Here's a film that did succeed as a charming comedy when it first opened at Radio City Music Hall back in 1935, based on a play by Molnar that had been a very successful stage comedy. And given the fact that MGM produced it with a handsome cast and gave it a director like William Wyler, it ought to be something to shout about.
Not so. MARGARET SULLAVAN, first of all, is an acquired taste. She's not a conventional Hollywood face by any means--in fact, she's really a drab little wren--but with MGM's make-up department and some softly appealing close-ups, she makes a presentable leading lady. It's her voice and mannerisms that you have to get used to--much the way Katharine Hepburn took the country by storm and then was declared "box-office poison" when she became too mannered.
The story is a trifle with a naive girl re-arranging the lives of three men she tries to help--but caught up in a web of deception. The well meaning girl has a waiter, a lawyer and a rich magnate all in a stew once she starts her fibs. This was re-made in the '40s as a Deanna Durbin film with music, of course, and maybe that's what helped I'LL BE YOURS become a more sprightly version of the tale.
This is strictly for fans of Margaret Sullavan as the story and situations are a bit too contrived for comfort. HERBERT MARSHALL as the lawyer, REGINALD OWEN as the waiter and FRANK MORGAN as the millionaire all do well enough but no one can overcome the fanciful script that is more foolish than funny.
Not so. MARGARET SULLAVAN, first of all, is an acquired taste. She's not a conventional Hollywood face by any means--in fact, she's really a drab little wren--but with MGM's make-up department and some softly appealing close-ups, she makes a presentable leading lady. It's her voice and mannerisms that you have to get used to--much the way Katharine Hepburn took the country by storm and then was declared "box-office poison" when she became too mannered.
The story is a trifle with a naive girl re-arranging the lives of three men she tries to help--but caught up in a web of deception. The well meaning girl has a waiter, a lawyer and a rich magnate all in a stew once she starts her fibs. This was re-made in the '40s as a Deanna Durbin film with music, of course, and maybe that's what helped I'LL BE YOURS become a more sprightly version of the tale.
This is strictly for fans of Margaret Sullavan as the story and situations are a bit too contrived for comfort. HERBERT MARSHALL as the lawyer, REGINALD OWEN as the waiter and FRANK MORGAN as the millionaire all do well enough but no one can overcome the fanciful script that is more foolish than funny.