Julia Misbehaves

Both Greer Garson and Walter Pigeon, having made several dramas together, have done a remarkable switch to comedy. Both are charming and classy in their romp of delight. Along the way with the help of the likes of Caesar Romero, as the head of a family of acrobats, the zany Mary Boland, his alcoholic mother [loved her hanging from the smoke stack of a liner], Nigel Bruce, a woman chaser, attempting to pick up Greer in a lady's clothing shop, Elizabeth Taylor, all of 16 years old and gorgeous, Peter Lawford, also young and gorgeous and Lucille Watson, the wealthy grand dame of the family, Greer and Walter go through the antics of falling into mud puddles, sinking into the water in a beaten up old row boat, being forced to go through a high flying acrobatic act, being slapped on the rear by a trained seal and generally having a grand time of it. Hats off to a slick and silly script and a cast of performers who don't take it seriously at all.

Now, you may say to yourself "Greer Garson **gasp** comedy?!" But this is actually a lovely movie about an actress who is attending her daughter's wedding. She hasn't seen her daughter in many years, since her husband, after "one year and two months (of marriage)... said 'Julia, I don't love you anymore. I think it's better if we separate.'" Julia was only invited by "accident", but one certain daughter insists that she stay, contrary to her grandmother's opinion. The film is very fun, if you don't have one of those minds that have type casted Greer Garson, and can't accept that she has a wider range than "Mrs. Miniver" type roles. She proves very adept at comedy, and also look for what seem to be "inside jokes" in some scenes.

Greer Garson, soaking in her tub and locked in her room, pretends she's about to end it all. All this is a ruse in order to get her good friend Reginald Owen to pay her creditors, who are at her door. Ms. Garson's carefree, gay, and a delicious tease in this fun-filled romp that is sure to please even the crankiest of viewers. This shows Ms. Garson in a new light from her usual fare of melodrama, as she lets her hair down and has all the men around her on a string and using them to her advantage. It happens that she gets an invitation to her daughter's impending wedding. She had left her years ago, with her husband, of whom she never divorced (played by Walter Pidgeon,) because she is an stage actress and travels a lot. When she arrives, we see that most of them are not glad to see her, after all this time. But what happens next is a riot. Cesar Romero is great as part of an acrobatic act and as a suitor vying for Greer, giving the debonair Walter Pidgeon a run for his money. "What muscles am I using now?" If you've never seen this, you're in for a real treat, the cheery side of Miss Greer.

and do a very good job at it. If you've always wanted to see Greer Garson scantily clad and singing while being tossed about by acrobats and cheered on by sailors on leave, or if Walter Pidgeon being roughed up by a trained vaudevillian seal appeals to you, this is your movie. Garson and Pidgeon, a very popular MGM screen team of the 40's, this time are a long-estranged married couple. Pidgeon plays a real scoundrel in this one, but fortunately the scoundrel part is something we're largely told about, not something that we see much of. Pidgeon's character, William Sylvester Packett, is to the manor born and meets chorus girl Julia (Greer Garson) while in the service during World War I. They are hastily married, and a daughter Susan (Elizabeth Taylor) is born during the following year. War is often the great equalizer - it makes everyone involved forget their peacetime stations in life. Thus, when the war ends, it only takes a few months in familiar settings for William to decide he doesn't love Julia anymore and send her packing. However, William never divorces Julia, a symptom of his split feelings towards her. He does keep the baby for himself, though. Once you get familiar with the characters you feel that maybe William's mom had a hand in the break-up since she obviously thinks Julia is not good enough for her son.

The two are thrown back into each other's lives when Julia receives an invitation to her daughter's wedding. The problem is, nobody seems to know who sent that mysterious invitation. Before anyone can get in touch with her to "disinvite" her, free spirit Julia appears at the Packett estate a few days before the wedding. With estranged hubby and his mother so cool to her presence, the servants so happy to see her after all of these years, and her daughter a perfect stranger, how will this whole thing work out? I know this sounds like it has all the potential for Madame X style melodrama, but believe me it is good fun all the way. I highly recommend it. As an aside, don't be too confused by the fact that the time factor doesn't make much sense. This movie was made in 1948 but set in 1938 so the whole issue of World War II doesn't enter into the plot at all.

Greer Garson had a charmed film career. She was discovered on the English stage by Louis B. Mayer when she was 33. Her MGM career stalled until she was cast opposite Robert Donat in the classic "Goodbye Mr. Chips"(1939) which made her an immediate major star and a worthy successor to fading MGM superstars Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and Garbo. Her lovely, charismatic performance in this film brought her the first of seven Best Actress Oscar nominations. Truth be told her role was too small for such a nomination and Shearer's and Crawford's superb work in "The Women"(1939) should have gotten the nominations. Garson's next film was the disastrous "Remember"(1939) a glossy flat so-called comedy that had her much too prim and proper. But after Shearer unwisely passed on "Pride and Prejudice"(1940) Garson was cast in the central role and received raves from everyone. In retrospect she seems too old for this and the more youthful-looking classy Shearer would have been much better but this film made Garson an enormous star which she remained until a string of entertaining disasters in the early 50's. Of course Garson would win her Oscar for the excellent blockbuster "Mrs.Miniver (1942) -another dumb Shearer turn-down- and Garson would now be typecast in generally too noble and ladylike roles. Nonetheless Garson gave a sparkling performance opposite Crawford in the forgotten "When Ladies Meet"(1941) and gave marvelous natural performances in the hugely popular yet maligned "Adventure"(1946) and superb in the disastrous "Desire Me"(1947). The comedy "Julia Misbehaves" came right after and proved a tremendous hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Though superficially "the lady" once again this role allows Greer to be the comedienne and she succeeds splendidly. The sparkling script and direction, the MGM gloss, her great chemistry with Pidgeon, and the beautiful young co-stars Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Lawford add to the non-stop fun. She plays a wayward showgirl who wants to be part of her daughter's wedding even though she has not been around for years. It's the kind of light hearted romp that Hollywood tries to do now in days with Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Reese Witherspoon and surprisingly Diane Keaton. Of course these recent films rarely work as well as the delightful "Julia Misbehaves." After this Garson returned to the lady roles and had her last big hit with the stodgy technicolored "That Forsythe Woman"(1949). Most of the films that followed were failures except for her outstanding work in "Julius Caesar"(MGM,1953) and Oscar-nominated as Eleanor Roosevelt in "Sunrise at Campobello"(Warner Brothers, 1960).