The Big Pond

Any Marx Brothers fan will become instantly enamoured with this as it begins with: If a nightingale could sing like you.... One of the funniest scenes in one of their funniest pictures. Apart from that, this is nothing like a Marx Brothers film. What this is, is a sweet, delightful and charming little romantic comedy so jettison your twenty-first century cynicism along with your expectations for anything deep and meaningful and enjoy this hour and a bit of cheerfulness.

Don't worry - this is not like those nauseating early Lubitsch musicals where everything's either in rhyme or even worse, in song - no, this is a proper, normal picture with proper dialogue. Whether its believable or credible dialogue is another question - but it really doesn't matter. When you watch this, you're pulled into a soft and fluffy alternative reality where life is simple and everyone, even your enemies are all sweet and lovely. It's not one of the best examples of a 1929/1930 early talkie but it's definitely not one of the worst. Veteran silent director Hobart Henley, who never really took to the talkies nevertheless creates an experience which is simply lovely to look at and relax in. And along with Maurice Chevalier's constant cheerfulness, he keeps the mood upbeat and happy throughout.

It might be as light as a feather ...from a very small bird ...on a planet with no gravity but that's fine - it's not meant to be a drama. In this same year, Claudette Colbert was in a very intelligent and well-rounded drama called MANSLAUGHTER but this is just fun. It's a good example of pre-Depression (the original play certainly was) entertainment and Maurice Chevalier is actually fantastic at this type of thing ...even though he's always smiling. With most people, if they were constantly grinning at you'd probably want to slap them but somehow he not only gets away with doing this but actually makes you smile as well.

Claudette Colbert, now on talkie number four shows how much her acting style has developed since the incredibly awful HOLE IN THE WALL made just a year earlier. Besides the fact that she was one of the most beautiful actresses ever, if you watch her in this, she's already got that natural delivery, that likeable and believable personality and that authenticity which resonates with a modern audience even today....and as I've said, absolutely gorgeous.