Rating: 3/5
Jerry Corrbett (Fredric March), drunk off his ass, hits a woman at a party named Joan Prentice (Slyvia Sidney) with a paper football. The two sit together on the balcony and kiss. Joan invites Jerry to a tea party the next day. Then, a man named Greg Boleslavsky grabs her, and they leave. Jerry offers a toast:
Merrily, we go to hell
Joan runs gayly around the house, awaiting Jerry’s arrival, preparing gingerbread and crème de menthe based on a joke from the previous evening. Jerry doesn’t arrive until well after the party, already setting a terrible precedent with her family.
Jerry is an alcoholic and a regular at a local bar. He returns after a stint of absences to tell the regulars that he’s getting married. Jerry doesn’t seem too pleased, though.
— Am I alright to take a swell girl and make her my wife? — No
That doesn’t stop him from blabbing it to everyone. This gets in the newspapers, along with dirt on his previous beau, Claire Hempstead. Despite time passing, he still holds onto a picture of Claire in his apartment.
Joan’s father tries to pay Jerry off so that he won’t marry Joan, but Jerry doesn’t fall for the bait. They remain engaged, but Jerry doesn’t get to the engagement party. She learns he got too drunk and passed out before he arrived, humiliating Joan.
Nevertheless, they marry. Jerry, of course, loses her wedding ring.
I love you so much it doesn't matter
The rocky road of this whirlwind romance begins, lacking the chemistry or charm that might make their relationship make sense. Contrast with The Heiress, which establishes a precedent for Catherine’s adoration of the first man who pays attention to her. Here, we get a drunken joke at a party.
It should not be surprising that Claire reenters Jerry’s life, enabling his alcoholism and stirring up all those old feelings. Joan learns of their affair and begins drinking herself, telling him to go to Claire.
Jerry eventually comes around, so Claire tells him she’ll date other folks. She shows up at a party in the arms of Charlie Baxter (Cary Grant).
The movie wants to explore the codependent relationship between an alcoholic and the person who loves them — well before the term existed. Joan defends Jerry at his lowest and tries to leave him way after she should’ve. We know how that goes.
The movie stands out for its portrayal of extramarital relationships. It also dives into some darker territory that I won’t spoil. They are, however, shallow presentations by today’s standards with too clean an edge.
This may have played for laughs in 1932. It’s more likely that Hollywood has called everything it doesn’t understand a comedy since the beginning.
Stray Thoughts
- I can’t believe Slyvia Sidney is the afterlife case worker from Beetlejuice!
- Fredric March does not have comedic chops. He fares better in genre films like his standout role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
- Cary Grant gets ninth billing, this being one of his earliest prominent roles
- Joans’s cute dog actor gets too little screen time!