Mandalay

Enjoyable 30's potboiler if you are a Kay Francis fan (as I am) Just saw this on TCM after years of wanting to see it. It starts out as a Dietrich/Sternberg foreign locale kind of pic, but switches gears midway and becomes a standard soap opera tale. Like many Warners 30's films its barely over an hr and parts of the story seem left on the cutting room floor or are not fleshed out properly. For example, its never explained why Francis is hiding out with Cortez on his boat in the beginning. Francis is not particularly believable as a Russian on the lam in the Orient, but she is effective playing the part, as long as you don't dwell on her background for too long. The first part of the film is very entertaining and risqué, its a shame it switches gears once Kay takes off for Mandalay. Kay wears some fab gowns and is always watcheable. She gets to sing too(probably dubbed), but 3 times for the same song is a little much. This role was originally intended for Ruth Chatterton, whom I cant picture playing it. Its campy fun and Kay is Kay. Watching her can be addicting........