1938's "Service De Luxe" found Constance Bennett working at Universal in a formula quickie designed to capitalize on her recent hit "Topper," surprisingly upstaged by a screen newcomer direct from Broadway's "Victoria Regina," a 27 year old Vincent Price! Even he seemed to realize that his aristocratic bearing and distinguished tones weren't suited to romantic leads, so it was no surprise that villains like Shelby Carpenter in "Laura" would become his early stock in trade; better still, that a small company in American International Pictures would put him under contract at the age of 50 to do a series of films based on Edgar Allan Poe in which he could stretch his wings with tragic figures haunted by personal demons, sometimes heroic, sometimes evil, yet always engaging and even romantic. That is part of what makes this debut such a curiosity, to enjoy the chemistry he shares with his fetching leading lady, though he appears miscast in the role of a country boy who yearns to make something of himself in the big city. Robert Wade (Price) journeys to New York City to obtain backing for a new tractor he hopes to market, and meets Constance during the voyage, her character Helen Murphy the owner/manager of the Dorothy Madison Company, famous for seeing to the needs of their wealthy (mostly male) clientele. She is very good at her job, aided by loyal assistant Pearl (Helen Broderick, wisecracking mother of actor Broderick Crawford), but longs to meet a gentleman who can actually fend for himself, while Wade believes her to be the helpless type who needs a man to take care of her. He confesses that a lifetime of being surrounded by adoring but pushy aunts has made him wary of bossy females, so she naturally can't bear to spill the beans about her career, playing along in lovesick fashion until using her influence to gain him a contract for his new tractor. An accidental engagement is enough for her to come clean, but in being rejected by the man she loves is then called upon to set up his own wedding! Light and frothy but with this unique pairing an interesting match, sluggish to start until Price enters near the 20 minute mark, with one fascinating moment of foreshadowing where he tries to gently dissuade his unlikely fiancee by pretending that madness runs in his family, perhaps a blueprint for Roderick Usher.
Review of Service de Luxe
