Showing posts with label Louise Allbritton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Louise Allbritton. Show all posts
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| Colbert can do without MacMurray's attention to Allbritton |
THE EGG AND I (1947). Director: Chester Erskine.
Bob MacDonald (Fred MacMurray), a selfish and inconsiderate husband, buys a farm without even consulting his wife, Betty (Claudette Colbert) -- which alone would be a reason for divorce for some women -- and the two set off for the country to raise chickens and sell eggs. While having assorted misadventures, the couple meet the odd Pa Kettle (Percy Kilbride), his big-hearted wife, Ma (Marjorie Main), and their huge brood, as well as the predatory Harriet (Louise Allbritton), who doesn't seem to care that Bob has a wife. The Egg and I is consistently amusing, has a nice scene when all the neighbors show up to help the MacDonald's after a fire, and boasts some very good performances; Colbert, in particular, is excellent, and her expressions throughout the movie are priceless. There are guest appearances by the likes of Donald MacBride, Elisabeth Risdon [from the "Mexican Spitfire" films], and Esther Dale, and there's even a pig named Cleopatra! Ida Moore shows up late in the film as a somewhat dotty old lady who has a tale of a giant chicken. While there are some fairly foolish marital developments at the end of the movie that make Betty seem like a dope, The Egg and I is still a very funny and entertaining picture. The characters of Ma and Pa Kettle soon got their own feature as well as several sequels.
Verdict: Colbert is a riot! ***.
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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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| Madelaine Carroll and Fred MacMurray |
DON'T TRUST YOUR HUSBAND (aka An Innocent Affair/1948). Director: Lloyd Bacon.
Advertising man Vincent Doane (Fred MacMurray) is trying to land an account which happens to be controlled by his still-amorous ex-fiancee, Margot Fraser (Louise Allbritton of Fired Wife). Vincent's wife, Paula (Madeleine Carroll), thinks he's spending all his evenings with a Mr. Fraser, but she suspects something's up. Vincent's sister, Eve (Rita Johnson of The Naughty Nineties), comes up with the dubious idea of testing her brother's love for her sister-in-law by seeing how jealous he gets if a paid actor pays too much attention to Paula on their anniversary. Clued in to the scheme, Vincent invites the man into his home and even asks him to take out his wife the next night! What nobody realizes is that the man in question is not the paid actor, but rather wealthy cigarette man Claude Kimball (Charles "Buddy" Rogers), who thinks the Doanes have a wonderfully carefree attitude. This all sounds rather cute, but it's almost by the numbers, with not enough real laughs -- although there are certainly amusing bits -- to make it stand out from the crowd. MacMurray is terrific, as you would expect, and the ladies are all good if not on his level. Alan Mowbray offers his customary fine performance as a man who pretends to be Margot's husband, and Anne Nagel has a small role as a receptionist. Rogers gets by on charm. Bacon also directed Crooner and many others.
Verdict: Cute, if formula, comedy. **1/2.
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| Abel, Allbritton, Paige and Barrymore all cut up |
FIRED WIFE (1943). Director: Charles Lamont.
"You're so wonderfully repetitious."
In this largely forgettable and desperately frenetic farce, Hank Dunne (Robert Paige) has married career woman Tahitha (Louise Allbritton), who is keeping the marriage secret from her boss, Chris (Walter Abel). Besides the fact that Tahitha has to work on her honeymoon, and that Hank wants her to quit her job, another complication is Hank's friend and associate, radio hostess Eve (Diana Barrymore), who is carrying a torch for him. Hardly any cliche is left unturned in the mediocre screenplay, although the performers are certainly game; Allbritton and Paige are fine, Barrymore adds some zest in her lively portrayal of difficult Eve, and although Walter Abel gives a very good performance, as usual, his character is too loathsome to be funny -- the film's best moment comes when he finally gets his comeuppance. Walter Catlett [It Started with Eve] gives perhaps the funniest performance as Judge Allen, the bemused Justice of the Peace, and Rex Ingram [Anna Lucasta] is also notable as Hank's major domo, Charles. There are a few sporadic chuckles in the movie so it's not a complete waste of time. Paige also starred in Flying G-Men.
Verdict: With pictures like these no wonder Barrymore got disillusioned with Hollywood. **1/2.