Show me a marriage without fights, and I'll show you a tragic honeymoon where one of the couple suddenly died. That only takes place on soaps or in film noir where one of the two is killed by the other for their fortune. That isn't the case here. The couple is young and healthy, and they are played by two of the biggest legends of the golden age of stage and screen-Gloria Swanson and Laurence Olivier.
Making the unrealistic agreement that they will never quarrel, their goal is quickly proved false. Totally happily married couples are bored eventually, and when Olivier goes out of town, a boating accident during a strange ritual causes him to spend the night in the company of the sexy blonde Genevieve Tobin. Confessing all to his trusting wife, he isn't thrilled by the sudden accusation that she spent the night with an aging admirer. This sends them into divorce court and leads to other accusations, debate and a predictable outcome.
If it wasn't for Swanson and Olivier, this might have just been another society drawing room/bedroom comedy of manners. It was the very same year that Garbo turned down Olivier in the male leading role in "Queen Christina", but the still to be discovered British stage star lucked out by winning over Gloria. She would only make one more film before a hiatus, becoming sort of royalty and only making periodic stage appearances before entering screen mortality in "Sunset Boulevard ".
Still elegant and beautiful to look at, this is a recent rediscovered classic. Swanson is both sweet and feisty, even singing a bit. For those only familiar with Olivier in drama, he proves himself to be an able comedian. A decent script helps it move along nicely, and it seldom lags. But the premise is a farce in fiction, let alone real life and it takes a bit of swallowing to accept some of the plot devices.
Making the unrealistic agreement that they will never quarrel, their goal is quickly proved false. Totally happily married couples are bored eventually, and when Olivier goes out of town, a boating accident during a strange ritual causes him to spend the night in the company of the sexy blonde Genevieve Tobin. Confessing all to his trusting wife, he isn't thrilled by the sudden accusation that she spent the night with an aging admirer. This sends them into divorce court and leads to other accusations, debate and a predictable outcome.
If it wasn't for Swanson and Olivier, this might have just been another society drawing room/bedroom comedy of manners. It was the very same year that Garbo turned down Olivier in the male leading role in "Queen Christina", but the still to be discovered British stage star lucked out by winning over Gloria. She would only make one more film before a hiatus, becoming sort of royalty and only making periodic stage appearances before entering screen mortality in "Sunset Boulevard ".
Still elegant and beautiful to look at, this is a recent rediscovered classic. Swanson is both sweet and feisty, even singing a bit. For those only familiar with Olivier in drama, he proves himself to be an able comedian. A decent script helps it move along nicely, and it seldom lags. But the premise is a farce in fiction, let alone real life and it takes a bit of swallowing to accept some of the plot devices.