(66 mins.) Released 1933-01-27
Director: Lowell Sherman
Stars: Mae West, Cary Grant, Owen Moore, Gilbert Roland
comedy, drama, history, musical, romance
originally posted 7 Oct 2017 23:25
Cary Grant's 8th film, only his 2nd year in Hollywood. Mae West's 2nd film, her first musical. MW has writing credit here, because this is an adaptation of one of her plays. She is 40 y.o.; he is 29. But he's not much more than gorgeous, not really "Cary Grant" yet (as mentioned in my Kid from Spain notes, that doesn't gel until 1937's The Awful Truth.) Besides, he's playing the captain of a temperance league, so he SHOULD be stiff.
Her singing voice is not great, but HOW she sings and acts while singing is wonderful. She's beyond suggestive in her spoken words too. I chortled aloud more than once. Great to hear/watch her sing Frankie and Johnie. Cute ending.
I suppose I should recommend it for the pairing of the stars, and to show what "risque" looked like in 1933, but while I like the film, it's just not that iconic. 8 of her 12 movies have a slightly higher rating in IMDb, highest being I'm No Angel (1933) at 7.0.
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, lost to a movie I don't know (and looks boring). I would pick either I Was a Fugitive from a Chain Gang or 42nd Street from among the 10 nominees.
Paramount, dir. Sherman, 6+
