The Perfect Snob (1941)

Her mother (Greenwood) wants her to find wealth; her father (Ruggles) tells her to seek love. She (Bari) finds both in Hawaiian hunk (Wilde).

Director:

Ray McCarey

Writers:

Lee Loeb (story), Harold Buchman (story),

Stars:

Charles Ruggles, Charlotte Greenwood, Lynn Bari

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Ruggles	...	Dr. Edgar Mason
Charlotte Greenwood	...	Martha Mason
Lynn Bari	...	Chris Mason
Cornel Wilde	...	Mike Lord
Anthony Quinn	...	Alexander Moreno
Alan Mowbray	...	Freddie Browning
Chester Clute	...	Nibsie Nicholson
LeRoy Mason	...	Witch Doctor
Jack Chefe	...	Waiter
Biddle Dorsey	...	Boat Driver

Storyline

Dr. Mason, a veterinarian, gets word of the engagement of his daughter, Chris Mason, and takes off for Honolulu to take a look at his future son-in-law. Finding that the fiancée, Freddie Browning, is old enough to be Chris's father, Dr. Mason hires a young man, Mike Lord, to break up the romance. Mike falls in love with Chris, but to ensure she isn't the gold-digger she appears to be, he hires his friend, Alex Moreno, to meet her and pose as a wealthy man. Then Moreno also falls in love with her.

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Plot Keywords:

hawaiian | gold digger | veterinarian | engagement | stock footage | 

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Taglines:

Wanted....A HUSBAND! ONLY MILLIONAIRES NEED APPLY! (original print media ad - mostly caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Casamento por Dinheiro

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

The unperfect snob

Charles Ruggles (Dr Mason) is a vet whose passion for dogs is a bit weird. He fills his house with recovering animals and they find themselves into the marital bed that he shares with his wife Charlotte Greenwood (Martha). Not surprisingly, Greenwood finds this a nuisance. Which it is. She takes her daughter Lynn Bari (Chris) on a trip to Honolulu so that she can marry her off to a wealthy man and set her up for life. Ruggles has plans that are outside this snobbery and joins them where he hires Cornel Wilde (Mike) to pose as a playboy to sabotage Greenwood's plans. However, Wilde is also a wealthy playboy after all.......

The film has some occasionally funny moments, mostly provided by Cornel Wilde as he wrecks the chances of Bari's potential suitor Alan Mowbray (Freddie). Charlotte Greenwood is also occasionally funny but the film is ultimately let down by Lynn Bari. She has no redeeming features - she's just awful throughout making it impossible to sympathize for her or support her in any of her decisions. The ending where she suddenly falls for Wilde comes like a bolt out of heaven. Where on earth did that come from? She can't stand him throughout the film. There has never been any dialogue between these 2 characters to indicate she has any romantic feelings towards him. There is also an awkwardly contrived plot involving Wilde and Anthony Quinn (Moreno) as they chase after the affections of Bari. It's made into a further nonsense by Bari herself who is so completely undesirable. She's not good looking and she has a nasty personality. No-one would bother. If the truth be told, the film ain't that good.