Not knowing this, I approached it with trepidation thinking : Oh no, not another loud un-funny so-called Screwball Comedy. But wow - this is actually brilliant. Guaranteed to make you smile for 80 minutes!
If only all Screwball Comedies were this good I wouldn't have avoided them all my life. I love BRINGING UP BABY and IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT but loathed the plethora of all those formulaic copy cat movies. They're all essentially drivel .... or so I thought until finding this - the third best 1930s Screwball Comedy!
Admittedly I confess that I only watched this for of the pleasure of seeing lovely Loretta Young for an hour and a bit - undoubtedly the most beautiful young woman who's ever lived. I'm so glad I did and not just for opportunity to seeing my bird. It's surprisingly genuinely funny from start to finish. Perfectly directed at a perfect pace (again by the hugely underrated Tay Garnet), it's witty, well acted and professional.
It's hardly an original story, a cynic might call it a complete rip off of IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT but what makes this special is the likeability of its cast. Apparently these comedies legally required a prescribed cast of a ditzy heiress, a mischievous rakish reporter, a newspaper editor on the verge of a nervous breakdown and a gruff but wise old parent. OK, it is a rip-off but Power, Young and Ameche seem to be having such genuine fun together and are just so nice, you can't help but love them all and love this wonderfully sweet, sparkling and silly film.
