Man of the Moment (1935) User Reviews

Screwball Comedy with a British accent

[shane_604 · 7/10 · 25 September 2007]

A screwball comedy with a British accent, Man of the Moment takes an original premise that is darkly realistic and carries it through to a madcap if predictable conclusion that satisfies more than anything because of the fine acting of its leads.

Mary,(Laura La Plante) is a secretary whose crush on her boss comes to a horrible end when he demotes her so he can promote a girl he's dating. Despondent, she resolves to throw herself in the Thames River. Along comes Tony, (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) to rescue her on the eve of his wedding . He now feels responsible for her and takes her home. She is still determined to end it all, so he can't let her out of his sight. Did I mentioned that he was getting married?

It's all predictable, but the acting of the leads and the comedy of the supporting cast make it enjoyable.

Fairbanks is, of course, charmingly dashing and sincerely devil-may-care, He is the perfect straight man for an assortment of comic characters. La Plante is a delightful surprise. She plays a kind of multiple personality that is part poor working girl and part elfin sprite. Her energy makes the improbable story probable. She even does a passable boy when she dresses in drag to crash Tony's stag party.

The rest of the cast - Claude Hulbert as a goofy friend in love with Tony's fiancé; Margaret Lockwood as a devious fiancé who cries at the slightest provocation and Peter Gawthorne as her long-suffering father carry the screwball element with something of a music-hall touch.

All in all a frothy bubbly harmless way to enjoy an hour or so.

fun Douglas Fairbanks Jr romantic mixup

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 25 September 2007]

Both stars of Man of the Moment had started in silent films; The dashing Douglas Fairbanks Jr (Gunga Din, Stella Dallas) stars as Tony, who is about to get married. The film begins as Tony stops Mary from drowning herself. The girl, who he calls "Nuisance", is played by Laura LaPlante ( MANY silent films, Cat & the Canary, Showboat) The fun but typical hijinks and misunderstandings follow, and now his marriage to the silly, young rich girl Vera (Margaret Lockwood, Man in Grey, Alibi) is in jeopardy when her father gets involved. Fun romp, but the plot does involve suicide, gambling, drinking, and other violations of the Hays code, so that may explain why it's not shown very often, although other movies with those elements are shown all the time. The director Monty Banks, also plays the flirtatious doctor in the film. Ironically, the actor playing the father of the rich girl, Peter Gawthorne seems to have gotten his start in Hollywood much later than the younger cast, but always played positions of authority, the police captain, the Lord, the Judge. The writer of the play, Yves Mirande, had also written and directed the 1940 version of Moulin Rouge. There is also another film titled "Man of the Moment" from 1955, but it does not appear at all related to this film.

Attempted suicide is the plot of this comedy

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 15 February 2015]

"Man of the Moment" stars one of my favorite actors, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Laura LaPlante. I can just hear my mother now if I told her I saw a film with Laura LaPlante. "LAURA LAPLANTE?" indicating that it's an ancient name. I guess it is, since she was a silent film star and pretty much quit films in 1935.

LaPlante plays Mary, a secretary who is in love with her boss. After another employee basically tells her she has nothing to look forward to in life except an expanding waistline and an old face, she finds out that her boss is having an affair with another coworker.

Mary leaves the office and throws herself in the river. To her dismay, she's rescued by Tony (Fairbanks) who insists upon bringing her back to his place to dry off. She has nothing to fear from him, he says. He's getting married tomorrow. His bride-to-be is Vera, played by Margaret Lockwood.

Mary doesn't want to stay but her attempt to sneak out fails, and then there's a big engagement party. She disguises herself as a waiter by slicking down her hair but she falls asleep on the couch. The next morning, Vera sees her in the house and breaks off her engagement.

Tony is now as miserable as Mary. He's completely broke. He decides to go to Monte Carlo to win some money, and he wants her to come along. He makes a deal with her. If he doesn't win, he'll jump into the river with her. She agrees.

Cute comedy with good acting by all involved, but it's nothing special. LaPlante's role was definitely a natural for Claudette Colbert or Marion Davies. LaPlante, however, acquitted herself well. Fairbanks, as the dashing and sophisticated Tony, is wonderful. He was an underrated actor, in my opinion, and today, when many performances no longer hold up, his do.

