It's not often that Leonard Maltin puts down a vintage Hollywood 'classic' with top stars (calling it "alarmingly unfunny") to find that same film, then, praised by an even more conservative critic as the late Leslie Halliwell seems even less likely (while conceding it has "longueurs and a lack of cinematic inventiveness", he considers it an "archetypal crazy comedy with many fine moments")
and, yet, that's just the case with this film! What's more, opinions about it continue to be mixed as DVD Savant's unenthusing review ("truly a mess
really unsatisfying
this dog {of a comedy}" can attest!! So, I really didn't know what to expect here.
I actually enjoyed TRUE CONFESSION a lot and feel it's one of Carole Lombard's better vehicles though not quite in the same league as her four top films, namely Howard Hawks' TWENTIETH CENTURY (1934), Gregory LaCava's MY MAN GODFREY (1936), William A. Wellman's NOTHING SACRED (1937) and Ernst Lubitsch's TO BE OR NOT OT BE (1942). The film has a wonderful premise: a female writer who's also a pathological liar admits to murder in order to promote the career of her struggling lawyer husband (who only takes a case if the accused is honest!).
As I said, Lombard is somewhere near her best here especially disarming when adopting a literal tongue-in-cheek attitude as she's hatching a new 'plot'. Male lead Fred MacMurray in his last of four teamings with her, three of which are included in Universal's Lombard Collection set plays second fiddle to the star, but his courtroom plea commands attention (his naivete, then, is demonstrated when he and Lombard awkwardly re-enact the 'crime' for the benefit of judge and jury). Savant is especially harsh on John Barrymore (one of the great theatrical performers, he occasionally revealed himself a superb character comedian with an agreeable tendency to ham): I personally found his performance as an opportunist with a philosophical streak and an over-sized ego brilliant. He pesters Lombard's best friend, Una Merkel (herself a delightful comic actress and a reliable presence in many a 1930s film), in the courtroom by first blowing and then taking the air noisily out of balloons; eventually, he catches up with Lombard and MacMurray (the former being guilty of perjury for having confessed to a murder she didn't commit) and proposes a blackmail scheme which, however, blows up in his face.
The supporting cast is equally well chosen: a typically nasty Porter Hall as the Prosecuting Attorney; Edgar Kennedy (the great Laurel & Hardy foil) is superb and flustered as ever in the role of the investigating cop; Tom Dugan, in one hilarious scene towards the beginning the role is strikingly similar to that played by William Demarest in another Lombard/MacMurray vehicle I've just watched, HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE (1935); and Irving Bacon again, his appearance is very brief but quite memorable as a befuddled coroner. The film was remade as CROSS MY HEART (1946), with Betty Hutton in Lombard's role which I wouldn't mind watching if the opportunity ever arose, but don't really expect to be up to the original (even if Maltin actually thinks it's superior!).
Trivia: director Ruggles (incidentally, brother of comic Charles) had a curious connection with Carole Lombard; not only did he direct her and future husband Clark Gable in their only film together NO MAN OF HER OWN (1932) but SOMEWHERE I'LL FIND YOU (1942), also starring Gable
and which happened to be shooting at the time of Lombard's untimely and tragic death!!
