No forgotten classic, but plenty fast & plenty funny, this ‘crazy comedy’ delivers. Jack Conway, M-G-M’s peppiest contract megger, wasn’t one to linger, a style that works well for Sam & Bella Spewack’s script about Gold-Digging showgirl Carole Lombard, a gorgeous gal who ain’t particular about whom she marries, long as he’s got the funds. Currently, that description fits bootlegging racketeer Nat Pendleton, the mug carrying a torch. Just make sure the will is in order before the honeymoon. After that, let the actuary tables that their toll. And, should the worst happen, Lombard’s got a couple of his pals waiting ‘on deck.’ That’s where bodyguard Chester Morris comes in. Staying firmly out of the racket, he does a job of protection, but no more; saving up to buy a little home & garage setup in Jersey. If only Lombard had something other than dollar signs in her eyes, they might make a break of it together. The story runs pretty loose and hardly adds up, but the chemistry between the leads is simply terrific. Now little remembered, Morris was a pip in the right part, and these two are Art Deco dreams in looks and rhythm, especially when they put their pusses together in a two-shot. With nice comic assists from all sides, this is a modest, unexpected treat.
DOUBLE-BILL: Morris & Conway shine even brighter alongside Jean Harlow in Anita Loos’ irresistibly trashy, funny RED-HEADED WOMAN/’32, a tougher, better organized Pre-Code classic.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Ironically, Morris’s spot as M-G-M’s ‘go-to’ guy for action, glamor & comedy was in the process of being usurped on the one side by Clark Gable (Lombard’s future husband) and by the 1934 addition of William Powell (Lombard’s ex).
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