Over the Moon

Over The Moon never became the comedy classic that Alexander Korda wished for his wife Merle Oberon. But it is a pleasant enough film showing the upper classes in the United Kingdom enjoying their privileges.

Dutiful Merle Oberon and Dr. Rex Harrison are attending Merle's grandfather until his demise. Grandpa never spent a dime and his only living heir inherits 18 million pounds. At the age she's at she will not hoard, but instead starts moving with the upper crust and gets a few upper crust admirers chiefly Robert Douglas son of the richest man in the United Kingdom.

Harrison gets tired though and wants to get back to practicing medicine. But Merle's just starting to go through the fortune and all the admirers it's bringing.

Harrison walks out but like Levi Johnson he's acquired some notoriety of his own and he gets an offer from some sanitarium that caters to the disgustingly rich to join their staff though he at first doesn't really know why.

Of course in the end it all works out. Over in America had this been done by a Leo McCarey or a Mitchell Leisen Over The Moon might have been a comedy classic. It had the makings, but it falls short.

Having seen this on the big screen at the BFI yesterday, showing as part of a season of Korda films, and with restored sound and picture quality, I think it deserves a higher rating. The story is slight indeed and ends somewhat abruptly, but I found it all highly enjoyable and it flew by. It is good to see a British production of this period in colour, and there is some beautiful photography, in particular the shots of Venice and it was hard to tell if the ski shots were genuine or rigged up in the studio, in which case someone did an excellent job. Pure escapism, set in a glamorous world and reflecting nothing of real life, but that can be an added attraction in difficult times. Rex Harrison hasn't a great deal to do, but shows his qualities in light comedy. Above all there is Merle Oberon. Graceful and charming, she effortlessly dominates the screen, and whatever attributes and qualities go to make a star, she clearly had them in abundance. Hopefully a decent copy of this can be made available for all her admirers.

The exotic beauty Merle Oberon was primed by her producer husband Alexander Korda for great things (it was at his behest she changed her name from Estelle Merle Thompson to Oberon and they were married the year OVER THE MOON was released) but is today probably remembered for only a few of the more than two dozen films she made before World War II and the relative handful she made after it - none more than the first American film she made immediately after this release, WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

OVER THE MOON was a top drawer release in 1939 just as World War II was breaking out - it opened in London barely a month after Hitler invaded Poland - and well received. The story of a young doctor who rejects the image of marrying for money and the woman on the rebound having to cope with that money and all the advice, good and bad, that comes with it, allowed for ravishingly beautiful Technicolor vistas of European sights from Paris to the Riviera, Venice and beyond in a world still at peace.

If the film itself hasn't aged as well as, say, Bernard Shaw's THE MILLIONAIRESS, it is more because the writers were not in Shaw's league than any of the other elements. Truth be told, it may come across as a little dull for those not willing to go with the quiet pace of the screenwriters' telling of the Robert Anderson/Lajos Biro story. It would be interesting to know why such an apparently important film was released in Lisbon a full eight months before its London premiere - was there re-editing involved, or did the film when initially released cause reservations in the distributors and the London premiere only get pushed because of the War? Whichever, the result was successful at the time.

Nevertheless, OVER THE MOON (as of this date unreleased on video in the US - but available in a Greek PAL DVD release) is worth seeking out for the relatively early performance by Rex Harrison as the naive doctor (still two and six years before his career defining Shaw and Coward films, MAJOR BARBARA and BLYTHE SPIRIT) and an all too-rare performance by the great Elisabeth Welch (an expatriate American singer/actress renowned for creating "Solomon" in Cole Porter's NYMPH ERRANT in the original 1933 London production of that show) as a cabaret singer.

Minor OVER THE MOON may be today, but like its star, Ms. Oberon, it remains lovely to look at and a worthy diversion for a rainy afternoon.

"Over the Moon" is a decent enough film, but in its present form it's a bit tough to watch. This is because a lot of conservation work needs to be done on it--at least on the copy shown on Turner Classic Movies (and usually they show the best copy available). The problems are with the picture and sound. The film is in early Technicolor but the print is so muddy that it's actually pretty ugly. Additionally, the sound is a bit muddy--making it very hard for non-Brits like me to understand everything they are saying. Cleaning the sound and/or installing closed captions would be a HUGE boon to watching the film.

The film also suffers from a bizarre problem--one that is even weirder than using Jean Harlow's double to finish "Saratoga" after she died part-way through filming. The star of the film, Merle Oberon, went through HUGE changes in her looks in the late 1930s--going from a somewhat unattractive lady to a more vivacious lady due to studio folks who saw her potential. Here is the problem with this--much of the film was made in 1937 and then the project was shelved. Then, two years later, she looked like a totally different lady--and that's when they filmed the rest!! So, in the '37 portions, she has shaved and penciled eyebrows (like Jean Harlow) and very unattractive hair that emphasized her large forehead. In the '39 portions, she has normal eyebrows and a much more becoming hairstyle--making it look like two different actresses played the role. And, since it was NOT filmed in sequence, it's very disconcerting--much like when Luis Buñuel DELIBERATELY used two different actresses to play the same role in "That Obscure Object of Desire". With Buñuel, it worked because he was a surrealist but in "Over the Moon" most viewers will just be left confused.

