The Gay Bride

Carole Lombard came over from Paramount to star in this MGM film The Gay Bride with Chester Morris. This is a part that fits her like OJ's glove should have fit OJ, a nice wisecracking chorus girl who makes no bones about the fact that she wants a hefty bank balance for her husband.

As chorus girl you don't get to meet the cream of society unless they are out slumming. And speakeasies she frequents usually means gangsters who had the money during Prohibition.

Her cap is set for Nat Pendleton though personally she can't stand him. Pendleton is his usual amiable lug who can't resist giving her anything. Muscle he is, brains he's not.

Lombard who winds up with the only tangible assets when Pendleton is killed has to still go through Sam Hardy and Leo Carrillo before she winds up with Chester Morris, Pendleton's sharp assistant who knows that there is a limited future when Prohibition is repealed.

Morris and Lombard play well off each other. Laughs come in The Gay Bride at the expense of Nat Pendleton. Also from Lombard's sidekick Zasu Pitts who is great at being Zasu Pitts.

This is a good screwball comedy in the Carole Lombard tradition.

Love classic film and there are numerous great, some classic even, examples of films that mix comedy, drama and crime mystery. But my main reason for seeing the film was Carole Lombard (before she became the wife of Clark Gable), a lovely very talented actress who died tragically far too young with so much more to give, in her only film for MGM.

It may not be one of Lombard's best films, and it doesn't contain one of her overall best performances (not a knock against her), and would hesitate in calling it great. Instead it is an uneven but interesting and entertaining film, that would have been better if the story was more focused. There was a lot of potential, considering the cast and that the script was penned by successful playwrights that were far from inexperienced. Potential that could have been lived up to more, not a complete squandering by all means though.

The best thing is the cast. Lombard looks luminous and is both witty and charming. Chester Morris is a terrific male lead and perhaps gives the best performance in the role, he has great comic timing and has the right amount of intensity. He and Lombard work wonderfully together, with their banter snappy and their delivery and chemistry sparkling. The supporting cast on the most part also fare well, Leo Carrillo enjoys himself in his role as does ZaSu Pitts in her too short screen time.

Visually, the production values are stylish and elegant. Much of the script is tight and witty, with plenty of laugh out loud funny moments, and the story does compel on the most part and never dull if more in the comedy-oriented parts. It's all competently, if slightly uninspiredly, directed.

However, the material is a little on the slight side, with there not being quite enough to fill the length (the film is not a long one). The story generally could have been more focused, tonally it is a bit of a mishmash of comedy and crime melodrama. The comedy elements fare much better.

While intriguing and with moments of suspense, the crime melodrama lacks surprises and can get preposterous, with some silly character decisions. Nat Pendelton also came over as rather colourless in an indecisively written dim-witted role.

All in all, uneven but worth the look for Lombard and Morris especially. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Gold-digging chorus girl (Carole Lombard) marries a dim-witted gangster (Nat Pendleton) for his money. His gangster cronies are jealous and scheme against him for a shot at Lombard. Kind of gross, right? Meanwhile, bodyguard Chester Morris has been protecting Carole and she starts to fall for him. Unbelievably, Chester is supposed to be honest and decent, despite working for gangsters. Weird.

Carole's gorgeous and has fun banter with Chester Morris. Nice supporting cast including Zasu Pitts, Sam Hardy, and Leo Carrillo. Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson has an uncredited bit part. Funny gangster screwball comedy. Lombard's only movie for MGM and reportedly the movie she considered to be her worst. I can't see why. It wasn't her best but I thought it was fun.

Easy to see why Lombard was the highest paid actress in Hollywood at one time. Breathtakingly beautiful and with a wonderful sense of humor. That said, The Gay Bride is a fun movie but very much on the modest side. An amusing trifle about a heartless, gold-digging chorus girl bent on marrying one gangster after another, only to see them wiped out before she can get her hands on the cash. Chester Morris, a gangster's book-keeper, the one true love interest - whom of course she despises because he has no money. Amusing sparks struck between the two that provides the main thrust of the comedy. The great Zasu Pitts in a wisecracking supporting role. Not a great movie but a few good laughs - and a chance to see Lombard at her most luminous. Worth the time.

This is a really good script and Chester Morris really hold his own in this screwball comedy.