Echec au prince

Carole Lombard is spoiled heiress Annie Holt - in the '30s, it seems like everyone was writing about spoiled heiresses. Anyway, she's engaged to a prince, but while on a cruise, she falls for Tony Gage (Lyle Talbot). He has no money, isn't impressed by hers, and pays no attention to her. He ultimately tells her that her values are shallow and he doesn't respect her. Lombard cleans up her act and the two fall in love.

This is a bit of a sticky wicket - Annie's father (Walter Connolly) is in financial trouble and is planning on this marriage to help him out. And Annie's grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith), who set up this royal marriage, is looking forward to it as well. Put it this way - if she doesn't marry this guy, daddy's going to jail.

Good movie because of the wonderful cast, though the ending is a little bit of a downer. Lombard is gorgeous. She was a gal who could really turn a phrase. I wish that I could have met Lyle Talbot when he was alive - in a 56 year film career, he worked with everyone. The stories he could have told of his experiences in film, on stage, and on TV, where he did two series at one time.

Walter Connolly was a wonderful and sympathetic actor who died way too young, but he certainly made his mark. C. Aubrey Smith did an excellent job being mean as dirt, and Louise Closser Hale did a good job as the no-holds-barred grandmother.

A good film to watch but sad, too, to think that Lombard died so young. She was a true star, beautiful, radiant, funny, warm, and above all, an excellent actress. Always worth watching.