Cluny Brown

I loved this movie. Charles Boyer is always such a smooth actor. Im a sucker for a French accent. It was simple movie with a simple plot. Jennifer Jones was cute in the movie but not the best acting I've seen her do. I really liked her character though. I've watched this movie about 15 times and I cant really explain why, except that it makes me feel good. This is the kind of movie you want to watch if its a rainy, cold day outside and you can curl up with a cup of cocoa. The cocoa will warm your insides and the movie Cluny Brown will warm your heart. I will always treasure this sweet simple romantic comedy. Keep in mind that this is a very old movie and the purpose was for entertainment back then, not detailed plot twists. I think that this movie is worth watching, but don't stop after the first 15 minutes, it does get better. Just watch it!!!Trust me!!

Boy, here's a movie that is just crying out for a DVD release for its fans....and one with English subtitles on it. I would buy it immediately if it ever becomes available.

The attraction is simply Jennifer Jones doing what she does best: play a beautiful, sweet and innocent girl....the kind "you want to take home to momma!"

It must be all Jones that makes me desire to see this on DVD because (1) there really isn't much of a story here, which leads to some dry spots; (2) Charles Boyer's french accent is too tough to understand many times; (3) there is the usual mistaken-identity story which was so popular (and usually stupid) in old movies; (4) the cinematography isn't much; (5) most of the humor is so corny, it's stupid.

Yet, despite all the negatives above, this film is one I want to see again because Jones - "Cluny Brown" - plays one of the most likable, old-fashioned nice characters I've ever seen on film. It is as pretty as she ever looked and you'd be hard-pressed to find a sweeter more innocent character. She is just a pleasure to watch.

Rarely have I seen one person elevate a so-so movie to this degree.

The Lubitsch Touch is evident in this witty, intelligent film. Jennifer Jones shows a vivacity and humor she had never displayed before and would not again until her clever performance in "Beat The Devil". In one amazing scene where she cannot resist showing her wares as a Plumber (to the disdain of the other party guests) she gets to play a reaction to the debacle that is amazing in its combination of pathos and hilarity. Very interesting character actors including a very, very funny Una O'Connor (whose dialogue consists mainly of incessantly clearing her throat), the light as a feather and dead on playing of Margaret Bannerman, and also a chance to see Helen Walker. Charles Boyer plays with his customary light touch and is the anchor to this film, but finally it is Jennifer Jones' performance that takes one breath away and stays with you long after you've seen it.

... and the dialogue is just extraordinary.

Cluny Brown (Jennifer Jones) is a young English woman trying to find her place in life. She is quirky, outspoken, and she likes plumbing, mainly from watching her uncle be a plumber for years.

But she has to deal with the snobbery of all of the classes - the middle class represented in a village druggist, the servant class in the head servants in the house she works in, and the rich class. Since films of the time so often made fun of the rich, this one takes a different tack. The rich people are just agog over Czech intellectual and refugee Adam Belinski. They trip over themselves giving him money because it makes them feel like they are being a patron.

Cluny makes people uncomfortable because she does things that make her visible, when it seems that people want her to just disappear into the woodwork, to have no opinion or personality at all, including the village druggist who is considering marrying her. Belinski appreciates her fire and forwardness. He has a similar temperament, but because he is a man and an intellectual, nobody seems to mind the same behavior out of him.

I never cared for Peter Lawford in all of those collegiate MGM musical film roles, but here he is hilarious as the idealist son of a nobleman who is being treated badly by his steady girlfriend, Betty (Helen Walker), who refuses to give him clear signals as to where he stands.

Ernest Lubitsch used the charms and abilities of his leads Charles Boyer and Jennifer Jones to get some maximum performances out of them and make his next to last film Cluny Brown a great success. I've not heard that Lubitsch had to contend with Jennifer's husband and Svengali David O. Selznick on the set, but it's a safe bet they clashed because Selznick could not help interjecting himself where his wife was concerned.

Jones is the daughter of English plumber Billy Bevan and the most interesting thing is that in this English setting her non-English speech pattern is perfectly acceptable even against Bevan's cockney accent. Jones was also perfectly acceptable in another English part in Love Letters and certainly got no criticism. The camera always loved Jennifer Jones and in parts like Cluny Brown as the girl next door she lit up the screen.

Boyer as often as not played a whole lot of European types not necessarily French. Here he's a Czech refugee over in the United Kingdom fleeing from Mr. Hitler. The film is set in Neville Chamberlain Great Britain and Boyer is one of many bringing unpleasant news to the British public.

After Bevan rescues Jones from Boyer and Reginald Gardiner Jones is placed as a maid at a country estate where she meets Boyer again. There should be some class barriers, but Boyer breaks them down and Jones is more than agreeable.

Lots of agreeable Lubitsch touches and a minimum of Selznick interference make Cluny Brown still a treat after over 60 years.