Love Fever

Love Fever (1931)

*** (out of 4)

Mickey Daniels, Grady Sutton and David Sharpe are all rejected by their girlfriends so as they're leaving they walk past the apartment of an actress (Thelma Todd) who just happens to be rehearsing a play where she's attacked. One by one the boys run in the apartment to rescue her and quickly fall in love so it's up to Todd to try and trick them into going back to their girlfriends. This entry in Hal Roach's "Boy Friends" series is actually a pretty good one and certainly a step up from some of the earlier ones. I think the biggest reason for this one working so well is because of Todd and her masterful comic timing. The screenplay does a great job with her character as she gets to play a wide range of emotions from doing puppy love stuff with Mickey to lying about the poetry of Sutton. She also has to show her obsessive and cruel side when she has to scare the boys from her to where they'd want to go back to their girlfriends. The highlight here is the sequence with Mickey where she pulls a gun on him and he tries to block it with her dog. Mickey, Sutton and Sharpe are all in good form as is supporting players Mary Kornman and Dorothy Granger. Even Edgar Kennedy gets a nice laugh at the end of the film. However, Todd is the real priceless one here and she certainly makes the film work.