The Man in Possession

Anytime one sees P.G. Wodehouse's name in the opening credits as a contributing writer, one should know that one is in for a good time. When the star of the piece is the always charming Robert Montgomery, it's a dead cert.

It is a shame that so few Montgomery vehicles are available on VHS and especially on DVD. He always appears to be having the best time of anyone on screen. No one could convey quite so insouciant an air, or had quite so charming and boyish a smile. Montgomery uses both attributes to great effect in this film, in which he plays the disgraced son of a haute-bourgeois family who ends up, through a series of complex machinations, posing as the butler in the household of his estranged brother's fiancée (played to great effect by the very lovely Irene Purcell).

The supporting cast is stellar as well, with the acerbic Charlotte Greenwood as the fiancée's maid and partner in poverty (not the fiancée herself, as another reviewer has stated), the foppish Reginald Owen as Montgomery's brother and Purcell's fiancé, a wonderfully gruff C. Aubrey Smith as Montgomery's father, and the always entertaining Alan Mowbray as the smarmy Sir Charles.

The plot is lighter than air, and would float away completely were it not anchored by this very talented cast. The happy ending given to the two admitted bounders (Montgomery and Purcell) is one that could only have occurred before the enforcement of the Hays Code, when charm was considered more meritorious than virtue. Hear, hear!

You can't do much better than P.G. Wodehouse. Unless it's Robert Montgomery, who is both funny and sexy in this playful romp. Raymond is a Britisher just sprung from the stir for a "mixup about a car." His adoring mother is delighted to have him home, but his father and social-climbing brother want to pay him to leave the country so as to avoid the inevitable taint upon their names from association. Instead of taking their insulting offer, he gets a job as a sheriff's assistant, and his first job is to guard the belongings of a lady who owes many debts and is in danger of landing in the jug herself. Wouldn't you know it, it's the night her fiancé and his parents are coming to dinner. Dash the luck! Crystal's charm entices Raymond to pose as her butler instead of her jailer for the night. Of course, the fiancé is Raymond's boorish brother, who thinks he's landed the big bucks, and hilarity ensues.

The casting is perfect, from Charlotte Greenwood as the harried maid, Reginald Owen as the brother, C.Aubrey Smith as the blustering father to Irene Purcell as the sexy and enticing Crystal. It's a mystery to me why Montgomery isn't more of a household name. He was an MGM leading man with some of the most famous leading ladies - Garbo, Crawford, Shearer, Lombard, Loy - yet he's almost forgotten today. It's sometimes hard to see the sex appeal of stars from yesteryear, unless they have the kind of transcendent sexuality of a Gable or Harlow, but Montgomery had the boy-next-door quality of Jimmy Stewart AND the handsome suavity of Cary Grant all put together, and was a fine comedic actor.

Since this is a precode film, the sex is at least implied, as it absolutely would not be a few years later, or at least not without punishing the participants. Raymond and Crystal get intimate within hours of meeting, and apparently it was quite passionate, as the torn lingerie in several other posts suggests. As Crystal lies in sublime satisfaction the morning after, Raymond makes her breakfast, complete with rose and bacon spelling out "LOVE" on top of her eggs. Adorable with a capital A. Crystal's been living on her wits and the generosity of male benefactors for quite some time, so true love is a refreshing change. Both Raymond and Crystal are the kind of characters who would not go unpunished with the advent of the pointlessly moralistic production code in a few years, but here we get to enjoy two people who've made mistakes find each other and start anew.

Naughty double-entendres abound. Raymond's boss comes to the house to see how he's got on with the job, and says to the lady that he hopes she's had "satisfaction" while Montgomery's eyes roll suggestively.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable movie. Funny and touching, a chance to see how Hollywood did it right! You won't be disappointed.

One of Robert Montgomery's best comedy situations. I am trying to find a DVD or VHS copy to purchase. None are available. All characters are portrayed to perfection. The pace is perfect, editing is excellent, great photography. Humorous situations take the viewer by surprise. You can tell that it was from a successful Broadway production. The writing is superb.

Reginald Owens does a terrific job as do all the other beautifully cast actors and actresses. This picture is a classic because it fits in so well with today's world as it also did in 1931.

Its message is timeless.

Clara played by Charlotte Greenwood is an added treat. C. Aubrey Smith emotes superbly under the most adverse conditions while a young Robert Montgomery is at his peak!

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It consistently made me laugh, and the comedy could stand on it's own legs to this day. I'd love to see a remake of this movie....or, perhaps even more appropriate, I think it's tailor made to be a great Broadway comedy. The ensemble cast interact wonderfully with each other...the timing is unforced and perfect. The reactionary facial expressions are enough to carry this movie on it's own. I wonderful movie spiced by more than just a hint of naughty-ness, this must have caused quite a hub-bub in it's time.

The Man In Possession (1931) : Brief Review -

Robert Montgomery as a cute butler in a sweet little pre-code rom-com. Since it's an early talkie, I noticed some issues with the sound and dialogue delivery. That was quite acceptable for the time, but it did affect my viewing experience. The film felt a bit slow given the pacing standards of motion pictures. Aside from that, I don't think there's anything that can stop me from calling it a sweet little rom-com from the pre-code era. The film has very little to do with the writing and screenplay, as the story feels smaller compared to what one can expect in an 80-90 minute movie. Raymond takes a job as a sheriff's officer and is asked to take possession of Crystal's house, which has not paid debts for a long time. She asks them to come back tomorrow, but the officer leaves Raymond at her house. Raymond does all the butler's tasks while Crystal tries to woo her boyfriends in hopes of arranging money. In the meantime, Raymond's brother, father, and mother arrive at the same house for dinner, as Crystal wants to marry Raymond's son for financial gain. After dinner, Raymond and Crystal make love and realize they are madly in love with each other. What will Crystal do now? Robert Montgomery portrays a sophisticated, humble, helpful, and considerate butler who also has some stylish flair-something similar to what we saw William Powell do in My Man Godfrey (1936) later. Irene Purcell was somewhat lackluster; I'm not sure why. She seemed tepid and quite typecast, which is why the chemistry between these two did not work. The laughs weren't plentiful, but the story was sweet, and the love story was even sweeter when viewed from an early 30s perspective. Overall, it's a good, one-time flick by Sam Wood, who has had much better silent comedies to his name. I enjoyed a few moments despite its flaws.

RATING - 6/10*

By - #samthebestest.