The King and the Chorus Girl

Since the first time I watched this a few years back, I have thought it was a little gem. As an older woman, I really enjoy Joan Blondell as the caberet chorus line gal, who catches the eye of a former king (Fernand Gravet) of a small country, who thinks she is flirting with him because in the act each girl is to pick one part of the audience to sing to.

As a lush who drinks and parties all night and sleeps all day, his retinue is most concerned about him. When Blondell spurns his advances which piques his interest, his staff (Edward Everett Horton & wife) decide to get her to keep doing it so he will try to win her. Of course, he keeps chasing her until she catches him.

The fun is in watching Gravet and Blondell interact with each other. Both are charming and we have fun right along with them. For a sweet and witty comedy from the 30's, I give it a 9/10 for pure sit back and enjoyment.

Former King Fernand Gravey now spends his life drunk in Paris at night. He has not seen daylight in years. One night at the Folies Bergere, he sees chorus girl Joan Blondell look at him -- in a purely professional manner -- and decides he wishes to pursue her. Gravey's staff -- Edward Everett Horton and Mary Nash -- thinks this is a good way to get him off the booze, so they encourage her, but warn her that he loses interest after victory.

There's no credited director for this movie co-written by Groucho Marx and Norman Krasna, but it's probably Mervyn Leroy. Beginning with an obvious set-up for a romantic comedy, it's been cast with an amazing variety of clowns: Alan Mowbray, Jane Wyman, Luis Alberni, even Shaw & Lee as two stage comics, but most of all Gravey, who is surprisingly delightful, delivering his lines with a combination of gravity and playfulness that is very winning. Miss Blondell has little to do save to act as straight woman, which she does most charmingly in her beautiful, big-eyed fashion.

This very amusing picture justifiably sits alongside the absolute best of the Fred and Ginger or Jessie Matthews romantic comedies. It's also a lot more fun than THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL. The silly story and the characters are believable enough to fully engage with - you feel involved.

There were there people who scoffed haughtily at this at the time. It was accused of being formulaic, predictable and corny. Well of course it is - that's what makes so brilliant!

Yes, it is formulaic - it's honed and tuned to perfection so that you know exactly what you're going to get. It was known what boxes needed ticking to make a classic rom-com, and that's just what you get with this.

Yes it's also predictable but that gives you that reassuring comforting feel. You're not going to get stressed watching this, whatever silly challenges and obstacles arise, you know they'll sort it out by the end.

Corny? Yes but not in a sugary, sentimental way. When made properly by a top director such as Mervyn LeRoy and co-written by Groucho Marx, corny can be funny.

Joan Blondell enjoyed the opportunity to do something a little different and with a bigger budget to what she was often in and you can sense her new found energy and enthusiasm. She is perfect in the role and from the moment she appears you're fully on board. For the next hour and a half, your entire life exists just to make sure she gets the happy ending she deserves.

Fernand Gravey is also perfect as the bored, over-entitled deposed young king. Despite all the cliches, he gives character absolute authenticity. He's actually more believable (and certainly more likeable) as a troubled monarch than that Edward VIII chap who was making all the headlines at this time.

This movie is an absolute delight and I cannot believe it's not considered a minor classic. Joan Blondell and Fernand Gravey have an incredible chemistry - so many reviewers have talked about how witty and sexy Blondell is in this movie, but so is Gravey (grrrr!)! I kept laughing out loud, and when I looked up the movie here to read more about it and saw that it was co-written by Groucho Marx, so many things made sense as to why the banter is so witty. Solid supporting cast - Edward Everett Horton is awesome as always, but Alan Mowbray in this comic role is also a delight. What an incredibly under-rated movie - definitely my favorite of all the many, many royalty-falls-in-love-with-commoner films.

If you like 1930s romantic comedies, you will probably enjoy this movie. I almost didn't watch it because of a few negative comments on this website, but I'm glad I decided to give it a try. The dialogue reflects Groucho Marx's style. The performances by Joan Blondell and Fernand Gravet give the movie a warmer, more personable, romantic feeling than Groucho is known for. If you don't set your expectations too high after seeing Groucho's name associated with the movie, you will enjoy the movie very much. I certainly did, and I'd like to watch it again with my husband.