Falling for You

As many modern "cineasts" turn up their noses at the supposed "silliness" of the great old Jack Hulbert/Cicely Courtneidge screen comedies and musicals, this snowy screwball chase comedy may well be the silliest of the lot, and yet perversely, the one which may play the best to audiences weaned on Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau and the mad oeuvre of Jim Carrey.

Hulbert and Courtneidge don't speak or even meet for the first five minutes or so as directors Hulbert (the star doing double duty - triple when you factor in his usual writing credit) and Robert Stevenson put them through their paces in sight gags surrounding winter sports from skiing to luge to ice skating (the bit about Hulbert having a young jinx in whose presence he can barely stand up gets old, but his fine satire of an ice skating Pavlova is a nice surprise - Clouseau never had to go this far in A SHOT IN THE DARK) and even if Courtneidge's entrance to the lodge restaurant for their first contentious meeting (they are rival reporters) is a very old sight gag, she makes the most of it.

Physical comedy dominates the evening as the two reporters vie for access to a runaway fiancé of an Archduke who Hulbert has fallen in love with at virtual first sight. We've been down this hill before, but the physical comedy is generally well done and the cherry on top is the sprinkling of some of the best musical numbers Courtneidge and, a defter hand with a tap shoe than a ski pole, Hulbert, have been handed on screen. The songs themselves often don't make a lot of lyric sense - the very best asks the musical question "Why Does The Cow Have Four Legs?" - but as it riotously sets up the party under which our heroes escape a dicey situation, you completely understand why this kind of material kept British Music Halls alive and hopping for two centuries.

Yes, it's silly. If silly doesn't work for you, this can be a long 88 minutes (83 in the British TV print I saw - I gave it only 6 stars because I prefer the Marx Brothers to the Stooges - verbal comedy, over the physical); but think Clouseau and wait for the musical numbers - give yourself over to the fun of THEM and you'll be in something close to heaven.

Unquestionable one of the greatest and best-known all-round entertainer's in England during the1920s and 30s, Jack Hulbert had a huge following; the public adored him and cinema theaters usually reported a packed house whenever a film starring Jack Hulbert was shown. His easy going style, uncomplicated story lines provided an escape from the hardship of daily live that people experienced during the depression years and even in today's world, watching his movies provides a welcome diversion from the harsh realities facing us each day.

In this film Jack and his wife Cicely Courteneidge are playing reporters trying to outsmart each other in pursuit of a sensational story when an Archduke's Fiancée; the delectable Sondra von Moyden (Tamara Desni) disappears in Switzerland. Jack off-course falls head over heals in love with the charming girl when he first meets her on an ice-skating ring, but unbeknown to him, Sondra is on the run from the Archduke because she is unwillingly engaged to the roque and does not want to marry him and is being pursuit by the Archduke and his agents who are trying to force her to return.

A very entertaining film with so many comical moments throughout, that it needs to be viewed several times to fully appreciate the humor and funny situations Jack and Cicely Courteneidge are getting themselves into. The opening scene has Jack being upstaged by a little girl on the ski slopes, but Jack is in top form, showing off his multi talented skills; he Sings, Romances, does a delightful Tap-Dance on top of a bar and surprisingly proofs to be an excellent ice skater as well. And yes, he does get the girl in the end

At a ski resort in Europe, Jack Hulbert falls down more than a Catskills tumeler on Chanukah. It's one of his movie pairings with his wife, Cicely Courtneidge. They're not the romantic couple here. They're competing reporters on a newspaper and they're trying to get a story on Tamara Desni, who is fleeing from her fiancé, Archduke Garry Marsh, who keeps trying to kidnap her back to the country where their marriage contract is enforceable.

Jack falls in love with her at first sight, and that's where the movie is at its best. The rest consists of a few songs, split between Jack and Miss Courtneidge; Miss Courtneidge putting in Jack's rejected dentures and trying unsuccessfully to pass herself off as someone else; one exuberant dance on a bar; and the usual gag sequences and mugging between the two stars, which must have been audience pleasers when this movie was new. Alas, the shtick hasn't aged well.

It's co-directed by Jack and Robert Stevenson. By the 1970s, Stevenson's movies had earned more money than any other director's.

I have just viewed the tape of this film which was issued some years ago as part of the British Classics Collection.I saw it many years ago and what stood out in my memory were the location shots of snow covered mountains.Anyway it has to be said that the musical numbers are really the only point of interest in this Hulbert-Courtenidge musical.the plot ,such as it is ,is virtually non existent and as usual the 2 stars are unable to control their mugging ,which was probably of great use in the theatre,but which becomes rather tiresome by the second reel.The comedy is well lets say very much of the period.Really only worth a look if you are a fan of the period or the stars