Accent on Love

An unbelievably bad film.

Though not labeled as a comedy, this is slapstick drama. And I use the term "drama" advisedly.

As an FDR period class envy prop piece, it couldn't be more adverse to the cause if it had tried. The lead character - a rich man who saw the light - uses 3rd grade leverage to achieve his ends after being enlightened by the down-trodden masses. That is, he threatens to embarrass his nemesis by organizing tenants to clamor about high rent if said enemy does not capitulate to his "demands". What?

From pulling cops noses to wiping coal dust on his apartment owners shirt (that to make him like the common working stiff) this film will keep you laughing . . . . . unintentionally.

Still, a laugh is a laugh.

If you read some of the short summaries of this film, it sounds like it could be a bit heavy and our hero could be a bit unlikable. Nothing could be further from the truth. This hour long film is basically sweetness and light, although of a different variety than you normally see of this era. It's a celebration of the immigrant experience and embodies an optimism that was finally emerging after 11 long years of the Great Depression.

A "poor but pedigreed" young man (George Montgomery as John Hyndman) marries the spoiled daughter (Cobina Wright as Linda) of a wealthy industrialist (Thurston Hall as T.J. Triton). He's unhappy with his un-job as first vice-president (translation - yes man) at his father-in-law's company. He's unhappy with his un-marriage - his wife thinks of him as part trophy and part Pekinese. He wants out of both. Request denied.

So one day John just disappears into the poor and heavily immigrant occupied part of New York. He runs across a group of men shoveling and decides he would like to do some real work for a change and asks for a job digging too. Believe it or not, his admirable goal is met with some resistance. However with some cleverness and persistence on his part and some encouragement on the part of an attractive young immigrant passerby (Osa Massen as Osa) he gets the job, and he discovers he does indeed like hard work. He becomes friends with and the boarder of his boss Manuel (J. Carroll Naish) and a romance grows between himself and Osa. He learns from the other tenants in the apartment house in which he lives that the place is falling apart - bad plumbing, ceiling plaster falling off, peeling paint, insufficient lighting. But there is one thing they get in abundance from the landlord - continuous rent hikes. The skinflint landlord is - you guessed it - John's father-in-law T.J. Triton. The tenants then come to John and ask him to talk to Triton about the living conditions in his buildings. Remember, nobody here knows who John really is. They think he was a homeless immigrant when they found him who desperately needed a job.

So how does John approach this? He's been missing for six weeks from a wife that doesn't mind if he stays lost but has already told him there will be no divorce since that would make her the laughing stock of "her crowd". Watch and find out. I think you'll be entertained.

Special recognition needs to go to J. Carroll Naish as bigger than life immigrant supervisor Manuel. He's proud of his new country and keeps a picture of FDR prominently displayed in his flat - he even writes to the President once a month. That may seem a bit over the top in 2011, but it works well to underscore the spirit of the immigrants portrayed in this film at a time when hard work was respected and fair play by both rich and poor was still expected.

Wow...this film sure lays it on thick...too thick. "Accent on Love" is an odd little curio from the late Depression and it's a homage to the New Deal--and it's not exactly subtle in its style or writing. Today I think most people will just be baffled by it--as the script is VERY, VERY contrived and, well,...bizarre. It also seems like preachy propaganda for the 1940s democratic-socialist ideals espoused by the Roosevelt administration!

George Montgomery plays a disaffected vice-president of a corporation. He's married to the boss' daughter and should be happy. However, he isn't and wants more from life...though he's not sure what. One day, he's walking down the street and sees a group of men who work for the WPA (a New Deal program to get men to work doing public works projects). On a lark, he tries to join them but is rejected--after all, he's rich and doesn't need the work. But, after showing up to work and being willing to do it without pay, he's taken on in the ditch-digging crew.

The boss of this crew is played a J. Carroll Naish. Naish plays the most ridiculously stereotypical sort of character--a guy who regularly writes to the President, preaches about democracy and the common man and a dyed in the wool lover of the New Deal. Frankly, he came off as completely silly and unbelievable--sort of like a non-funny version of Chico Marx.

One of Naish's family friends is a pretty young lady, Osa Massen. It's obvious that she and Montgomery will soon fall in love. This is odd, as he already is married and a married man carrying on with another woman is something generally frowned upon by the Production Code governing what is and is not acceptable in movies. This also severely hampers the romance written into the film--after all, a guy cheating on his wife isn't exactly a romantic theme!!

So what's to like about this film? Well, Thurston Hall is wonderful as a blustering plutocrat. However, aside from that the script is 100% contrived and ridiculous and as a result, not a minute of this film is believable. It is an odd little window into the era and is like a textbook example of the New Deal ideals---but textbooks are NOT real life and this film is as far removed from reality as you can get. Contrived and stupid despite a few decent performances.

By the way, do NOT assume I am completely averse to social cause movies or films espousing 1940s populism--I just think they need to be good!! In fact, one of the very best films of the decade is the wonderful "Devil and Miss Jones". It tackles the same material but does it exceptionally well due to COMPETENT writing. It's amazing how two films with the same theme can be so different.