This is a Pre-Code sex comedy that is very good--but in hindsight, the casting was insane. If I explain the basic plot, you will understand. Beautiful Thelma Todd plays a bored wife who wants to have an affair. So, she picks out Roland Young--a very mousy man with absolutely nothing to offer her. And who is the husband of this lady? Yup, it's played by Cary Grant!! And, Grant plays an Olympic javelin thrower. Yet, oddly, she makes the moves on Young--who has the sex appeal of Edward Everett Horton! So, if you can ignore the dumb casting is the film worth seeing? Absolutely--it's a great farce with a really well-written plot. What happens is that Grant catches his wife with the other man. And, trying to help, Young's friend (Charlie Ruggles) tells Grant that Young is already very happily married--and makes up a story about a fictional wife. So, Grant asks Young to bring his wife with him on a trip--so they can all become good friends. So, Young scrambles to find a woman willing to pretend to be his wife and finds down in your luck Lili Damita (one of Errol Flynn's wives in real life). He thinks she's a prostitute, so he has no problem offering her money. But, she is a nice girl--and one that Young finds himself increasingly attracted to through the course of their trip to romantic Venice.
The casting can be blamed on the producer. But even a dumb producer can be overcome by a witty script--and this one is witty and filled with excellent dialog. In addition, it's a chance to see Grant in his debut film. Now that I think about it, if Grant and Young had switched roles, this would have been an even better movie.
The casting can be blamed on the producer. But even a dumb producer can be overcome by a witty script--and this one is witty and filled with excellent dialog. In addition, it's a chance to see Grant in his debut film. Now that I think about it, if Grant and Young had switched roles, this would have been an even better movie.