As for the story itself, it's a decent tale of a poor girl (Oberon) who instantly becomes a very, very, very wealthy heiress and how this helps to mess up her life. Lots of selfish hangers on suddenly become her 'friends' and her fiancé (Rex Harrison) is driven off by her new lifestyle and nasty friends. But, no matter how much charm and magic the film has, all the factors listed above do a lot to undo the good--making the film a bit of a chore to watch.

"Over the Moon" had the potential to be a smashing comedy. A better screenplay, a change in direction to include more of the male lead, and reducing some tedious and bland scenes of nightly entertainment, could have lifted this film to top comedy caliber. But it's still a good comedy with a fine cast, colorful scenery, and clever and humorous dialog.

Jane Benson tends her grandfather's Yorkshire estate for several years after his death. But, she runs it more as a nursing home where she waits on the elderly servants. The staff have taken ill with lethargy at the lack of traditional estate liveliness. When the country doctor, Freddie Jarvis, calls to dispense pills for the ailing, Jane confesses her love for him and suggests that he take her away from her present fate by marrying her.

Freddie later decides to sell his practice, marry Jane, and move with her to London where he can do research. But before he can tell Jane, the law firm that has handled her grandfather's estate contacts her. She has come of age in the terms of grandfather's will and now inherits the entire estate of 18 million pounds. Jane now wants to live it up, and she convinces Freddie to go along where she will buy him a clinic in London.

But the fluff and feathers and trappings of the wealthy soon get to Freddie and they part. Under the guidance of a fortune-seeking sixth cousin, Julie, Jane embarks on a hedonistic spending spree of parties, entertainment and pleasure. But she can't forget Freddie amidst the gay and frivolous lifestyle. He, in the meantime, has become a noted physician in a Swiss clinic that panders to wealthy women.

Finally, tired of her overly indulgent and empty lifestyle, Jane sets out to win Freddie's affections again. She travels to Switzerland to visit the clinic where he is the star attraction practitioner. One can easily guess how this will turn out.

There's some very good comedy in this film. And some nice scenic shots of lovely European destinations. In the days before TV and fast travel, such scenes bolstered a film's appeal with audiences. Many a movie-goer of the past might dream or imagine oneself off in such alluring places. But this film also has a tediousness about it. Jane's whirlwind of nights out, party after party and pursuit by the upper-class gigolos quickly begins to wear on one's interest. Especially in the 21st century.

I tried to think of how the producers might have stopped that creeping disinterest in the film, because it otherwise is a good story, if somewhat kooky about Jane's beginning. While it's mainly a Merle Oberon movie, I think some cuts in her repetitive nightly entertainment scenes with some short segments of Freddie's settling in at his clinic practice in Switzerland might have done the trick.

The clever and often funny dialog is glue that makes this a good comedy romance. Some of the lines are philosophically funny. Some are less so, but poignant. And many more lines are just plain humorous. Here are the best lines from the film. For more, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the film.

Julie, "But being a crook myself, I know the ways of other crooks and I can help you to outwit them." Jane, "Oh, I'm sure you can, Julie." Julie, "Then I can consider myself engaged?" Jane, "Yes.

Julie, "But now you're a nice millionaire and you must make a great marriage." Jane, "Marriage?" Julie, "Certainly, marry a lord, a duke or even a prince. Or perhaps all three, in sequence, of course."

Jane, "Sounds thoroughly immoral to me." Julie, "Don't be so provincial. Who wants morals when they've got millions?

Julie, "Child, child, the world has your toys, don't you want to play?" Jane, "Just you watch me."

Millie, "Yes, you'll have to work hard if you want to get her." Guy, "Quite. But if I do get her, I shall never have to work again." Millie, "You know, darling, sometimes you're almost intelligent."

Pietro, "Don't you believe me?" Jane, "No, but please do go on." Pietro, "If you don't believe me, what's the use?" Jane, "Because it sounds so lovely."

Millie, "Really, Guy, you must pull yourself together. How do you expect any girl to fall in love with a man who's so much in love with himself?" Guy, "What, me? Ho, ho. By jove, you're wrong there. Do you realize sometimes I look in a mirror and I say, 'Guy, old chap, if you're not careful, one of these days you'll meet a chap who's better looking than you are.'" Millie, "No!"

Jane, "Won't you tell me your name?" Unknown man, "Why should I" I haven't asked your name."

Unknown Man, "Money's a curse."

Jane, "You know, I never should be dancing with someone I don't know." Unknown Man, "You should always dance with someone you don't know."

Jane, "Then you have more money than I have?" Unknown Man, "Yes, I'm even worse off than you are."

Unknown Man, "When you have as much money as we have, you can't have friends, loyalty or anything."

Unknown Man, "My poor child. You're doomed for gigolos the rest of your life." Jane, "I hate you."

Unknown man, "Maybe you're right. Money has poisoned me. But what can I do, with detectives to guard me on one side and women who fleece me on the other. It's no wonder I lost all faith in human nature."

Jane, "Well, I was only taking your advice. it was you who drove me into the arms of other men." Freddie, "Yes. How did you find them?" Jane, "Isn't it obvious? What do you suppose I'm doing here?" Freddie, "What are you doing here?" Jane, "Oh, just tidying up."