Bridal Suite

Really cute little movie with a simple story line but effective. i keep a list of my 25 favorite actors and 25 actresses. robert young was number 12 but seeing this film i climbed him way up to number 4. pushing away gary cooper and cary grant. he was very funny in bridal suite and his acting especially facial expressions are flawless. i would certainly have not loved the movie so much with lead robert montgomery. not a masterpiece but a fun film

"Bridal Suite" from 1939 is a small movie from MGM starring Annabella, Robert Young, Walter Connelly, and Billie Burke. The nice supporting cast also includes Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Sig Arno, and Felix Bressart.

The film concerns a swinging bachelor, Neil McGill (Young) who is being married for his money by Abbie (Virginia Field) except that he keeps getting drunk and forgetting to show up at the wedding. His parents (Lockhart and Burke), longing to turn him into a solid citizen, are in a panic. They are hoping that somehow, he can convince Abbie to give him another chance, not realizing she's only marrying him because she needs money.

At a Swiss resort, Neil meets Luise (Annabella) and falls madly in love with her.

This film is cute and, at 1 hour and 15 minutes, seems to have been a "B" movie. This is a good indication of how, after giving her a tremendous star buildup, Darryl F. Zanuck just wanted Annabella off his lot and away from her boyfriend, Tyrone Power. I mean, he lends her to MGM for a B movie?

None of Zanuck's ploys succeeded. Annabella refused to go to Europe to work, and less than a month after wrapping the film, Annabella and Tyrone Power married. So after all the star grooming, the French actress became known as Mrs. Tyrone Power. It's a shame because Annabella is delightful in this, and she really was a wonderful actress.

The best scenes are the ones that take place on the mountain. Though fake, they're quite impressive and scary! The other thing is the name of the resort where Neil and his mother are staying: Bieverhausen. On Will & Grace, Karen used what was spelled Beaverhausen as an alias.

Spoiled carefree American playboy Neil McGill (Robert Young) misses his own wedding... again. He falls for mountain innkeeper Luise Anzengruber. She backs off after hearing about his marriage engagement. She goes on a mountain hike with Doctor Grauer and become trapped by an avalanche.

Abbie needs to be horrible in order for the audience to root for Neil to get together with Luise. I don't think the movie sets that up enough at the beginning. Robert Young is the amiable type but he's not really the romantic playboy type. His most well known works are Father Knows Best and Marcus Welby on TV well after this movie. It's not a recipe for romantic heat. Again, he's amiable with enough comedic touch and that helps.

I started watching Bridal Suite and thought, this looks like a vehicle that Robert Montgomery could have made a meal of. Then read Trivia, and it was intended for Robert Montgomery originally. Robert Young makes this character very unappealing. He behaves like a thoughtless lech, and speaks harshly in an attempt to be "light." His singing is awful. Annabella versus Luise Ranier is more of a puzzle.

The supporting cast redeems it, as was often the case with a clinker of this vintage: The darling Billie Burke; Walter Connolly, Gene Lockhart, Felix Bressart, and, very briefly, Arthur Treacher. Worth watching for their collective professionalism and craftsmanship alone. Produced by the accomplished and unjustly obscure Edgar Selwyn, for MGM.

Neil McGill (Robert Young) is a very spoiled son of a rich man. For the second time, he's missed his wedding with Abbie. Although he claims to love the woman, it's certainly not apparent. But his dippy mother (Billie Burke) wants to try to salvage the relationship and insists on taking Neil to Europe to get a note from a famous psychiatrist that says Neil was suffering from amnesia! However, some unexpected things happen...such as his falling in love with a poor lady (Annabella) as well as wanting to finally make something of himself.

This is a modestly interesting story. However, it's also a bit of a hard sell because through so much of the story Neil is unlikable and a bit of a spoiled jerk. Had be been less dislikable the story would have worked a bit better.