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The Right to Romance

  • 1933
  • Approved
  • 1h 7m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
272
YOUR RATING
Robert Young, Ann Harding, and Sari Maritza in The Right to Romance (1933)
DramaRomance

Respected plastic surgeon Peggy seeks romance at beach resort, reunites with playboy Bobby. They fall in love but face challenges blending different lifestyles.Respected plastic surgeon Peggy seeks romance at beach resort, reunites with playboy Bobby. They fall in love but face challenges blending different lifestyles.Respected plastic surgeon Peggy seeks romance at beach resort, reunites with playboy Bobby. They fall in love but face challenges blending different lifestyles.

  • Director
    • Alfred Santell
  • Writers
    • Sidney Buchman
    • Henry McCarty
    • Myles Connolly
  • Stars
    • Ann Harding
    • Robert Young
    • Nils Asther
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.0/10
    272
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alfred Santell
    • Writers
      • Sidney Buchman
      • Henry McCarty
      • Myles Connolly
    • Stars
      • Ann Harding
      • Robert Young
      • Nils Asther
    • 12User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins total

    Photos14

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    Top cast18

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    Ann Harding
    Ann Harding
    • Dr. Margaret Simmons
    Robert Young
    Robert Young
    • Bobby Preble
    Nils Asther
    Nils Asther
    • Dr. Helmuth Heppling
    Sari Maritza
    Sari Maritza
    • Lee Joyce
    Irving Pichel
    Irving Pichel
    • Dr. Beck
    Helen Freeman
    Helen Freeman
    • Mrs. Preble
    Stephen Chase
    Stephen Chase
    • Bunny Allen
    • (as Alden Chase)
    Delmar Watson
    Delmar Watson
    • Bill
    Louise Carter
    Louise Carter
    • First Face Lift Patient
    Bramwell Fletcher
    Bramwell Fletcher
    • Man with the Maceys
    Patricia O'Brien
    • Eve Lane
    Neal Dodd
    Neal Dodd
    • Minister at Wedding
    • (uncredited)
    Jay Eaton
    Jay Eaton
    • Night Club Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Thelma Hardwick
    • Sister Elizabeth
    • (uncredited)
    Howard Hickman
    Howard Hickman
    • Dr. Macey
    • (uncredited)
    Edward LeSaint
    Edward LeSaint
    • Doctor at Hospital
    • (uncredited)
    Geneva Mitchell
    Geneva Mitchell
    • Seaside Cafe Customer
    • (uncredited)
    William H. O'Brien
    William H. O'Brien
    • Servant at Wedding
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred Santell
    • Writers
      • Sidney Buchman
      • Henry McCarty
      • Myles Connolly
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews12

    6.0272
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    Featured reviews

    7kenn_honeyman

    good film, but not anywhere as good as, "Double Harness"

    You must see, "Double Harness"-1933, to appreciate how GREAT an actress Ms. Harding was!... i thought lots of comments were posted on the film site,or her biography site, butijust checked, and most were gone;what happened to them?

    I thought there were at least 5 posts saying what great heights Ms. Harding's subtle performance achieved! She had been nominated for Academy award in 1930 for, "Holiday". Marie Dressler won that year for "Min, and Bill"- a great performance,too!This movie,"Holiday", was remade with Katherine Hepburn, and Cary Grant in 1938. This was a great comedy... but sadly the Harding movie is almost in total disrepair at the Library of Congress. You must see Double Harness!!!!!!!!!!
    6ksf-2

    similar storyline elephant walk.

    It's okay. Sixty seven minute shortie from RKO. This one certainly had the big names going for it, with ann harding getting top billing. Robert young was just the up and coming new kid on the block. Doctor simmons and bob preble meet when preble's mother gets surgery. But she hears her time clock ticking away, and takes a vacation to find herself. When preble and the good doctor meet up, can the romance last when they return home? He's a party guy and she takes her career seriously, and doesn't feel like partying after a long day at work. Directed by al santell...had started in silents. Story by myles connolly. Ann harding had starred in the original "holiday", from 1930; she was even nominated for the oscar for THAT role. But personally, i like the 1938 version of holiday better... had hepburn and grant!
    4wes-connors

    Doctoring Ann Harding

    Beautiful cosmetic surgeon Ann Harding (as Margaret "Peggy" Simmons) feels her biological clock ticking away. "The years are going so fast," she tells her somber nun, "Am I, after all, just a giddy woman at heart?" Ms. Harding takes a leave of absence from work and goes from staid Manhattan doctor to fun-loving Los Angeles sophisticate. She cuts down on smoking and has a whirlwind romance with wealthy playboy Robert Young (as Bobby Preble). You should expect their chance for happiness will be threatened... This Harding vehicle always leaves you wondering why she is so infatuated with Mr. Young while ignoring magnetic Nils Asther (as Helmuth "Heppie" Heppling), which may be the point.