LaPlante made the transition to talkies but by 1935, she was sick of movie-making. She had a 51-year marriage to producer Irving Asher. It turned out to be a nice life. She died at 92 from Alzheimer's disease.

This is a good showcase for her talent. Recommended for the performances.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Film Classic

[whpratt1 · 24 September 2007]

This film concerns a poor man named Douglas Fairbanks Jr., engage to an heiress, ( Margaret Lockwood, and one day he saves a woman (Laura La Plante) from drowning and falls in love with her. Douglas Fairbanks becomes deeply involved with Laura La Plante and finds himself hiding her in his apartment as a male servant. Douglas Fairbanks friends tease poor Laura La Plante and even threaten to hairbrush him/her and things get pretty upsetting. The men also want Laura La Plante to take off her/his clothes. There is plenty of great scenes and outstanding photography for a great classic film starring two great veteran actors. However, you must remember this is a very old English B Film and not filmed very often in the United States. If you like Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and like his early films, this is a film you will definitely enjoy.

Huh?! Now THAT is an odd plot for a rom-com!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 13 December 2023]

In the 1930s, the British government created a law which mandated that a certain percentage of films shown in British theaters be domestically produced. This was obviously a form of protectionism aimed at keeping Hollywood from dominating the British market. To get around this, various American film studios bought up or created their own British studios. "Man of the Moment" was made by Teddington Studios...owned by Warner Brothers.

The plot for "Man of the Moment" is one that I am not sure could have been made in the States. Both the US (with its production code) and Britain (with its censor board) were pretty tough back in 1935, though apparently the plot didn't offend the censor's office and it was approved. Why was it a film that might not have been approved in the States? The plot is a rom-com....about suicide and makes light of it! It's not quite as horrible as it sounds...but it's pretty horrible!

Mary (Laura La Plante) is secretly in love with her boss. But he's in love with another lady and ends up firing Mary. She is so upset that she tries to drown herself. Nice guy Tony (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) sees her in the water and saves her. She's soaked and depressed and Tony doesn't want to just leave her, so he takes her home. Soon his fiancee sees the woman and assumes Mary and Tony are secret lovers...and she breaks off the engagement. However, you learn that although Tony drives a nice car and dresses impeccably, he's actually deeply in debt and has been living outside his means. He had intended on marrying the woman because she is rich and it would have bailed out Tony from his predicament. Now, Tony is without money...and he, too, now wants to kill himself! But he and Mary come up with a plan...to use the tickets to Monte Carlo for one final fling. If they lose what money they have left, they'll kill themselves. If they are lucky, then they'll call off the suicide pact!

This is an incredibly dark film...but funny. Is it realistic? Of course not! But it is worth seeing--particularly when you see and hear more of Tony's fiancee. She ends up wanting him back...but the more you see and hear her whine, the more suicide doesn't seem all that unattractive!

Suicide can be fun

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 13 March 2020]

Two American expatriate players Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Laura LaPlante are dropped in the middle of this British screwball comedy that turns just a bit silly. I'm not sure suicide is a good premise for a comedy.

Laura decides to end it all and Doug saves her from drowning. But when he brings her home and his bride to be catches sight of her in a Marlene Dietrich like man's outfit it's the end of that engagement After that Doug starts to see her point of view.

It's off to Monte Carlo with their last few shekels. After that you see the movie to see how it works out.

Margaret Lockwood has an early role in her career as Fairbanks's eternally weeping fiance. She would have better opportunities to show her talent in the next decade.

Average sort of screwball comedy.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and silent superstar Laura La Plante make a sparkling comedy team

[Emaisie39 · 8/10 · 25 September 2007]

From 1923 to 1930 Laura LaPlante was the Queen of Universal Studios. She was a delightful comedienne and a fine dramatic actress. She was outstanding in the part-talkie epic "Showboat"(1929) though the film itself in its current form is mediocre at best. She left Universal in 1930 after two musical flops but found considerable success in England starring in half a dozen comedies for Warner Brothers-Teddington Studios. "The Man of the Moment"(Warner Bros, 1935) made its U.S. debut last night and proved once and for all that LaPlante should have had a great talkie career in the kind of films she excelled in the silent twenties. SHe makes a delightful pairing with the handsome young Douglas Fairbanks Jr.. The film is given a glossy Hollywood-style sheen, the script and direction is excellent, but it is these 2 stars at their charismatic best that makes this constant fun. Why Warner Brothers did not re-team these two is a mystery....The film never got a U.S. release though Fairbanks was a major star at the time. LaPlante's career was going into eclipse but she was still widely known by the public.

