When You're in Love

Australian opera singer Louise Fuller (Moore) is stranded in Mexico.  She was expelled from the U.S. on an expired visa and is desperate to get back for an upcoming concert.  She meets Jimmy Hudson (Grant), an American artist who can't pay his bills.  Her assistant, Marianne Woods (MacMahon) and his lawyer convince them that the best way to solve their problems is to get married.

They reluctantly agree to team up to get married, with provisions to go their own ways and get a divorce in 6 months.  The marriage allows Louise to return to the U.S. to sing at her Uncle Walter's (Stephenson) big concert.  The marriage gives Jimmy the money to pay off his debts.  They agree to go their separate ways and get divorced in 6 months, but Jimmy is unwilling to walk away.  Will they decide to stay together or make a clean break?


This was screenwriter Robert Riskin's first (and only) film credit as the director.  Riskin regularly worked with director Frank Capra, and this film feels like many of the other films he wrote for Capra.

The Good:
Grace Moore was an opera singer and actress and receives star billing in this film.  She has a beautiful voice and performs several songs.  Cary Grant was not a big star at the time, and this film didn't change that.  But he is charming, as always and has good chemistry with Moore.  The film also features a solid cast of side characters, led by Aline MacMahon as Louise's assistant Marianne.

The Bad:
The film has pacing issues... the story works, but it has problems getting to the point.  It was smart to give Moore different types of songs for this film, but several slow the story or completely derail it.

Other Comments:
-This is not a well-know film, but it interesting to see Grant earlier in his career.
-The "Minnie the Moocher" sequence is interesting (pictured above).  The cast looks like they are having fun, but Moore's version of the Cab Calloway classic, is not my favorite version of the song.  It is ok (and the sequence is funny), but not great.
-I enjoyed the film, and it is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, but I'm not sure I would watch the whole film again.  Yes, it had good moments, but it not great.

When You're in Love (1937) 104 minutes
Director: Robert Riskin & Harry Lachman
Starring: Grace Moore as Louise Fuller
Cary Grant as Jimmy Hudson
Aline MacMahon as Marianne Woods
Henry Stephenson as Walter Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell as Hank Miller
Catherine Doucet as Jane Summers
Luis Alberni as Luis Perugini
Gerald Oliver Smith as Gerald Meeker

Fast and Furious (1939)

"I've got to see the manager. He distinctly promised me a room overlooking the ocean."

"But this one overlooks the ocean."

"But I don't like this ocean."

Joel (Tone) and Garda (Sothern) Sloane sell rare books in New York.  When a heat wave strikes, they escape to Seaside City.  Their friend Mike Stevens (Bowman) is managing a beauty pageant in Seaside City.  Stevens brings Joel on as an investor and judge, despite Garda's protestations.  Stevens learns that his boss, Eric Bartell (Miljan), is planning to skip town with the pageant money.  He goes to confront Bartell, only to find him dead.

Stevens is arrested as the prime suspect, but the Sloanes' don't think he is the culprit.  Joel is asked to help with the investigation.  He is joined by old friend and newspaper man Ted Bentley (Joslyn).  The list of suspects is long and includes criminal Ed Connors (Nedell), Bartell's publicity director Lily Cole (Hussey), and his mistress Jerry Lawrence (Hughes).  Can they find a way to get to the truth and save their friend?


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made 3 films about Joel and Garda Sloane from 1938-1939.  Each film had a different director and a different set of actors in the lead roles.  Fast and Furious is the third film in the series.  The trilogy started with Fast Company, directed by Edward Buzzell and starring Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice.  The second film, Fast and Loose, was directed by Edwin L. Marin and starred Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell.

The Good:
Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern have great chemistry and exchange easy banter.  I wish they made another film with these two as sparring partners.  The camera work is impressive, I expect no less from director Busby Berkeley.

The Bad:
The story feels like a lite version of The Thin Man.  That isn't a bad thing, but it isn't original.  The story drags a little in places.

Other Comments:
-I like Joel and Garda Sloane, but the story seems like an after thought - it's mostly an excuse to fill the screen with pretty young women in bathing suits or pageant attire.
-The scenes with the lion tamer, played by Frank Orth, and his lions are entertaining.  They don't seem to have a purpose, other than humor, but they did make me laugh.
-I feel like actress Ruth Hussey is wasted here, but I did enjoy seeing her in the film.
-It was also great to see Allyn Joslyn in this film, and I enjoyed his story arc.
-It wasn't the best or most interesting film, but I don't regret watching it.

Fast and Furious (1939) 73 minutes
Director: Busby Berkeley
Starring: Franchot Tone as Joel Sloane
Ann Sothern as Garda Sloane
Ruth Hussey as Lily Cole
Lee Bowman as Mike Stevens
Allyn Joslyn as Ted Bentley
John Miljan as Eric Bartell
Bernard Nedell as Ed Connors
Mary Beth Hughes as Jerry Lawrence
Cliff Clark as Sam Travers