even has a street named after her. She did musicals and drama up until 1985. For 15 years, she was in the top 10 of biggest British box office stars. In this she dances, sings, and acts beautifully and looks wonderful in all of the gowns.

Good cast, well directed, a pleasant musical, and a good chance to see Anna Neagle, a British treasure.

This is the film version of a play that premiered more than twenty years earlier (1919), and boy does the story show its age! The title character is so good-golly-gosh wholesome you'll either want to laugh or just haul off and smack her. This being my first introduction to Anna Naegle, I can only hope it was the character and not a limited acting range. She's the anti-femme-fatale, and that could not have been good for her career in the coming years in Hollywood.

That being said, it's not such a bad little film with pros like Ray Milland and Billie Burke in the cast. The opening credits with marionettes flipping cue cards is cute, but it sets a more comedic tone than this film can deliver. I will say it is fun checking out the fashions of the era, not to mention the interior designs, and the story touches on class differences without the film really making any kind of statement about them. It may be a little too-cute for its own good, but it's worth a look if you're curious.

OK--must confess that I have not seen the entire movie; only saw the last 40 minutes or so, and look forward to getting to see the whole thing soon (which is why I didn't vote yet, though what I saw of it would rate an eight or nine). It is one of those sweet, charming (without cloying--it has some wit to it) movies RKO did so well (Ginger Rogers' 5th AVENUE GIRL is another I recently saw--thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies).

Towards the end of this movie, Ray Milland's character discovers Anna Neagle's Irene dancing by herself, lost in thought and emotion. He and we watch, unperceived by Irene, and the dance was an unexpected delight. While the choreography could have used more variation (certain moves are repeated too much, and some of them have her shoulders up more than is ideal), Anna N. proves herself a graceful, expressive dancer; I hope to see more of her dancing, if it exists in films. The beginning of the dance also uses subtle slow-motion to good effect, which it occurred to me I haven't seen often, if at all, in musicals from this era. I wonder why that wasn't used more, as it would seem to be a relatively easy effect to employ. Anyway, I recommend IRENE, and look forward to taking my own recommendation to see the rest of it soon.