Weak British comedy/romance stars Douglas Fairbanks, Jr....

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 24 September 2007]

MAN OF THE MOMENT is a trifle about an impetuous woman who decides to drown herself (LAURA LA PLANTE) and a man who happens to be driving by when she's floundering in the water (DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, JR.) Naturally, they fall in love after he dives in to rescue her.

But not too quickly. The man is engaged to a young woman (MARGARET LOCKWOOD) and this is just one of several obstacles. Fairbanks plays his role in debonair style with good humor and a sense of comic timing, but Laura La Plante is a bit ungainly as the ditsy young woman, in the sort of role Claudette Colbert would have played with charming ease.

The comic situations are pretty lame and the film only becomes worthwhile for watching DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, JR. in an early role as the happily engaged man. MARGARET LOCKWOOD as his fiancé is even more of an airhead than La Plante and shows no particular skill for comedy in an irritating number of crying scenes.

Summing up: Screwball British comedy is a trifle easily forgotten.

Nice dated comedy of a P. G. Wodehouse type

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 25 September 2007]

This is the sort of story that just can't be told anymore. When P. G. Wodehouse died in 1975 his style of comic novel - of country houses, London posh private clubs, eccentric English and American millionaires, and no notice of the other classes except as pawns in the stories - died with him. Although country houses have appeared in films since then, they are serious studies of life in the 1930s in England with all the class warfare going on like in THE REMAINS OF THE DAY or GOSFORT PARK. They are rarely taking a kindly, humorous look at the struggles of upper-class twits to retain their social position. This is part of the plot of MAN OF THE MOMENT.

Wodehouse was actually a dramatist, and wrote parts of the scripts of many musical comedies (many with composer Jerome Kern), and also wrote them with his partner Guy Bolton. It is Bolton who wrote the story here that was turned into a play by Yves Mirande, so it has the same flavor as a typical Wodehouse story too.

Laura La Plante is a secretary in a small business in London. She secretly has a crush on her boss, but discovers (much to her personal humiliation) that he has been dating the other secretary in the office, and is demoting La Plante to promote his girlfriend. La Plante quits, and in wandering around hears that another girl drowned herself over a boyfriend near Windsor, in the Thames. She goes to the spot, and clumsily falls into the river. But a sports car driven by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. stops, and he rescues her (despite her protests). Fairbanks takes her to his country home to get her out of her wet clothes, get some warm toddy into her, and put her to sleep in an upstairs bedroom. Reluctantly she agrees.

In a twist, typical of Wodehouse's school, Fairbanks is going to be married to Margaret Lockwood the next day. She is a pretty young woman, and the daughter of a millionaire (Peter Gawthorne) who has little patience with Fairbanks. But the latter promises he want to reform, and get a job in "the City" (London's financial center) in a firm - but needs to raise 5,000 pounds (1935 pounds - like $25,000.00 in today's money). Gawthorne (still dubious) agrees to do it if Fairbanks truly reforms.

What Fairbanks does not know is that Lockwood too has ideas of changing his ways - get him from drinking and smoking and even keeping his dog Smith. She tells this to Fairbanks best friend/best man (Claude Hulbert), who seems to question if Fairbanks will willingly do what she wants.

In typical Wodehouse style, La Plante manages to crash Fairbanks' final bachelor party dressed as one of the boys (she shortens her hair and wears his younger brother's dinner jacket). Both end up sleeping on the floor, with the other guests (including Hulbert). When Lockwood and her father come, they find LaPlante. The father says that the marriage is off (Lockwood is humiliated and crying, but did not give her agreement to this). Fairbanks, now sober, decides to go to Monte Carlo with La Plante - he has 300 pounds left, and if he wins the money he'll reform. If he doesn't, he will join La Plante in drowning themselves in the Mediteranean.

