Namoro Mascarado

Surprisingly enjoyable grade B comedy with large cast of solid actors who put on a good (but not great) show. The basic premise is that two ordinary people meet and think that the other has money. Bolstering this premise is a tangled story line that weaves each of the main characters into contact with others without each knowing who the other is relative to the main plot. The viewer has full knowledge of how all these characters relate to each other and is thus always expecting the truth to out.

A good deal of slapstick comedy and a comedic St. Bernard aid cast members. The film has the same tempo and feel as MGM's 'You Can't Take It With You' – done the same year however with a first rate crew. Lots of uncomplicated comings and goings keep the story moving but not too hard to follow. The rich really do not have it better than just plain folks.

Maureen O'Sullivan is delightful and perky. Mickey Rooney overacts – but the part calls for it and he steals a number of scenes. Edward Brophy plays Brophy once again. Dennis O'Keefe is plausible. Leonard Carey (uncredited) does a fine job as a comedic elevator operator/butler. Racial slurs typical of the time could be cut for modern audiences. Recommended.

MGM used their second and third tier actors for their B films, making them really more like A-. These movies were used as a training ground for up and coming actors as well. Here, Dennis O'Keefe and Maureen O'Sullivan star with Mickey Rooney, Frank Albertson, and Jesse Ralph, and another young up and coming, Ruth Hussey, in "Hold that Kiss," from 1938.

June (O'Sullivan) comes from a chaotic family and works in the couturier business; Tommy (O'Keefe) is a travel agent. At a posh wedding, she's helping the bride with her going-away outfit, and he's delivering tickets. Each assumes the other is a guest and therefore a member of the rich, horsey set.

Both O'Keefe and O'Sullivan were very good, if lightweight actors who never achieved superstardom. O'Sullivan, busy most of the time having her seven children, was very beautiful with a nice Irish lilt to her voice.

Enjoyable movie, with an upbeat performance by Rooney. I loved the atmosphere in the family especially, with the brothers teasing one another, and June bringing home that giant St. Bernard. Good fun.

Maureen O'Sullivan works for a caterer at a wedding. Dennis O'Keefe is a clerk from a travel agency delivering steamship tickets. They mistake each other for wealthy guests. They begin a courtship, masquerading as the cream of society.

MGM's efforts at screwball rarely sparkled, but this one shows the usual studio gloss with a cast that includes Mickey Rooney, Jessie Relph, and Eddie Brophy. Miss O'Sullivan remains too ladylike at all times. However, there are enough well-crafted lines and situations to make this one enjoyable; I suspect that Ogden Nash's uncredited contribution are among the best.

The major studios which M.G.M. was the biggest, had a stable of contract players that had to be kept occupied. From the heavy-weight Stars like GABLE, LOY, POWELL, SHEARER and TRACY to character actors, all had to be kept busy. Fifty-Two (52) features a year was the standard of the 'majors' plus shorts. From 'A' efforts too 'Bs' like this one, HOLD THAT KISS (1938).

The plot of these were simple. This comedy is a typical 'Boy meets Girl', both pretending to be of the '400'. Not wishing the other to know of their rather common back-rounds. Neither wanting to admit the truth until the last reel when true love wins out over perceived social prejudices.

MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN, never a major star was a good filler for this type of film. Something to plug into between TARZANs' and pregnancies. DENNIS O'KEEFE was being groomed for a stardom he would never fulfill, but MICKEY ROONEY would go on to greater things. The rest of the cast, all professional character actors. Who knew their lines, hit their marks and got the picture done on time and under budget. This made them very popular with Louis B. Mayer and the money men back in New York City.

Poor travel agent Tommy Bradford (Dennis O'Keefe) gets invited by wealthy J. Westley Piermont to his daughter's wedding. Piermont introduces June Evans (Maureen O'Sullivan) to him. They both start lying about themselves to the other. She's also poor and her younger brother Chick (Mickey Rooney) only adds to the lie.

This starts with an interesting premise. I like the couple, but they're not really heating up the screen until after they discovered the truth. After the initial start, the family becomes the more prominent part and their antics are much more fun. Mickey Rooney has third billing in this. It is the third act where the couple comes back hard and it is a fun time.