Robert Taylor plays a guy who is a bit goofy. He's infatuated with a stupid lady (Norma Shearer) and seems willing to do about anything to win her. Because both characters are awfully flawed (too flawed, actually) the film does lose a bit of its appeal--though it is still quite enjoyable.
Taylor has a strong case of infatuation. While he has never spoken with her, he keeps coming back to the casino night after night just to see a mysterious lady (Shearer). But he hasn't the courage to do anything more than just be near her. Coincidentally, she is in trouble and looks for the first guy she meets for help--and it just happens to be Taylor. Finally, she notices him and he thinks his prayers have been answered. Why she wants him, however, is because she wants him to pretend to be her lover. That's because she has been in a very sick relationship with an ambivalent man (George Sanders)--a guy who treats her great one moment and ignores or mistreats her the next. Because she apparently is brainless and has no will of her own, she can only resist returning to Sanders IF Taylor stays with her all the time and pretends to love her. Why Taylor would want such a stupid woman is beyond me, but this IS a Hollywood film! This brings me to the major problem with the film. While you might chalk up much of Taylor's actions to youthful infatuation, what about Shearer?! She plays an extremely well-coiffed and well-dressed person with zero self-esteem. I personally felt a lot of disgust by her--particularly when she worked so hard to get Sanders back. I also was disgusted with her requesting that Taylor feel free to hit her in order to keep her away from Sanders!!! Wow, talk about a liberated woman!! She came off like one of the low-lifes on "The Jerry Springer Show" who was willing to fight for her degenerate boyfriend and as a result, I lost a lot of interest in her and wanted Taylor to find someone so much more worthy of his childish devotion. Taylor was a bit annoying--Shearer was contemptible.
If you are somehow able to look past the annoying qualities of the characters and ignore the regressive female role model, perhaps you will like the film. After all, the acting and gloss are pure MGM--high quality and top-notch all the way. And, in a way, it's all fun and enjoyable. As for me, however, this is not a romantic comedy I want to see again and it's sad that Miss Shearer's career ended with such a mediocre (at best) film.
By the way, this film is in some ways quite evil with its messages. Not only is Shearer a bad person and Taylor very pathetic as well, but the film gives credence to such ideas as a woman says NO when she she really means YES, it's okay to smack a woman around and if a man cheats on you that you should accept this! I would be horrified if either of my daughters internalized any of these vile ideas.
Taylor has a strong case of infatuation. While he has never spoken with her, he keeps coming back to the casino night after night just to see a mysterious lady (Shearer). But he hasn't the courage to do anything more than just be near her. Coincidentally, she is in trouble and looks for the first guy she meets for help--and it just happens to be Taylor. Finally, she notices him and he thinks his prayers have been answered. Why she wants him, however, is because she wants him to pretend to be her lover. That's because she has been in a very sick relationship with an ambivalent man (George Sanders)--a guy who treats her great one moment and ignores or mistreats her the next. Because she apparently is brainless and has no will of her own, she can only resist returning to Sanders IF Taylor stays with her all the time and pretends to love her. Why Taylor would want such a stupid woman is beyond me, but this IS a Hollywood film! This brings me to the major problem with the film. While you might chalk up much of Taylor's actions to youthful infatuation, what about Shearer?! She plays an extremely well-coiffed and well-dressed person with zero self-esteem. I personally felt a lot of disgust by her--particularly when she worked so hard to get Sanders back. I also was disgusted with her requesting that Taylor feel free to hit her in order to keep her away from Sanders!!! Wow, talk about a liberated woman!! She came off like one of the low-lifes on "The Jerry Springer Show" who was willing to fight for her degenerate boyfriend and as a result, I lost a lot of interest in her and wanted Taylor to find someone so much more worthy of his childish devotion. Taylor was a bit annoying--Shearer was contemptible.
If you are somehow able to look past the annoying qualities of the characters and ignore the regressive female role model, perhaps you will like the film. After all, the acting and gloss are pure MGM--high quality and top-notch all the way. And, in a way, it's all fun and enjoyable. As for me, however, this is not a romantic comedy I want to see again and it's sad that Miss Shearer's career ended with such a mediocre (at best) film.
By the way, this film is in some ways quite evil with its messages. Not only is Shearer a bad person and Taylor very pathetic as well, but the film gives credence to such ideas as a woman says NO when she she really means YES, it's okay to smack a woman around and if a man cheats on you that you should accept this! I would be horrified if either of my daughters internalized any of these vile ideas.