    **** The Right to Romance (11/17/33) Alfred Santell ~ Ann Harding, Robert Young, Nils Asther, Sari Maritza
    5AlsExGal

    I'll give it this - Its plot turns were completely unexpected

    Margaret Simmons (Ann Harding) is a very able and busy plastic surgeon. Some of her cases are women who just want to be better or younger looking, others are serious accident victims. When she meets the son of a former patient, Bobby Preble (Robert Young), he mentions his surprise at the doctor being a woman and then he mentions that he smells something peculiar, and she mentions that it is ether - she just came from the OR. So, feeling like she has lost herself and her femininity in her profession, she takes a leave of absence to just enjoy life.

    While she is in California, she runs into Bobby again. Or I should say that he almost collides with her. He's acting like a complete jerk, doing loops in his plane and drinking heavily. He almost runs into the entire cafe where she is dining. When Bobby sees Margaret not in her scrubs, he falls for her, wines and dines her, and then follows her back to New York and proposes. They marry on the spur of the moment - even though a big wedding has somehow been inexplicably arranged - and settle down to normal married life. But just because you can take the boy out of the night life doesn't mean you can take the night life out of the boy. Complications ensue.

    This film was a bit of a mess. There is a loud soundtrack through the first half that often obscures dialogue, which was something most films didn't do after about 1930. Then the film suddenly is completely devoid of soundtrack for the second half.

    Robert Young was a rather neutral looking fellow, so he could play honest forthright characters, or victims of circumstance, or a completely immature if well-meaning cad like he is here. But even though this was the precode era I was just not expecting that ending. It was as if to say that everything Ann Harding's character has done over the past 70 minutes was a mistake, so back to the drawing board!

    I give it a 5/10 because the plot overall is pretty unexpected.
    10jkarman

    The Right To Romance (1933)

    It's sad that there are now, one or two generations who don't know about Ann Harding. Why she isn't as memorable as other MGM headliners I'll never know. Thankfully, we have these well preserved films for their legacy to live on and to memorialize the art. The 'Right To Romance' has to be the BEST movie of 1933. It stands against competition that rate solid 9.9 and less but this rates truly a 10.0. Once watched, you will become a fan of Ann Harding who gives the strongest performance of her career. A well written story which allows Nils Asther to display his acting talent too, (which outshines Robert Montgomery). This movie is short, to the point, memorable and besides, an amazingly well written story. Blow the dust off this one and find a young friend who you'd like to turn onto an ageless but forgotten classic. I promise, you won't regret it.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Merian C. Cooper had accused RKO of not paying him all the money contractually due for six RKO films he produced in the 1930s. In 1946, a settlement was reached, giving Cooper complete ownership of the RKO titles: Rafter Romance (1933) with Ginger Rogers, Double Harness (1933) with Ann Harding and William Powell, The Right to Romance (1933) with Ann Harding and Robert Young, One Man's Journey (1933) with Lionel Barrymore, Living on Love (1937) and A Man to Remember (1938).

      In 2006, Turner Classic Movies, which had acquired the rights to the six films after extensive legal negotiations, broadcast them on TCM in April 2007, their first full public exhibition in over 70 years. TCM, in association with the Library of Congress and the Brigham Young University Motion Picture Archive, had searched many film archives throughout the world to find copies of the films in order to create new 35mm prints.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Margaret Simmons: I lived on a cloud, and the view was marvelous.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Svengoolie: Night Monster (2015)
    • Soundtracks
      Paradise
      (1931) (uncredited)

      Music by Nacio Herb Brown

      Played as dance music at a nightclub

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 17, 1933 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Beautiful
    • Filming locations
      • 201 Paseo de la Playa, Redondo Beach, California, USA(Hollywood Riviera Beach Club - now Mirimar Park)
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 7m(67 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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