There is no doubt about it that Robert Taylor was as handsome a leading man in the 1930's as you can find. He complained about often being considered prettier than his leading ladies, but his masculine presence covered up the fact that he was too attractive for words. By 1936, he was getting both Crawford and Garbo, and on a rare visit to MGM, his own future wife Barbara Stanwyck. In most of his films, I have not noticed anything odd in how he was photographed, but the close-ups of poor Mr. Taylor in this show him to be a bit cross-eyed, and it is quite a distraction. It doesn't help that the script of this film goes all over the map, and not just going from New York to South America either. It has far too many themes, some not really believable situations, and ends up a poor example of how too much in one movie is never a good thing.
This starts off fine with Taylor in trouble with gambling establishment owner Joseph Calleia, given the hysterical name of "Fish-Eye" because his knack of keeping close tabs on certain types of customers. Right next to him at the crap tables is the feisty Barbara Stanwyck who comes to his rescue in a rather odd moment but turns out to be working for "Fish-Eye". For some reason, Taylor's debts with Calleia end up with his brother (John Eldredge) getting involved, and Taylor being sent off to South America to work on finding a cure for various tropical diseases. After a great scene where Stanwyck and Taylor declare their love for each other, Taylor must suddenly bid farewell, and for some reason, Stanwyck decides to marry Eldredge on the sly then dump him in Central Park on their wedding night, simply out of revenge against Taylor and Eldredge's family. But in the middle of the jungle, working with Jean Hersholt (given a very silly accent, constantly repeating "Nigh! Nigh!"), Taylor decides he needs to find Stanwyck and returns home, only to learn of what transpired from his father (Samuel S. Hinds). It is indicated that Eldredge is insane (but works as a surgeon!), and for some strange reason, Stanwyck and Taylor return to the jungle together where Taylor secretly enacts a strange revenge on her.
Yes, this film is overloaded with the MGM gloss, and when the cameras are not going too close up on Taylor, the shots of the love scenes with him and Stanwyck are beautiful. But the script is a mess and too many things happen which infuriates the viewer because it seems too much of a mess is being created simply to add to the drama. Stanwyck and Taylor would immediately follow this up with a better film over at 20th Century Fox ("This is My Affair", a Civil War drama where Stanwyck sings!), and would marry in 1939, reuniting long after their divorce for the campy horror movie "The Night Walker". But the motivations of the characters here never are believable, and it often seems like several shelved scripts shoved together to make one. The title doesn't help either, since Eldredge's character simply fades out of the story with no real explanation. Had this focused on either the gambling plot line or the research of the cure for the plague (where the anecdote is basically right under their nose all the time), it would have been more acceptable. As written and edited (even under the direction of the legendary W.S. Van Dyke), this is one of the true near disasters in Stanwyck's post stardom career.
This starts off fine with Taylor in trouble with gambling establishment owner Joseph Calleia, given the hysterical name of "Fish-Eye" because his knack of keeping close tabs on certain types of customers. Right next to him at the crap tables is the feisty Barbara Stanwyck who comes to his rescue in a rather odd moment but turns out to be working for "Fish-Eye". For some reason, Taylor's debts with Calleia end up with his brother (John Eldredge) getting involved, and Taylor being sent off to South America to work on finding a cure for various tropical diseases. After a great scene where Stanwyck and Taylor declare their love for each other, Taylor must suddenly bid farewell, and for some reason, Stanwyck decides to marry Eldredge on the sly then dump him in Central Park on their wedding night, simply out of revenge against Taylor and Eldredge's family. But in the middle of the jungle, working with Jean Hersholt (given a very silly accent, constantly repeating "Nigh! Nigh!"), Taylor decides he needs to find Stanwyck and returns home, only to learn of what transpired from his father (Samuel S. Hinds). It is indicated that Eldredge is insane (but works as a surgeon!), and for some strange reason, Stanwyck and Taylor return to the jungle together where Taylor secretly enacts a strange revenge on her.
Yes, this film is overloaded with the MGM gloss, and when the cameras are not going too close up on Taylor, the shots of the love scenes with him and Stanwyck are beautiful. But the script is a mess and too many things happen which infuriates the viewer because it seems too much of a mess is being created simply to add to the drama. Stanwyck and Taylor would immediately follow this up with a better film over at 20th Century Fox ("This is My Affair", a Civil War drama where Stanwyck sings!), and would marry in 1939, reuniting long after their divorce for the campy horror movie "The Night Walker". But the motivations of the characters here never are believable, and it often seems like several shelved scripts shoved together to make one. The title doesn't help either, since Eldredge's character simply fades out of the story with no real explanation. Had this focused on either the gambling plot line or the research of the cure for the plague (where the anecdote is basically right under their nose all the time), it would have been more acceptable. As written and edited (even under the direction of the legendary W.S. Van Dyke), this is one of the true near disasters in Stanwyck's post stardom career.