This is another early and light Wyler film, on which he actually met his first wife i.e. star Margaret Sullavan; she is delightful in the title role of an orphaned girl who goes out into the world for the first time and, when offered the 'protection' of a wealthy older man (Frank Morgan), she tells him she is married to struggling lawyer Herbert Marshall (whose name the girl picked up at random from the phone book!). However, rather than be discouraged, he proposes to help her husband's career instead and, in this, she sees herself as having done her good deed for the day (a remnant of her naïve upbringing)! Of course, no end of complications follow, which also involve an overly protective waiter Reginald Owen and an eccentric drunkard of a Minister Eric Blore (who is only featured in one hilarious scene early on), with the remaining supporting cast including such familiar faces as Alan Hale, Beulah Bondi, Gavin Gordon (in an amusing film-within-a-film appearance!), Cesar Romero and Luis Alberni.
The film is very typical of its era, being a sophisticated romantic comedy with a Continental setting; though never straying outside the studio, in this case Universal, its look is distinctive – particularly Charles D. Hall's art direction – and the whole feels a kinship to Ernst Lubitsch's pictures at Paramount. One more notable influence here is screenwriter Preston Sturges – still some years away from becoming a powerhouse director of zany originals – albeit with occasional sociological concerns, which can also be felt here.
Though essentially stylish fluff, the film is kept afloat by the performances: while Morgan made a career out of playing flustered and misguided socialites (interestingly, his being played up as someone with the ability to set things right for others seems to have augured well for his best-remembered – and titular – role in THE WIZARD OF OZ {1939}), Sullavan and Marshall really shine, especially when playing off each other: her freshness all the better to contrast with his inherent stiffness. The latter, in fact, is bemused by the various benefactors' interest in his modest practice, but he clashes with the girl over his studious (i.e. bearded) look; this is a dilemma which, curiously enough, I have had to face myself ever since I grew a beard (for the first time in my life!) as a result of my recent tenure as an extra on the WORLD WAR Z Malta shoot – with some female friends fancying the change in image and some others not (but, unlike Marshall's character in the film, so far I have kept it)! In the end, Morgan sees how Sullavan is really drawn to Marshall, so he does the only honorable thing and steps out of the way but, in true Hollywood fashion, he lets the protagonists have their cake and eat it too (by not opting to withdraw his sponsorship).
Tragically, Sullavan died at age 50 from an accidental overdose of barbiturates (though some considered it suicide, having earlier suffered from a nervous breakdown) on New Year's Day 1960; depressingly, two of her three children would actually commit suicide! Besides Wyler (their marriage lasted a little over a year), her husbands included actor Henry Fonda (they divorced a mere 2 months later!) and renowned agent Leland Hayward (the couple managed to stay together for nearly 13 years this time around). She was also mother-in-law to Dennis Hopper – while his pal Peter Fonda (not her son) named his daughter Bridget after Sullavan's own offspring from the Hayward union, on whom he used to have a crush (and who died, aged 21, only 11 months after her actress mother herself!).
The film is very typical of its era, being a sophisticated romantic comedy with a Continental setting; though never straying outside the studio, in this case Universal, its look is distinctive – particularly Charles D. Hall's art direction – and the whole feels a kinship to Ernst Lubitsch's pictures at Paramount. One more notable influence here is screenwriter Preston Sturges – still some years away from becoming a powerhouse director of zany originals – albeit with occasional sociological concerns, which can also be felt here.
Though essentially stylish fluff, the film is kept afloat by the performances: while Morgan made a career out of playing flustered and misguided socialites (interestingly, his being played up as someone with the ability to set things right for others seems to have augured well for his best-remembered – and titular – role in THE WIZARD OF OZ {1939}), Sullavan and Marshall really shine, especially when playing off each other: her freshness all the better to contrast with his inherent stiffness. The latter, in fact, is bemused by the various benefactors' interest in his modest practice, but he clashes with the girl over his studious (i.e. bearded) look; this is a dilemma which, curiously enough, I have had to face myself ever since I grew a beard (for the first time in my life!) as a result of my recent tenure as an extra on the WORLD WAR Z Malta shoot – with some female friends fancying the change in image and some others not (but, unlike Marshall's character in the film, so far I have kept it)! In the end, Morgan sees how Sullavan is really drawn to Marshall, so he does the only honorable thing and steps out of the way but, in true Hollywood fashion, he lets the protagonists have their cake and eat it too (by not opting to withdraw his sponsorship).
Tragically, Sullavan died at age 50 from an accidental overdose of barbiturates (though some considered it suicide, having earlier suffered from a nervous breakdown) on New Year's Day 1960; depressingly, two of her three children would actually commit suicide! Besides Wyler (their marriage lasted a little over a year), her husbands included actor Henry Fonda (they divorced a mere 2 months later!) and renowned agent Leland Hayward (the couple managed to stay together for nearly 13 years this time around). She was also mother-in-law to Dennis Hopper – while his pal Peter Fonda (not her son) named his daughter Bridget after Sullavan's own offspring from the Hayward union, on whom he used to have a crush (and who died, aged 21, only 11 months after her actress mother herself!).