Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. 1918: WWI nurse Claudette Colbert impulsively marries British Captain Clive Brook shortly before he must catch a train back to the front. (Never fear, it’s Pre-Code Paramount, so just enough time to consummate things in the back of a Paris Taxi! Nothing graphic, but still pretty clear.) Four years on, Claudette’s a presumed widow with kid, finally taking the plunge with that nice Dr. Charles Boyer when guess who shows up. Alive, if not particularly well after being gassed, he’s recuperating with help from loyal Yankee Andy Devine and still searching for the wife. Now that he’s found her, what’s an invalided vet to do? Especially when he believes she’s offering loyalty rather than love. Berthold Viertel’s stiff direction does little for Karl Struss’s dark, handsome lensing, but there’s fun seeing the three glam leads in early, confident form. (Check out Colbert’s patterned Travis Banton outfit with matching head scarf!) Especially Boyer during his initial Hollywood foray, testing the waters at various studios (leads in alternate French-language versions of major releases or support in English-language A-list pics). This might be his largest English-language role yet, his accent still thicker than crème fraîse. Even with a rushed ending that leaves him inexplicably off-screen, still devastating and camera-ready in a way the imperturbable Brook never quite managed.*
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: *Back at M-G-M for his next gig, Boyer was even more devastating in a cameo spot against Jean Harlow’s RED-HEADED WOMAN/’32. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2018/04/red-headed-woman-1932.html
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