REVIEWED BY WALTER ALBERT:         


LADIES SHOULD LISTEN Cary Grant

LADIES SHOULD LISTEN. Paramount, 1934. Cary Grant, Frances Drake, Edward Everett Horton, Nydia Westman, Rafael Corio, Rosita Moreno, George Barbier, Charles Ray. Frank Tuttle, director; screenplay by Claude Binyon and Frank Butler based on Guy Bolton’s play of the same name, as adapted from the French play La Demoiselle de Passy by Alfred Savoir. Director: Frank Tuttle. Shown at Cinevent 40, Columbus OH, May 2008.

   The ’30s Paramount features are always eagerly awaited, since many of the them are still buried in the vaults of private collections, but in spite of the fine cast, this romantic comedy never really took off.

   Grant, on the verge of major stardom, either had not yet found the style that would characterize his prime years or was uncomfortable with the material, and even dependable Edward Everett Horton was unable to pull this from its frequent doldrums.

   Grant was pursued by Nydia Westman while hotel telephone operator Frances Drake, clearly destined to land Grant at the finale, wandered in and out of the meandering plot, attractive but with little comic spark.

LADIES SHOULD LISTEN Cary Grant