Runtime: 68 minutes
Directed by: Tay Garnett
Starring: William Powell,
Kay Francis, Frank McHugh, Aline MacMahon, Warren Hymer
From: Warner Bros.
I'd love to hang around with a gal known as Barrel House Betty.
This played early last week on TCM (and happy 25th anniversary to that great channel, BTW) and as it is highly rated both here and on the IMDb and is barely over an hour long, this seemed like an obvious watch to me. The plot to this amusing romantic lark: William Powell is a charming murderer who is captured by cop Frank McHugh, and is on a ship from Hong Kong to San Francisco so he can be jailed. Kay Francis is a lady who is terminally ill; they met before his capture in a bar, and both happen to be on that ship. Neither divulges their secret to the other.
I say that this is charming, yet melancholy is also a strong feeling due to how this fling is not only brief, but won't be able to continue once the voyage has been completed. There is another romance and supporting characters-who are interesting in their own ways-are schemer Aline MacMahon (the aforementioned Barrel House Betty, although she puts on a countess act) and daffy thief Warren Hymer, who has an incredible laugh. I enjoyed all of them in this film and except for Powell, those actors have been long forgotten by most and it is a shame. For a few years, Francis was the highest-paid lady in Hollywood and also one of the most popular. She did not like the scripts that Warner Brothers gave her so there went her career. Unfortunate, as she was a dish.
Anyhow, even with the melancholy feeling, this was still an amusing, breezy watch and despite the brief nature, it was a charming romance I wish could have gone on longer, for their sake and mine.
This played early last week on TCM (and happy 25th anniversary to that great channel, BTW) and as it is highly rated both here and on the IMDb and is barely over an hour long, this seemed like an obvious watch to me. The plot to this amusing romantic lark: William Powell is a charming murderer who is captured by cop Frank McHugh, and is on a ship from Hong Kong to San Francisco so he can be jailed. Kay Francis is a lady who is terminally ill; they met before his capture in a bar, and both happen to be on that ship. Neither divulges their secret to the other.
I say that this is charming, yet melancholy is also a strong feeling due to how this fling is not only brief, but won't be able to continue once the voyage has been completed. There is another romance and supporting characters-who are interesting in their own ways-are schemer Aline MacMahon (the aforementioned Barrel House Betty, although she puts on a countess act) and daffy thief Warren Hymer, who has an incredible laugh. I enjoyed all of them in this film and except for Powell, those actors have been long forgotten by most and it is a shame. For a few years, Francis was the highest-paid lady in Hollywood and also one of the most popular. She did not like the scripts that Warner Brothers gave her so there went her career. Unfortunate, as she was a dish.
Anyhow, even with the melancholy feeling, this was still an amusing, breezy watch and despite the brief nature, it was a charming romance I wish could have gone on longer, for their sake and mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment