Showing posts with label Edward Everett Horton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edward Everett Horton. Show all posts
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| Irene Ryan sizes up hunky Jon Hall |
Virginia McCooley (Louise Allbritton of Son of Dracula) is so impressed with her widower-father, Phil's (Edward Everett Horton), lifeboat invention, that she's written to the government about it. The government is interested in talking to Phil and seeing his invention, but have by no means accepted it. Instead of waiting to see what they'll say, Virginia gets her father to quit his job and move the entire family -- four little brothers -- to San Diego, merely assuming the boat will be a success. Once you get past that idiotic premise -- I mean, why couldn't they just go to San Diego for a couple of days and see what happens? -- San Diego I Love You is a cute picture. Jon Hall [The Invisible Man's Revenge] plays a handsome, wealthy industrialist, John Caldwell, who might be interested in the lifeboat, and Eric Blore is marvelous as a weird butler who comes with the house the family moves into in San Diego; he and Horton have a funny scene together. Allbritton and Hall are fine in the leads, but the movie is nearly stolen by Irene Ryan [My Dear Secretary], who is hilarious as a woman who is looking for a cheap room and inadvertently thinks the McCooley's have one for rent -- and moves in! Buster Keaton shows up as a bus driver who is importuned to take the detour by the beach instead of his usual route when Virginia and John go on a date.
Verdict: Genuinely quite funny at times with a very spirited cast. ***.
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| George Sanders and Linda Darnell |
Based on Anton Chekhov's novel "The Shooting Party" this features George Sanders as a Russian judge and Linda Darnell as a Russian peasant! Despite this miscasting, the two actors play well together in the story of Fedor Petroff (Sanders), who neglects his fiancee, Nadena (Anna Lee), after he meets the beautiful Olga (Darnell), whom he knows is "beneath" him but whom he must possess come hell or highwater. An added complication is Olga's unhappy marriage to Anton (Hugo Haas), whose tragedy this chiefly becomes. Darnell is fine, and Sanders offers his usual good performance, but this is an actor whose forte is coolness, not passion, so he never really gets across his passionate feelings for Olga nor anything else. Haas, who also directed such "B" movies as One Girl's Confession, arguably offers the best performance as the likable but tormented Anton. Edward Everett Horton [Lady on a Train] is as good and as much fun as ever, although he, too, seems highly miscast as a womanizing nobleman of ill repute. Anna Lee [The Crimson Kimono] and Laurie Lane as the maid Clara both make a good impression. The whole sordid business comes to a very satisfactory conclusion, although the ultimate fate of one unhappy character is never disclosed.
Verdict: Intriguing romantic drama with interesting cast. ***.