How times have changed: probably nobody back then batted an eyelid at Jessie Matthews and Owen Nares getting together even though he was old enough to be her father - and looked like he could be her grandfather! Owen Nares was certainly a man of his time - he seems so natural with the rest of the cast who all seem to be members of the English (or inexplicably in the film, French) upper echelons of society. With the exception of the late Queen Elizabeth, these people along with their bizarre accents mysteriously ceased to exist after the war.
Nares is definitely not someone you think you'd warm to but he's surprisingly perfect in this. Were this an American film, one could imagine Carey Grant playing his character who's ordered life is turned upside down by the arrival of the whirlwind that is Miss Matthews. Again, were this an American film she'd be Katherine Hepburn - I could imagine these two in BRINGING UP BABY, very similar humour.
This film gives a beautiful glimpse into a long-gone world inhabited by a species who looked a bit like us but behaved, thought, spoke and indeed loved very differently. It's not however just a fascinating snapshot into a distant far away planet, it's actually a really fun film. Honesty, I was not expecting this to be as entertaining and enjoyable as it was. OK, it's not Monty Python or even Will Hay but it is genuinely funny - I have to confess to succumbing to a couple of laugh out loud moments as well.
Gaumont-British were one of the classier studios of the 30s but even so I was surprised at just how well made this picture was. Absolutely first rate acting - even from the minor characters, good direction, camerawork and lighting - it's even got a full musical score running through it which wasn't that common in 1932 - not just here but in the US as well. Besides being well made, what elevates this to something special is that it does magic to you!
Somehow by some strange magic, this picture makes you smile from beginning to end, you cannot help it. Well it's not magic, what makes you smile is simply the presence of Jessie Matthews - I have no idea how she does it, she just does. In her later Victor Saville musicals in the mid-30s, she is considerably more glamorous and very sexy. In this however she's as un-sexy as anyone can be and yet (even with the weird accent) she's utterly adorable and simply lovely. She's just so likeable that she makes this whole film likeable as well - you will enjoy this.
Nares is definitely not someone you think you'd warm to but he's surprisingly perfect in this. Were this an American film, one could imagine Carey Grant playing his character who's ordered life is turned upside down by the arrival of the whirlwind that is Miss Matthews. Again, were this an American film she'd be Katherine Hepburn - I could imagine these two in BRINGING UP BABY, very similar humour.
This film gives a beautiful glimpse into a long-gone world inhabited by a species who looked a bit like us but behaved, thought, spoke and indeed loved very differently. It's not however just a fascinating snapshot into a distant far away planet, it's actually a really fun film. Honesty, I was not expecting this to be as entertaining and enjoyable as it was. OK, it's not Monty Python or even Will Hay but it is genuinely funny - I have to confess to succumbing to a couple of laugh out loud moments as well.
Gaumont-British were one of the classier studios of the 30s but even so I was surprised at just how well made this picture was. Absolutely first rate acting - even from the minor characters, good direction, camerawork and lighting - it's even got a full musical score running through it which wasn't that common in 1932 - not just here but in the US as well. Besides being well made, what elevates this to something special is that it does magic to you!
Somehow by some strange magic, this picture makes you smile from beginning to end, you cannot help it. Well it's not magic, what makes you smile is simply the presence of Jessie Matthews - I have no idea how she does it, she just does. In her later Victor Saville musicals in the mid-30s, she is considerably more glamorous and very sexy. In this however she's as un-sexy as anyone can be and yet (even with the weird accent) she's utterly adorable and simply lovely. She's just so likeable that she makes this whole film likeable as well - you will enjoy this.