Let Us Be Gay

Dutiful wife Norma Shearer (as Katherine "Kitty" Brown) waits on husband Rod La Rocque (as Bob Brown) hand and foot. While making him breakfast in bed, and helping him dress for a Sunday golf outing, Ms. Shearer suggests joining Mr. La Rocque for the day, noting how infrequently the two see each other. But La Rocque puts her off, saying her presence adversely affects his game. Then, unexpectedly, Shearer meets the real reason for her husband's frequent absences… his pretty blonde mistress!

Three years later, Shearer is a glamorous and flirty divorcée. While summering in Paris, she has struck up a friendship with wealthy, older socialite Marie Dressler (as Mrs. "Boucci" Bouccicault). Ms. Dressler invites Shearer to her Long Island home, to socialize with some friends, and ask a favor. Dressler is worried about her granddaughter's relationship with a suave, worldly man. She wants young Sally Eilers (as Dionne) to marry Raymond Hackett (as Bruce), instead. Aware of Shearer's flirtatious conquests, Dressler asks her to lure the undesirable man away from Ms. Eilers. Shearer is stunned to discover the man is La Rocque, her ex-husband.

Shearer and Dressler make this a cute, entertaining play. They are in top form, giving guaranteed-to-be-popular performances, with enthusiasm and professionalism. The story is silly and predictable; yet, in a way which helps the humorous situation. And, the ending is quite clever. In fact, the comic "Let Us be Gay" may have aged better than Shearer's larger-produced, and more serious, "The Divorcée", which was released around the same time. The cast uniformly fine. La Rocque is better than his film with Lillian Gish; but, his role is not at all endearing. Gilbert Emery (as Towney) and Tyrell Davis (as Wallace) are funny supporting suitors.

Those not familiar with Norma Shearer may not realize it is she who appears as the dowdy wife in the opening scenes. This is Shearer as "Kitty" before her make-over. Watch the close-ups of Shearer with light, natural make-up, for a good look at an intriguingly beautiful woman.

******* Let Us Be Gay (1930) Robert Z. Leonard ~ Norma Shearer, Marie Dressler, Rod La Rocque

Frumpy housewife Katherine Brown (Norma Shearer) adores her husband Bob (Rod La Rocque). Her every action is dedicated to his comfort. Unfortunately, his roving eyes find other women and in heartbreak, Katherine divorces him. Years later, the two meet again, this time under very different circumstances. Katherine has become a beautiful and charming woman of the world. She is invited to a small party by an eccentric friend (Marie Dressler) to lure Bob away from his latest conquest, the engaged young Diane (Sally Eilers). En route to seducing Bob, Katherine also catches the eyes of all of the men at the party.

Also appearing are Hedda Hopper as the beautiful Madge Livingston and Dickie Moore as Katherine's young son.

This film suffers a bit from early talkie syndrome. The editing is not as slick as it could be, with moments of complete silence and shots with no people in the frame. Sometimes the scenes are confined to one room with very little editing between people. The story is also quite old fashioned, especially the abrupt ending which does not comply with the rest of the film. However, it is worth watching especially for Shearer fans. It is fascinating to see such a startling transformation from an overweight housewife to a gorgeous and elegant woman.

This comedy is very different to what you might expect. Its first ten minutes is the little drama that sets the scene but from then on it's a 1920s style drawing room farce, the type of thing you'd expect to hear the phrase: Anyone for tennis?

Surprisingly, once you get used to its theatrical style - necessary for this type of comedy, you might enjoy this. I didn't think I would but despite my initial reservations (were I around then, I'd have been watching Cagney at the Warner Brothers cinemas), I actually found myself laughing at this.

If someone asked you what 1930s movies were like, this type of picture would definitely not be what you'd think about. Today such gentle, gentile plays would play to empty houses but if you put yourself into the mindset of a 1929 theatre goer, you'll find this quite amusing: it's not what these days you'd call funny but it's not without some charm.

Like all of her films, this is another excuse for Irving Thalberg to say to the world: Have I got a hot wife or what! Inexplicably although Miss Shearer is no classic beauty, she somehow exudes 1.21 Gigawatts of sexuality. Don't know how she does it....maybe it's because she was such a good actress!

In this picture, Mrs T after divorcing her unfaithful husband reinvents herself as the most brazen, sex-hungry man eater you've ever seen outside of a Carry On film. The rest of the cast are the usual stock characters for this type of thing but it's made so well (ok, it's a bit creaky because it was made in 1930) it's a cut above the usual. As long as you know what you're going to get: the acting isn't meant to be naturalistic, it's in the style of a farce - it's actually quite entertaining.

When a dowdy wife (Shearer) loses her husband, she decides to completely make herself over to win him back. Not "politically correct" by today's standards, but still fun to watch, especially the scenes with Marie Dressler and Hedda Hopper.

I happened to channel surf to Turner Classic Movies just as this one was beginning last night, and once I got past the unlikely opening sequence I couldn't possibly turn away from the unlikely rest of it. It's a romantic comedy with Norma Shearer and a supporting cast that includes a lovely Hedda Hopper and a formidable Marie Dressler. As these things go -- silly rich people playing out a ridiculous "who'll pair up with whom?" plot in a Long Island mansion -- it's amusing and pretty good fun. I guess it's not a movie to recommend per se, but I have to admit I was in the mood to enjoy it last night, especially Marie Dressler's overacting. So if you stumble across it as I did, sure, go ahead, stick around. You won't believe your eyes.