There are plenty of lovely bits in the film. A young, but recognizable Charles Hawtrey is a cheeky office boy in the opening of the film. The head clerk is a pompous ninny who tries to make a case for LaPlante to look in his direction as a love interest as they are both doomed to be failures. Hulbert (a well known comic in British films of the 1930s and 1940s - see his comedy with Will Hays MY LEARNED FRIEND), has a nice idiot part as an aristocrat ("Lord Rufus") who flies a noisy plane that deafens him. He does not care - when we last see him in Monte Carlo with Fairbanks he is demanding the return of his airplane which Fairbanks flew with LaPlante.

Lockwood's crying scenes is wonderful as they wear down Gawthorne's sensible resolve that she could do better. Also note Donald Cawthrop as Fairbanks butler in the mansion. Best recalled as the feisty little man confronting Robert Newton and Robert Morley at the Salvation Army Center in MAJOR BARBARA, Cawthrop is playing it for laughs here with a dry wit, punctuated by little bits (when Fairbanks throws away his cigarette to find LaPlante, Cawthrop picks it up after he leaves and smokes it!).

There is more time capsule in a film like this. Made again at Teddington Studio for Warner Brothers - First National, it has great shots of the Parliament Buildings and Windsor Castle in the distance in the age of Ramsay MacDonald and Stanley Baldwin, and of Monte Carlo when Grace Kelly's husband Prince Rainier was a little boy. So the period adds to the film. It is a nice little film, and worth looking at for an hour or two's amusement. Like reading Wodehouse.

Forced

[Handlinghandel · 4/10 · 29 September 2007]

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., is good. He played variations on this role many times but is not to be faulted for that.

Laura La Plante doesn't look beautiful, by any means. However, she looks maybe a year, not 22 years, younger than she does in "Spring Reunion." In that she plays Betty Hutton's mother. (And it's a much more interesting movie.) Margaret Lockwood, as the wealthy young woman originally involved with Fairbanks, looks lovely. We're not meant to like her character and we don't.

The La Plante character is about to commit suicide as the movie opens and generally seems unstable. Such problems are not at all funny in real life.

Very few moments of humor in this WB British comedy

[SimonJack · 4/10 · 9 November 2020]

"Man of the Moment" has its moments as a comedy. But it unfortunately has many more moments of tedium and maudlin scenes. For such a simple plot, the screenplay rambles at times, and jumps clumsily between settings. The acting is fair, but the script is weak to terrible. Most of the production quality is inferior as well.

The only place where there's some good comedy is in the scenes with Mary Brianny splashing around and dunking in the river as though trying to drown herself; and Tony Woodward's efforts to rescue her and then prevent any further suicide attempts. The few funny lines here and in the opening office scene is the extent of humor in the dialog.

The film further suffers from the lack of chemistry between Tony and Mary. And, his imminent marriage to Vera Barton is hardly believable as real romance. At least one other prominent reviewer suggested that perhaps suicide was not a very good theme for a comedy,

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is Tony Woodward and Laura La Plante is Mary Brianny. Margaret Lockwood plays Vera Barton. The other two roles of any significance are Mr. Barton, played by Peter Gawthorne and Rufus, played by Claude Hulbert

One notable thing about this film is that it is a British comedy in which the two leads are played by American actors. Another thing of note is that the film was made by Warner Brothers through its studios in England.

Warner Brothers was one of the major Hollywood studios of the Golden era that opened branch studios or affiliates in England. The brothers opened their European branch in late 1931 when they rented the Teddington Studios. In 1934 Warner Brothers bought the place, and for many years it would make films there, with stories based in Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe.

Here are the better comedy lines in the film.

Mary Brianny, "He talked to me yesterday." Mary's Landlady, "What'd he say?" Mary, "Well, not very much. He only said there were two f's in paraffin, but he said it very nicely". Landlady, "These office affairs ain't any good. All shorthand and no marriage lines."

Tom - Office Clerk, "Oh, what's that?" Mary Brianny, "It's my lunch, if you want to know." Tom, "I thought it was only bees that had flowers for lunch".

