Improbable romance from director Frank Borzage (without his usual religious trimmings) is weirdly wonderful and slightly bonkers. Lovers’ confidences shared via Señor Wences hand puppetry? A Manhattan boîte run for the sole purpose of enticing a wayward lover to walk thru the doors? A Titanic-like ship wreck to gin up a happy-ending? An extravagant indie production for producer Walter Wanger, this one-of-a-kind romantic fable shows a technical facility rarely on display in Borzage sound films. Equally rare, the notoriously self-doubting Jean Arthur reveling under David Abel’s severe glamour lensing. She’s the miserable wife of insanely possessive Colin Clive, a master-of-the-universe type who orders a compromising assignation for Arthur to halt her divorce proceedings. Enter Charles Boyer, overhearing the unfolding drama and stopping the charade with one of his own: he’ll be a jewel thief out to rob Arthur. But if it’s love at first sight for Boyer & Arthur, Clive has only just begun to connive; murdering the 'planted' co-respondent and placing blame on Boyer, the ‘unknown’ burglar. Yikes! (And we’ve skipped half the story beats.) Somehow, Borzage keeps this from collapsing into ridicule & laughter, largely by beating us to the punch with comic relief from Boyer’s partner/chef Leo Carillo. (A French chef with an Italian accent. Go figure.)
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Not everyone will succumb (their loss), and seen with a large audience it's often on the cusp of contagious ‘bad’ laughs. But no problem when you watch at home.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID/DOUBLE-BILL: Beginning with his four previous films, Boyer’s co-stars were consecutively Katharine Hepburn, Loretta Young, Danielle Darrieux, Marlene Dietrich, Arthur, Greta Garbo, Claudette Colbert, Michèle Morgan, Hedy Lamarr, Irene Dunne(x2), Bette Davis, Margaret Sullavan, Olivia de Havilland. Has such a run ever been matched? (The films: BREAK OF HEARTS, SHANGHAI, MAYERLING, GARDEN OF ALLAH, HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT, CONQUEST, TOVARICH, ORAGE, ALGIERS, LOVE AFFAIR, WHEN TOMORROW COMES, ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO, BACK STREET, HOLD BACK THE DAWN. Use the Search Box on the Main Site to find Write-ups on most of these.)
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