Car of Dreams

This obscure bit of romantic silliness stars John Mills, the talented British actor who went on to many great dramatic roles in American films. The plot involves a factory girl (played by Grete Mosheim with her unexplained German accent) who loves to shop and ends up with a free Rolls-Royce. An obscure little gem full of art deco sets, anti--Great Depression optimism, and cheerful tunes, especially "Do a Little Good to Someone."

John Mills is a young bachelor, almost ready to give up on women. They know he's due to inherit a trombone factory, and just want him for his money. Then he suddenly becomes infatuated with a girl in the street (Vera), whom he follows into a Rolls-Royce showroom, not realising that she's a penniless fantasy-shopper who likes to act as though she's on a spending spree. Her friend Molly (played by Glennis Lorimer, used for years as the face of Gainsborough Pictures) chides her for her silly habit, and gets her a job working alongside her in the trombone factory.

In the showroom, Mills secretly arranges to buy the latest model and then pretends that it has been gifted to Vera as the lucky 10,000th visitor. But he overdoes the gesture, using his influence as the boss's son to organise a hefty pay-rise for Vera, which the other girls resentfully view as an exchange of favours. (She is the only one who doesn't know Mills' identity.) So everything goes wrong before anything comes right.

You could pin the date 1935 on this film without being told. The showroom manager shows John Mills how to drive a car in just a few brief gestures. (Driving-tests started later that year.) There are unconscious touches of Fred Astaire, with scenes of luxury life as deliberate escapism from the economic depression. Also of Wodehouse, who spent this year in Hollywood, exerting a surprisingly strong influence on screenwriting. Vera is played by a newly-arrived German-Jewish refugee Grete Mosheim, who must have felt at home with the songs by fellow-exile Mischa Spoliansky that pepper the story harmlessly enough. Even the use of back-projection, to provide unrealistic scenes of happy touring in the Rolls, is firmly of its time.

A light snack with no pretensions of being anything more. And good of its kind.

Likable young John Mills plays a part in Car Of Dreams that Cary Grant would perfect over in American films. In one of his earliest films Mills plays the rich young owner's son of a store that sells all kinds of musical instruments. A rather dreamy young woman played by Grete Mosheim starts working at the store, but she doesn't meet him quite yet.

Grete loves to windowshop and dream of things that she can't afford and when she's in a Rolls Royce dealer's shop Mills is there and they take a test spin. Later on though her world gets turned upside down when the car arrives at her family's all paid for. Imagine having enough money to just plunk down and pay for a Rolls right up front. The Rolls Royce wasn't quite the expensive status symbol it later became, still it was a mark of prosperity especially in those Depression years.

Not only does he buy the car for her, but Mills assigns himself the role of chauffeur. He wants to see if she really loves him for himself or his dad's bankroll.

Car Of Dreams is yet another one of those rich boy meets girl from other side of the tracks that's a universally popular theme. It has a musical score and we get to hear John Mills sing. Mills had a pleasant voice, but Bing Crosby was in no danger. Grete's accent was popping up throughout the film with no real explanation. Robertson Hare was very funny especially trying to teach Grete the proper rhythm to rubber stamp orders.

I'm not sure the musical score was necessary, the film would have been good without it. Car Of Dreams is an entertaining piece of romantic fluff that film audiences loved during those hard times.

This film was shown about 30 years ago on BBC. It has just been shown on London Live. It is a delightful film. John Mills in his matinee idol days. Grete Mosheim may not be the best of the German actresses in exile who came to this country in the thirties but she has a rather endearing disposition, not withstanding her difficulty with English. With the support of Robertson Hare and some pleasant tunes this is a very entertaining musical.

I will freely admit that "Car of Dreams" is a very silly piece of fluff. Yet, despite its flaws, it's also a nice and enjoyable film. My advice is to stick with this one--it starts off slow but ends very well.

Grete Mosheim plays Vera--a very odd lady indeed. She loves to fantasize about having money and likes to go to shops and pretend she's loaded with cash. However, because she has none, she never buys anything--just pretends. One day, she's admiring a Rolls Royce--and once again, acting like she wants to buy the thing. However, her little game backfires, in a way, because the son of her employer (John Mills) meets her and is infatuated--and arranges for her to get the car for free (claiming she's won some prize). However, even after meeting him, she has no idea Mills is the factory owner's son--she just thinks he's a nice guy. But, things get VERY complicated when they begin to date and he decides to help her by raising her salary. Her coworkers know who he is and they think she does, too. And, since she's gotten a huge raise, they begin to believe she's his mistress! Where all this goes is just something you'll have to see.

While it was disconcerting at first to see and hear John Mills singing, he wasn't too bad and the songs were quite catchy. And the plot played a lot like a good American screwball comedy-romance. Pleasant characters, a very well-written plot and a real likability of everyone makes this a hard film to hate--even if it is, at times, very silly.