Reviews (2)

CORNY BUT FUN
Joan is a riverboat queen who runs her casino with the aid of political boss Wayne. I saw this movie years ago in California and thought it was corny but cute. Certain scenes are rather ludicrous such as the raven in the window foretelling evil ahead and the malevolent presence of Blanche Yurka as Julia Alderson lingers in the memory for her campy playing. Yurka tries to poison Blondell when she tries marrying into the Alderson clan, but alas the potion is drank by a family member and guess who is charged? There are several musical numbers such as Blondell singing "Up in a Balloon" . A harmless way to while away an hour.

AN OKAY FILM
If you don't expect anything amazing, you'll enjoy this film. It's well-intentioned and could have been more, but it just doesn't have that magical chemistry that makes for a great movie. The plot is a bit hokey and predictable, but it wasn't trying to be anything more than that in the first place. Not a must-see, but a nice southern romance full of intrigue type of movie to sit back and relax with. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Screwball delight
I beg to differ with Scotsladdy. This is silliness carried to a delicious extreme. Stanwyck as a sleuthing debutante gets to be fearless, witty and gorgeous at the same time as she carries on a Taming of the Shrew-type class-war romance with youthful class warrior Fonda. There are no profound depths here, but many laughs(including quite a few by Hattie McDaniels), and the feminist slant of the plot--maligned Junior Leaguers aim to show up scoffing police--is great fun.

MEDIOCRE SCREWBALL.
Definitely a mixed bag. This is a good example of something which was ground out by film studio people in a desperate mood. Miscast, Barbara Stanwyck plays a dizzy debutante who's one of a covey of Junior League girls in fox capes; she walks her dog at three in the morning after a costume ball, and encounters a corpse in a deserted house. Inspired by the spectacle, she immediately corrals her flighty friends - in their best party dresses - and they scurry around the scene of the crime, looking for clues and squealing much of the time...A great example of the kind of idiotic films which helped kill the screwball genre. Hank Fonda is the hero; he and Hattie McDaniel are likewise wasted in this unfortunate attempt at humour. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

FUNNY VINTAGE COMEDY.
French operatic star Lily Pons, RKO's answer to Columbia's Grace Moore, is appropriately cast as a French opera star in this joyful musical farce... While in the U.S., a jealous suitor's failure to secure her a passport causes her to hide from immigration officials. She hooks up with McLean's Wildcats, a swing band led by Raymond, who is unaware of her celebrity standing. Naturally, the duo fall in amour, plan marriage and return to New York where Pons has a date at the Met. A 33 year-old Jimmy Dorsey appears, unbilled as a member of Raymond's band, and 24 year-old Lucille Ball is seen as Claire Williams. Lily Pons married maestro Andre Kostelanetz the following year. ... Read more