I don't usually see things the way that everybody else does, but in this case, I do. The other reviews here are pretty spot on. I enjoyed the film. It had strengths, but it also had flaws. In fact, three of each.
The three strengths were Jack Benny, Marie Dressler, and Bessie Love. I've always been a Jack Benny fan, and he does not disappoint here. His sharp, fast one-liners are a funny and very welcome part of the movie. This was my first introduction to Marie Dressler, and I'm an instant fan; she was just marvelous. Probably the best part of the movie. And finally, I loved Bessie Love's work here. The Carlie character she brings to life is sweet and sincere and adorable, and you quickly find yourself pulling for her. I would've gone for Carlie in an instant.
As for the flaws, the biggest is Charles King's Terry Fay. I can't even assess Kings performance, because the character itself, as written, is just so horrible. He's a romantic lummox and comes across as both moron and jerk. By the time we learn that he's married Daphne, I completely hated him and didn't *want* Carlie to end up with him; she was just too good for him and deserved much better. That's a pretty big flaw in a romance.
The other two flaws were more minor, and one of them wasn't the film's fault. First, I found the romantic resolution to be lame. After all the romantic vacillations and tribulations, we were entitled to more of a payoff at the climax. The long-awaited final get- together is just so rushed and skipped-over, its like the film makers themselves really didn't care. But part of the problem may be related to the second flaw: the fact that the film is missing a number of scenes. As others have already pointed out, there are a number of scenes which were filmed in early 2-color Technicolor (whatever exactly that is), which are missing. From the descriptions that the cobbled together available version provides, it seems like they were just set-piece stage numbers. But that includes the *entire* ending of the film. Maybe somewhere within all that missing stuff, more was developed to support the final get-together of the two leads. Even if it were all just wordless, looks and expressions and whatever. Maybe that's part of why the resolution feels so thin and rushed.
Regardless, I would pay a lot to see the film restored to its original form. If for no other reason than to get to see one more number with Marie Dressler!
The three strengths were Jack Benny, Marie Dressler, and Bessie Love. I've always been a Jack Benny fan, and he does not disappoint here. His sharp, fast one-liners are a funny and very welcome part of the movie. This was my first introduction to Marie Dressler, and I'm an instant fan; she was just marvelous. Probably the best part of the movie. And finally, I loved Bessie Love's work here. The Carlie character she brings to life is sweet and sincere and adorable, and you quickly find yourself pulling for her. I would've gone for Carlie in an instant.
As for the flaws, the biggest is Charles King's Terry Fay. I can't even assess Kings performance, because the character itself, as written, is just so horrible. He's a romantic lummox and comes across as both moron and jerk. By the time we learn that he's married Daphne, I completely hated him and didn't *want* Carlie to end up with him; she was just too good for him and deserved much better. That's a pretty big flaw in a romance.
The other two flaws were more minor, and one of them wasn't the film's fault. First, I found the romantic resolution to be lame. After all the romantic vacillations and tribulations, we were entitled to more of a payoff at the climax. The long-awaited final get- together is just so rushed and skipped-over, its like the film makers themselves really didn't care. But part of the problem may be related to the second flaw: the fact that the film is missing a number of scenes. As others have already pointed out, there are a number of scenes which were filmed in early 2-color Technicolor (whatever exactly that is), which are missing. From the descriptions that the cobbled together available version provides, it seems like they were just set-piece stage numbers. But that includes the *entire* ending of the film. Maybe somewhere within all that missing stuff, more was developed to support the final get-together of the two leads. Even if it were all just wordless, looks and expressions and whatever. Maybe that's part of why the resolution feels so thin and rushed.
Regardless, I would pay a lot to see the film restored to its original form. If for no other reason than to get to see one more number with Marie Dressler!