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Moviecut—Irene

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source: Irene

Irene

Based on a 1919 Broadway musical hit, and transferred reasonably faithfully to the screen, with much underscoring from the Harry Tierney-Joseph McCarthy original. But only three songs remain, leaving acres of unprepossessing light comedy about a shanty-Irish colleen who lucks into modeling and is courted by friendly rich boys Ray Milland and Alan Marshal. The plotting here goes far awry. Alan Marshal spends the whole movie lusting after Anna Neagle, only to declare in the last reel he really loves Marsha Hunt, only because the screenwriters are desperate to have Neagle end up with Milland. Some nice things happen: a whole reel in Technicolor, to show off Neagle's Alice Blue Gown, and one of Billie Burke's best society-flibbertigibbet turns, and Roland Young exuding wry bemusement. And Neagle has a lovely solo dance near the end, about absolutely nothing. But one does spend an awful lot of time wishing they'd get on with it, and wondering where the stage score went.

I've never had the pleasure of watching Anna Neagle on film before. She's delightful. I loved the scenes of her in color that showed off her flaming red hair and gorgeous complexion. The blue dress was stunning. Ray Milland was well cast - he was so handsome in 1940. I'm so glad I saved this on my DVR. It brightened my day!

Don Marshall (Ray Milland) is rich...really, really rich. And he's met a nice young lady, Irene (Anna Neagle) and wants to see her happy and successful. So, he buys a fancy fashion studio and gets her hired as one of their models...and she has no idea that Don is helping her not that he is 'Madame Lucy', the 'lady' who owns the shop! Soon, Irene goes from a poor working girl to the rage of society, as there is a mix up and folks think she's related to some rich O'Dare family back in Ireland. In the meantime, one of Don's friends, Bob (Alan Marshall) has also fallen for Irene. Who will end up with her at the end? This is a mildly enjoyable comedy-romance. Nothing stands out other than the acting, though the film is an enjoyable time-passer. Nice...but that's about it.

Very glad I caught this old-timer. I am a fan of musicals, especially good ones, and this one was good. It is also old and was on Broadway in 1926, according to the website. According to Maltin, most of the music of the original has been left out, but what remains was very good; The title song, "Alice Blue Gown" and especially a number I never heard of before, "You've Got Me Out On A Limb", a lame title but very tuneful. The 'Alice' number was done several times, including a jitterbug version by an all-black ensemble, which was bizarre. The plot, in a nutshell, was a lovers triangle, between Ray Milland, Anna Neagle and Alan Marshal and they were ably supported by some of Hollywood's best second line actors, May Robson, Roland Young and Arthur Treacher among them. It is a musical with some light comedy and the whole effect was enchanting, to dust off an old-fashioned word. Do yourself a favor next time it's on - it's worth your time if you're a fan of 'charming old musicals'.

This is the film version of a play that premiered more than twenty years earlier (1919), and boy does the story show its age! The title character is so good-golly-gosh wholesome you'll either want to laugh or just haul off and smack her. This being my first introduction to Anna Naegle, I can only hope it was the character and not a limited acting range. She's the anti-femme-fatale, and that could not have been good for her career in the coming years in Hollywood. That being said, it's not such a bad little film with pros like Ray Milland and Billie Burke in the cast. The opening credits with marionettes flipping cue cards is cute, but it sets a more comedic tone than this film can deliver. I will say it is fun checking out the fashions of the era, not to mention the interior designs, and the story touches on class differences without the film really making any kind of statement about them. It may be a little too-cute for its own good, but it's worth a look if you're curious.

Watching this delightful movie I was captivated by the beautiful Anna Neagle. While watching the early part of the movie and appreciating more and more the beauty of Miss Neagle, and the beautiful dresses she was modeling, I wished that this was a movie that they would convert to Technicolor. Lo and behold suddenly the movie becomes Technicolor and the vivid red hair and Alice blue gown come alive. Her graceful movements in the dancing and modeling are memorable. I have seen some comments that her dancing was not first class but I do not recall a more alluring dance than her solo dance on the patio near the movie's end. Unfortunately at this time the movie has reverted to black and white but this detracts little from the beautiful Anna. Of course the music is dated but this movie taken as a whole is a musical comedy classic.