Reviews

It's rare that a "rare" film lives up to its reputation once seen, but this one actually exceeds. It's an offbeat, utterly charming (and extremely well directed and photographed) fairy tale that leaves an actual good feeling in your gut that 99 % of other movies, even good ones, seldom do. Tracy gives a whimsical, almost surreal performance that went a long way for me to justify his reputation -- and this is from a reviewer who generally can't stand his later "serious" MGM hits. Stu Erwin has maybe his funniest role ever, but the real surprise is how appealing lovely Marion Nixon turns out to be. Why she didn't work more is a mystery, although I can see that this particular role, as a sweet, childlike farm girl who buys into Tracy's cloud-high dreams, is tailor made for her particular talents.

In short, I really enjoyed this movie. It holds up to the test of time remarkably well.

Every now and then a truly unusual film from the early thirties resurfaces which proves to be a revelation. "The Ladies Man" definitely fits that description. Mature, sophisticated, intelligent and uncompromising, to watch "The Ladies Man" is a breath of fresh air for anyone who is used to finding most of the movies produced in the early talky era crude, formulaic claptrap with "a happy ending".

William Powell is one of my favorite actors, and in this silkenly produced 1931 Paramount bauble he gives a startling world-weary, downbeat, and even tragic performance. He plays an unrepentant gigolo who seems all too aware his dissipated lifestyle dooms him somehow, he just doesn't know when the other shoe is going to drop. Kay Francis was never more appealing and glamorous, and Carole Lombard gives perhaps the first great performance of her career, playing a drunken playgirl driven nearly crazy by her mixed feelings towards Powell's strangely sympathetic cad. To say more would be to spoil a well-directed, well-paced film.

Definitely recommended for anyone with adult tastes and looking for something that's not the same-old same-old.