'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' could have been very good. The concept seemed quite neat, the advertising looked great and it is very hard to go wrong with the likes of Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery and Frank Morgan. Crawford was actually my main reason to see it, in my quest to see what had not yet been seen of her filmography. Which to begin with applied to a sizeable number of films, but had seen enough beforehand to be able to judge her as a great actress.
It is with sad regret to say that to me 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' was an odd film and somewhat disappointing, considering that it had a lot of potential to be at least very good. Conflicted feelings just doesn't cut it. All have done better work, though most still don't come off too badly (apart from one big exception). 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' was one of those films that started promisingly if imperfectly, but fell apart halfway through with a mess of a final third especially.
Will start off with the good. 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' is a lovingly glossy looking film, very polished and sumptuous without any drabness or garishness. Crawford looks lovely throughout in her clothes and the photography is expansive enough to stop it from having too much of a filmed play quality. William Axt's score has energy and a lush sense of mood, nothing stock or overdone here.
As said, 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' had a most good first half. The dialogue had wit and sophistication and the storytelling was slight but charming and amusing frequently. Most of the cast do very well with some nice interplay together, it was interesting and entertaining to see Powell and Montgomery out-suave each other (Powell wins, then again he was the best actors at the time when it came to being suave with only Cary Grant and Melvyn Douglas coming close). Both sparkle in comic timing, especially Powell again who makes so much out of too little to do. Morgan and Nigel Bruce bumble amusingly, Morgan was one of the best at that type when it came to that type of acting, and Jessie Randolph delights too.
Crawford is a lot less successful, love her as an actress but her part needed a much lighter touch than the rather tough and brash approach given by Crawford. Showing that she fared much better in drama than in light comedy, because how she interprets her role (which is too heavily) jars with the light tone of the first half. Powell is great as said, but personally wouldn't have said no to giving him a lot more to do.
Like as has been said, 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' falls apart in the second half which felt like a different film. The wit and sophistication is replaced by very leaden and sudsy writing that is also too talky. The story, very flimsy in the first place, gets silly and melodramatic, the main reason as to why the film felt so different later on, and the energy that most of the first half had completely goes. Especially in the very dragged out last twenty minutes or so. It also felt very old-fashioned and like it was adapted from a stage play that never feels opened up enough. As well as dragged out, the last twenty minutes are too contrived and pat. The film had more than one director and that is very obvious here in the film's execution.
Overall, watchable but odd and uneven. Definitely not a film to completely avoid, but not good enough to recomend. 5/10
It is with sad regret to say that to me 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' was an odd film and somewhat disappointing, considering that it had a lot of potential to be at least very good. Conflicted feelings just doesn't cut it. All have done better work, though most still don't come off too badly (apart from one big exception). 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' was one of those films that started promisingly if imperfectly, but fell apart halfway through with a mess of a final third especially.
Will start off with the good. 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' is a lovingly glossy looking film, very polished and sumptuous without any drabness or garishness. Crawford looks lovely throughout in her clothes and the photography is expansive enough to stop it from having too much of a filmed play quality. William Axt's score has energy and a lush sense of mood, nothing stock or overdone here.
As said, 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' had a most good first half. The dialogue had wit and sophistication and the storytelling was slight but charming and amusing frequently. Most of the cast do very well with some nice interplay together, it was interesting and entertaining to see Powell and Montgomery out-suave each other (Powell wins, then again he was the best actors at the time when it came to being suave with only Cary Grant and Melvyn Douglas coming close). Both sparkle in comic timing, especially Powell again who makes so much out of too little to do. Morgan and Nigel Bruce bumble amusingly, Morgan was one of the best at that type when it came to that type of acting, and Jessie Randolph delights too.
Crawford is a lot less successful, love her as an actress but her part needed a much lighter touch than the rather tough and brash approach given by Crawford. Showing that she fared much better in drama than in light comedy, because how she interprets her role (which is too heavily) jars with the light tone of the first half. Powell is great as said, but personally wouldn't have said no to giving him a lot more to do.
Like as has been said, 'The Last of Mrs Cheyney' falls apart in the second half which felt like a different film. The wit and sophistication is replaced by very leaden and sudsy writing that is also too talky. The story, very flimsy in the first place, gets silly and melodramatic, the main reason as to why the film felt so different later on, and the energy that most of the first half had completely goes. Especially in the very dragged out last twenty minutes or so. It also felt very old-fashioned and like it was adapted from a stage play that never feels opened up enough. As well as dragged out, the last twenty minutes are too contrived and pat. The film had more than one director and that is very obvious here in the film's execution.
Overall, watchable but odd and uneven. Definitely not a film to completely avoid, but not good enough to recomend. 5/10