It's Love Again

Calling all Jessie Matthews fans! If you don't know who she is, check out either It's Love Again or There Goes the Bride. She's absolutely adorable, like a 1930s version of Olivia Colman, and she sings and dances, too!

In this movie, Jessie tries and fails to make it as a chorus girl. Robert Young is a newspaper man in a rut, and to spice up his column, he invents a society dame named Mrs. Smythe-Smythe who's the toast of every nightclub and restaurant. Jessie seizes the opportunity and pretends to be Mrs. Smythe-Smythe. The premise sounds cute, but the actual plot isn't the best part of the story. Sure, you'll get to see a pre-How Green was My Valley Sara Allgood as Jessie's warm-hearted, Irish maid, and there are a few tricks to get away with the mistaken identity that will arouse a chuckle, but the best parts of this movie are the musical numbers.

Jessie Matthews gets to show off all her adorable talents, including a hilarious and seductive rumba, a solo tap dance in an extremely skimpy costume that could be argued is little more than a glorified fig leaf, and a performance in a skintight sequined bodysuit. She's very talented, and it's no wonder she was one of Britain's most delightful entertainers in the 1930s. As a bonus, you'll get to see, very briefly, Robert Young tap dancing, and you'll get to hear him singing a chorus of the title song alongside Jessie! He never gets to show off his musical talents, and since this movie came out the same year as Stowaway, it's a real treat to see them. Jessie is the star of the show, though, and she's just delightful.

Very fresh, even tho' made over 50 yrs ago.

Jessie Matthews is at the height of her powers here, charming and lovely and lighting up the screen as she dances divinely in a number of captivating costumes in a stunning display of terpsichoreal virtuosity. Apart from It's Love Again the musical compositions are not particularly memorable in themselves, but provide everything the star needs to showcase her talents. There's no doubt that Victor Saville was her best director, endowing her with the confidence to give her all, and there's the stylish photography of Glen MacWilliams. Hollywood star Robert Young and husband Sonnie Hale, the latter not as irritating as usual and actually quite amusing on occasions, give support in this light-hearted extravaganza.

Jessie Matthews can't get a dancing foot in the door of the West End, so she borrows the character of "Mrs. Smythe-Smythe", a made-up celebrity who's the property of gossip columnist Robert Young. Good thing he's in love with her.

This is one of those movies in which the plot is just a framework to hang musical numbers and jokes on. Jack will have his Jill, and so forth. The jokes are minimal, the dancing ranges from good to excellent, and Young, unlike other co-stars of Miss Matthews, does not seem to be afraid of her. Miss Matthews wears her unlikely costumes with an air of amused disbelief. The sets seem to have been designed by Alfred Junge by looking at MGM fantasia sets and saying "Let's make that bigger. And more spangles."

As a result I found myself distracted by the theater design in the final scenes. I found myself wondering about the people who paid for seats hard up against that runway, would have to turn around, look up, and still see nothing.

Miss Matthews had real talent, but the British film industry seemed to have no idea what to do with her, and loaded her down with ever more unlikely plots, leading men, set designers, costumes, and choreographers, thinking that was how to top the last one. This one works, although the engine sputters occasionally.

Peter (Robert Young) and Freddie (Sonnie Hale) invent a celebrity, Mrs Smythe-Smythe, in order to fool the public and sell newspapers. Meanwhile, Elaine Bradford (Jessie Matthews) is looking for a chance to become a celebrity and seems to be getting nowhere with her audition for major theatre producer Raymond (Ernest Milton). So, she pretends to be Mrs Smythe-Smythe in order to get attention. Things go well at first but a rival reporter discovers the truth....

There are many humorous sections in this film, eg, the scene where Peter and Freddie decide on their celebrity, Raymond's exasperation with the theatre (I hate the theatre....I hate the people...). The cast are all good and Sonnie Hale is funny in most of his scenes. The film is Britsh and I was surprised at the quality of both the production and the comedy. It doesn't contain that stupid British humour of the time. It is actually quite funny!

But best of all, the film has Jessie Matthews singing and dancing. The songs are all fine but her dancing is great. She was easily up there with the best that Hollywood could provide at the time. Maybe she was THE best of her time. All the dances are good, my favourite being the sequence where she is trapped into giving a performance of a Hindu temple dance. She has no idea what she is supposed to do and starts somewhat hesitantly but then turns it into the most enjoyable solo tap dance sequence in any film that I can remember seeing. A joy to watch. I was pleasantly surprised by this film.