Mr. Rumcorn, "Oh, we're wearing a new frock, aren't we?" Mary Brianny, "Yes, uh huh, at least... well, I don't know about you." Rumcorn, "Uh, vanity, vanity, all is vanity."

Mr. Rumcorn, "Miss Brianny, may I speak to you seriously for a moment?" Mary Brianny, "Oh, must you? I'm feeling so happy this morning."

Tony Woodward, stopping his car, he shouts to Mary who's flapping around in the river, "Excuse me, but I wouldn't drink that water if I were you. It hasn't been filtered." Mary Brianny, "I'm drowning myself."

Tony Woodward, "But it's against my principles. I never let people drown themselves sin my presence." Mary Brianny, " Well then, go away".

Mary Brianny, "I wish you'd let me alone." Tony Woodward, "I'll rescue you if I have to kill you to do it."

Tony Woodward, "It's either a fortune for both of us, or a grave in the deep blue sea."

British Screwball

[aberlour36 · 8/10 · 24 January 2008]

We owe Turner Classic Movies yet another debt for showing, for the first time in 2007 a remastered version of this fine screwball comedy from Warner Brothers. I didn't know that screwballs were made in England during their heyday in the United States. The film is a little light on laughs, but it is pleasant throughout, and the acting is exceptional. Here are 29-year-old Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and 31-year-old Laura La Plante playing roles that would expect from, say, Melvin Douglas and Jean Arthur. Laura was at the end of her 87-movie career, and her performance in this film reveals what an excellent actress she was. I'm saving the film for my collection, as an example of how good even "B" films could be in the golden age of movies.

Laura La Plante is worth watching

[kburditt · 8/10 · 25 September 2007]

I enjoyed this film, its easily equal to the screwball comedies being made in the US at that time. In some ways even more daring since it deals with subjects that would quickly be censored in the US. Suicide, extramarital sex & office romances, a single woman staying and traveling with a single man (It Happened One Night), cross dressing, rowdy stag parties that walk a thin line just to mention a few. Plus the scenes around pre-war London are fun. But the real reason for watching this film is Laura LaPlante, what a terrific actress. Great comedic timing, a natural accent, pretty in a non-30's way (I kept thinking of Laura Dern), and obviously willing to do slapstick. LaPlante energized every scene she was in, and put sappy Margaret Lockwood to shame. Its a mystery why she couldn't compete with the likes of Carole Lombard or Myrna Loy - she was definitely their equal. I particularly liked the scene by the river when Mary is trying to get her nerve up to jump in, but her nerves and the river aren't quite up to the task. The stag party scene made me cringe, was that planned by the director - or was that truly a more innocent time. While Mary may be a dreamer - she's not stupid, she enjoys a challenge, and she has found it in the Fairbanks character. There was an off hand chemistry between La Plante and Fairbanks and its a shame that it wasn't nurtured. I would like to see more of the British La Plante movies screened.

Charming bit of British screwball

[mgconlan-1 · 8/10 · 28 September 2007]

A lot of the recent TCM rediscoveries (and U.S. premieres!) of Warners' British productions from the 1930's are turning out to be quite good movies and not the cheap, reviled "quota quickies" of legend. This is one of them, a charming British foray into the screwball genre with some of the same sexual cheekiness American productions of the so-called "pre-Code" era (1930-34): the heroine spends a good chunk of the film in male drag and the bridal suite actually has a double bed. It's quite a bit slower than a U.S. version of the same story would have been, Margaret Lockwood's crying jags get tiresome (she'd go on to be a major British star and is best known as the female lead in Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes") and some musical underscoring would have helped, but on the whole this is a clever and amusing film. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who in his American films in the period was sometimes cast in roles that were beyond his acting skills, is perfectly cast here and delivers a memorable comic performance, and after seeing (and being unimpressed by) some of Laura LaPlante's late silent and early talkie performances at Universal, I was pleasantly surprised by her work here and disappointed only by her utter lack of a British accent. (I kept expecting to hear a bit of dialogue explaining that she was an American stranded in Britain and forced to take a secretarial job there to survive.) Let's hope the other 27 surviving Teddington productions get shown here soon!