If You Could Only Cook

This dry, low-key romantic comedy is very satisfying. Arthur is excellent, and Marshall is well cast as an automobile executive who wants to get away from his stuffy board of directors and his pushy fiancé, and finds happiness posing as a butler (initially so that Arthur can get work as part of a butler-cook team). Lionel Stander (as he often does) steals the show as the acerbic sidekick of gangster Carillo, and he's given some great lines. Carillo is pleasing, too, as the gangster who wants to live like the gentry, and who's romantically interested in Arthur, but who's willing to hold back because he's a gourmet and is even more interested in retaining her as a cook. The best thing about the film is that it never gets tripped up in excessive plot complications, or telegraphs its humor. Giving Carillo a gustatorial as well as romantic interest allows him to take certain actions without burdening the romance of the principals. And, after giving us enough of a glimpse of the snotty fiancé to know what Marshall's in for, the film has the grace not to show her face again; no silly "scheming" or tiresome bared claws. In the final scene, when all are trying to convince Arthur through a locked door that she should marry, they move from straight arguments to playing roles in a "routine," but there's no winking and signaling to signify a change in technique, it just flows quickly and naturally. The film has enough confidence in the unfolding of the relationship between the principals that the intrusion of other characters and mechanical "plot complications" can be kept to a minimum Thus Carillo's proposal and interference at the denouement serves mainly to allow Arthur to voice her feelings about Marshall, and Carillo actually brings them together rather than holding them apart. Nice film.

This is a rather simple plot for a film, but due to exceptional writing, deft direction and the winning acting of Herbert Marshall and Jean Arthur, it's a wonderful movie. This is a great old romantic film that would be great to see with someone you love.

Marshall plays the CEO of a huge car manufacturing company. When his ideas are rejected by the board, he gets annoyed with the business. At about the same time, he meets Arthur, who has no idea he's a rich big-shot. She actually thinks he's an out of work schnook and convinces him to apply to a job with her--she as a cook and he as a butler in the same household. Since Ms. Arthur is so charming and sweet, he agrees and neither she nor the employer know his true calling. Later, this misunderstanding REALLY gets out of hand, but I don't want to spoil the film by explaining further.

The bottom line is that the freshness and delightful nature of the film make up for the fact that the plot line is pretty hard to believe. Unless you are an old grouch or hate old films (people like this need to be shot), you will like this film.

Interestingly, the film was so good that Columbia Pictures' president, Harry Cohn, tried a "fast one". Since Frank Capra worked at the studio and was now famous for IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (having practically swept the Oscars) and since IF YOU ONLY COULD COOK was such a sweet film, it was marketed as a Capra Film--even though Capra had NOTHING to do with it!! As a result, Capra sued and Cohn nearly lost his job until it was all smoothed over and tempers subsided.

Auto titan Jim Buchanan is in a league with Henry Ford but in the dumps over an impending marriage to a cold fiancé and Luke warm reception to his latest models. Disconsolate, he finds himself sharing a park bench with Joan Hawthorne (Jean Arthur) a Depression victim in need of work. Unaware of Buchanan's status she gets him to agree to be a butler to her cook in order to attain employment with a wealthy mobster (Leo Carrillo). Seems they only want married couples. With everyone being less than upfront comic confusion reigns.

If Only You Could Cook is a spry enough comedy with plenty of charm supplied by Herbert Marshall and Jean Arthur ably supported by the abrasive comic turns of mobsters Leo Carrillo and especially Lionel Stander who threatens to steal the picture. Director William Seiter assembles economically, as he sums up Buchanan's dual predicament in under ten minutes before encountering Hawthorne and focusing on the couple for the rest of the picture, the first hint of romance between them a brief harmless interlude with the ruse still playing itself out. By removing extraneous characters and situation he leaves it up to the four leads to carry the pace of this benign comedy in which they more than succeed.

Am being very serious about that. After seeing a lot of good but not great films, mixed bags and mediocrities or less recently in the comedy genre (and with melodramas), it was refreshing to have a comedy with a story that sounds silly on paper and not have the most appetising of titles (my opinion) that was actually very good. Even being very close to being a gem, if anybody getting into older films and screwball types of comedy and wants to know what the fuss is about, 'If You Could Only Cook' is a very good representation.

Saw it because of liking Jean Arthur and this type of comedy. Herbert Marshall is more hit and miss for me but it does depend on the role, he did have great meaty characters in his career but also dull ones that don't give him enough to work with. Have always tried, something that has been said frequently, to appreciate comedy of all kinds and decades, from the sophisticated and witty kind to the more daring kind to the broader kind (while tending to not care that much for the crude type, which tends for my liking to be distasteful). 'If You Could Only Talk' is a good example of one of my personal favourite types.

Is 'If You Could Only Cook's' story quite thin, even for the short running time, and tends to be quite silly? Sure, with a finale that is somewhat on the far-fetched side.

Len Carillo tends to overact a bit, but seems to be having fun.

Marshall though really lets himself go and is restrained and delectable but also amusing. Arthur is even better, cute as a button without being sickly sweet with sparkling comic timing. They have a very warm and affectionate chemistry together, actually think they work well as a romantic pairing, bouncing off each other very entertainingly. Lionel Stander provides a few of the film's best laughs with ease and is never less than very funny, really liked how he used his voice. The direction is assured and doesn't sleepwalk or lets things get strained.

Dialogue sparkles just as much as Arthur's comic timing, maybe even more so. It is some of the best and funniest writing for any comedy seen recently and always treats the viewer with respect. The story has a lively energy and also is respectful and is easy to follow, it is not a perfectly executed story by any stretch but there is enough spark and charm to it. The characters don't bore or irritate while the production values are suitably slick.

Overall, very good and refreshing. Very close to being a gem, let down a little only by some imperfect storytelling and one performance that doesn't completely work. 8/10

The Austin Film Society showed this entertaining old film last week on election night. The receptive audience found laughs in many lines that still seem current, especially about unemployment, the want ads and being broke.

Jean Arthur looked lovely in this movie, and Herbert Marshall was perfect. What a wonderful voice that man had! My husband thinks that his walk may have inspired C3PO's formal motions, although the robot had a metal leg, not a wooden one like Mr. Marshall's.

Lionel Stander was already in full bellow, many decades before 'Hart to Hart', and Leo Carillo was a treat as the gangster employer. It was a surprise to hear them use the term 'wise guy' for a prospective member - I didn't realize it was already being used back then.