The Perfect Specimen

The Perfect Specimen (Michael Curtiz, 1937) is a fun Warner Bros comedy, with Errol Flynn cast against type as the eponymous figure: a sheltered heir to a small fortune, imprisoned within the ivory towers of his grandmother's estate. One day sassy chick Joan Blondell smashes through the fence and drives off with his heart. Not literally, of course, that wouldn't play so well to a mainstream audience. The film is episodic and slight, but unapologetically so, with some amusing set pieces that include Flynn's roadside punch up with hopeless pugilist Allen Jenkins. The ever-likable Jenkins (later the voice of Top Cat's Officer Dibble) is just one of a heap of well-known character actors turning up here, along with Hugh Herbert, May Robson, Harry Davenport and Edward Everett Horton – stealing the film hands down as a pathetically subservient, nervy personal secretary. There's the odd concession to high culture, with a recurring reference to Cervantes' Don Quixote, but mostly this is standard screwball stuff, utilising the considerable charm of its impressive cast.

Fortunately for us, Carole Lombard, Marion Hopkins, Miriam Hopkins and Olivia de Havilland all turned down this role opposite Errol Flynn. None of those could possibly be a tenth as endearing, as funny, as utterly lovely or as perfect as Joan Blondell. She indeed is the perfect specimen.

Comedy was neither Errol Flynn's or Michael Curtiz's natural home but Joan Blondell could make the silliest story come to life. This is indeed the silliest story but Joan's magic makes this work and almost believable. It doesn't need to be completely believable because for that hour and a half all these characters seem like people you can believe in. It's got such a cosy, cuddly warmth about it, you can't help but enjoy it. And apart from the heretics who don't accept that Joan Blondell was the world's sexiest, loveliest woman whose smile could turn your legs to jelly, you'll love the fact that she'd never been more sweet and gorgeous than in this.

Half way through however your heart sinks as Hugh Herbert shows up. For once however you needn't hurl your dinner at the screen or rip your eyes out in despair - he's actually quite amusing (yes, seriously!) You don't often see him alongside Warner's other irritant, Edward Everett Horton but this unlikely, unholy combination actually works.

Despite my peculiarly weird obsession with Joan Blondell, this is actually a pretty decent thirties comedy. There were an awful lot of awful ones - some, I have to admit starring my beloved herself - she certainly did some rubbish so I didn't just like this because of it's a Joan Blondell film. It's real charming, escapist fun. Errol Flynn, despite some reviews isn't too bad and is as likeable as always. It's not especially funny but it will make you happy.

Gerald Wicks is being groomed by his dictatorial millionaire grandmother to be a responsible pater familias in total seclusion from the world, "a lily in a hothouse", he calls it. Then one day Mona, a tough-as-nails female reporter, comes crashing through the gates and before long Gerald takes off on his own to seek out his newfound friend and they set out to explore life together.

Admittedly, this is a very small film, and one that doesn't quite know how to hold itself together. The script is filled with loose ends and blind alleys, and a lot of the dialogue must have seemed dated even in 1937. Having said that, this movie boasts Joan Blondell and a very young Errol Flynn, and their easy banter is delightful. She never photographed this well ever again, and Flynn ... well, suffice it to say that the director makes the most of all his chances to have his strapping young star-to-be stripped to the waist, beefcake galore!

AND the movie has a handful of wonderfully quirky bit parts, not many of them exactly organically interwoven in the whole, but they are never less than entertaining.

This is not really an 'haha' type of comedy, its more a movie that has a fun and silly (in a good way) feeling all over it. The events in the movie are fun and so are the quirky characters that are in the movie.

Basically the story is a fun and simple one. Rich guy played by Errol Flynn, out of a conservative uptight family, has for the first time in his real fun when he runs of with the girl Mona (Joan Blondell). Along their trip the couple meets some quirky characters and get into some silly situations. It seems to me that the movie its story was inspired by the Greek Odyssey.

Errol Flynn is of course perfect as 'the perfect specimen'. I was a little bit worried about his comical talent but he pulls of rather well in this movie. All of the other actors are also fine professional comedy actors who all help to make this movie a fun, simple and non-serious one to watch.

A fun movie, that is very well worth watching.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

A very light hearted fun movie . I enjoyed Flynn's performance . He should have done more comedy , ala Cary Grant , he was very good at it . I really think that someone should put it on video for other's enjoyment . There are a lot of Errol Flynn fans out there and I know many of them would like to be able to see this comedy again .