If You Could Only Cook

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

James Buchanan and Joan Hawthorne meet on a park bench one day. Buchanan is sulking away about his impending marriage which is sure to be a loveless one, while Hawthorne is perusing the job vacancy adverts in the paper completely baffled by her lack of suitability for all the positions. Once the pair strike up a conversation it becomes apparent that both of them could help each other if they are prepared to take a risk, the risk would mean posing as a husband and wife team and entering the service of Mike Rossini, but little do they know that Rossini is something of a local wise guy, love and gangsters.......interesting.

If You Could Only Cook slips firmly into the category of films that deserve to be called charming, simple in structure and honest in its intent, it's a most enjoyable piece that leaves a long and warm impression after the initial viewing. There are many different reasons why so many old black and white pictures get termed classics, with one of the main instances being the ability to have longevity of entertainment values. It only really becomes apparent with a film such as this when you compare it with the more modern day romantic comedies, where today's directors and writers are prepared to force the issue with star appeal and cloying scripts, here the makers are fresh with zippy dialogue and charm personified.

Jean Arthur is Joan, a wonderful bone structured face and a lovely fulsome figure, she's a smashing actress that carries off the required romantic humour with consummate ease. Playing off her with equally excellent results is Herbert Marshall as James, many other actors could do no worse than to watch Marshall when they want guidance in the art of line delivery, peachy and carrying a great presence, Marshall remains a sadly undervalued old time performer. Villain duties fall to Leo Carrillo {Rossini} and the wonderful Lionel Stander as henchman Flash, while all the supporting members come up to the requisite charming standards. But ultimately it's a team achievement across the board, from the writing to the wink at the end of the piece, If You Could Only Cook is a smashing film that makes one feel all the more richer for having sat thru it. 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.

this movie is in the spirit of pursuing your dreams and following your heart. it's the wonderfully silly story of a auto designer whose company wants to keep making what sells rather that try his new designs. while soul-searching in the park he meets unemployed Jean Arthur who thinks he's down on his luck also. she sees a job for a married couple (a live in butler and cook), turns to him and ergo, the title. anyway, it's a lot of fun. for some reason this isn't available on video and isn't shown on TCM etc. so i had to find a copy on eBay. and now our town is having a Jean Arthur film festival (why didn't they consult me!? :-)). this is my favorite of Jean Arthur's movies not available on video, followed by Party Wire.

"If You Could Only Cook" is a small film apparently credited to Frank Capra at one point but actually not by Capra, made in 1935, and it stars Herbert Marshall, Jean Arthur, Lionel Stander and Leo Carillo. Carillo was the Cisco Kid's sidekick Pancho on the TV series that boomers may remember; and Lionel Stander's unmistakable voice will be remembered from the Robert Wagner TV show "Hart to Hart." This is a film made during the Depression, and it concerns a wealthy auto executive named Jim Buchanan (Herbert Marshall) who is about to be married to the right kind of woman and is dreading it. While sitting on a park bench trying to escape his board of directors and his fiancé, he meets a down to earth young woman (Jean Arthur) who is desperately looking for a job and can't find anything. Plus, she's just lost her room. She finds a job that pays well, but it's for a couple. She talks Jim into applying for it with her -- he's the butler and she's the cook in the home of a gangster (Carillo). Thanks to her sauce, she is hired. Thus begins Buchanan's double life. You can guess the rest.

A very charming movie with a delightful performance by Arthur and a good one by Marshall. It's always hard to believe that Herbert Marshall was ever a leading man given the roles he had later on, but he was a type that went out of style -- very formal, well spoken, a little stuffy, modeled on the British. Films in the '30s were often based on plays, and the plays of that era dealt with class differences.

Capra initiated a lawsuit against Columbia for crediting him with this film in England, where he was very popular, but Harry Cohn purchased "You Can't Take It With You" for him in exchange for dropping the suit. So a little film, never seen by Capra, paid him a big dividend.