Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

weezeralfalfa Having rewatched "How to Marry a Millionaire" '53, recently, I was struck by how similar the plots of these movies are. In both films, we have 3 unrelated poor, but beautiful, single women who rent an upscale apartment together, rather than separate dingy apartments, in hopes that will suggest to their dates that they are better off than they are. Actually, between these films, there were several other films with the same basic plot, if differing in some details. This includes "Three Blind Mice" '38, "Moon Over Miami" '41, and "Three Little Girls in Blue", in which 3 sisters or other relatives, rather that unrelated women, are involved. Loretta Young, who is one of the women in this film, was also one of the women in "Three Blind Mice". Curiously, near the end of the present film, she was singing "Three Blind Mice". In addition, I just came across the '31 film "Three Girls Lost", which also includes Loretta(as well as John Wayne!) and, from the summary, sounds like it had a basically similar plot. Obviously, a popular plot to redo! ......Fortunately, Fox chose 3 charismatic beautiful actresses who are easy to tell apart at a glance. There is also a 4th girl(Simone Simon, as Marie) who worms her way into the relationship between wealthy John(Paul Lukas) and Constance Bennett(Yoli). Somehow, twice, she got into John's house to surprise John and Yoli when they arrived. Yoli doesn't want to go to South America, where John's business is about to take him, providing teenage Marie with an opening. John is quite hesitant, but eventually agrees, provide they marry before he goes. Yogi must find another wealthy prospect........Petite Janet Gaynor, as Martha, develops tenuous relationships with Don Ameche, as Dr. Rudi, and with Alan Mowbray, as magician Paul Sandor. Both are initially grouchy toward her, as she is an assistant to them. However, both eventually appreciate her company. But, apparently, Sandor said something that ticked her off, and she left him, going back to Rudi and his experimental rabbits. Martha would later become the victim of Susie's(Loretta) attempt to poison herself after losing handsome wealthy Karl(Tyrone Power) to his fiancé. Dr.Rudi was called to try to help resuscitate her, and this further cemented their attraction to each other. Not long after, they married. Martha had achieved at least part of her wish to snare a nice husband, who might not be very wealthy. By the way, Susie must have been kidding herself when, at the outset, she claimed she wasn't looking for a husband. She just wanted to run a hat shop. One look at Tyrone and she forgot about this claim! He escorted her to a few functions, not telling her that he was engaged to soon marry a countess(Virginia Field). Eventually, she found out, and tried to poison herself, only succeeding in poisoning Martha by mistake......The finale of the film is entirely too rushed! We know that Martha found her man, but what about the others? Martha mentions that Susie finally got her hat shop. But, how did this come about? Is she still looking? I think I heard Yoli mention a Ben, presumably Ben Horvath: a wealthy man she met at a party he gave. But, it would have been nice to confirm this suspicion, and detail the events leading up to this. Apparently, all were satisfied that they had accomplished their goal, as they simultaneously moved out of their apartment in a gay mood.

misctidsandbits Starting off with a bit of perhaps heresy to some, I have never understood the appeal of Janet Gaynor, and this did not help. However, though the long-shot and quirkiest character here, hers was the lucky ticket that paid off. It is interesting to see the former box-office dominating Bennett underbilled to Loretta Young, whose star was on the rise. They say Ms. Young's fan mail always abounded, something the execs kept a close eye on. Despite that, she has a thankless part here, the heir apparent to the young nobleman's second billing, having already been aligned with a worthy marriage candidate, likely by family design. With Young's character, he was shopping for the extracurricular interest in advance. However, it's more the personality type chosen for this character that did not fit Ms. Young, who seemed off balance playing off balance, being more effective as a more self-assured type. Ms. Bennett had the best part and did well enough. The screenwriter(s) did not play true to type and time here in that they only rewarded one of the three young hopefuls, the other two left to gracefully bow out of the venture at the end, perhaps some the wiser. The production values along with interesting players form the lifeline of this one, the script needing recessitation from the beginning, but never receiving it.

tonypatti Star-studded cast with three complete story lines make this tiny gem a fast-paced and absorbing flick. Bennett commands all her scenes with her trademarked regal assurance, Young does her gushing little girl routine, with one quick quip about being independent of men at the beginning, almost as if there was a coded assumption that she was a feminist at heart who had to be proved wrong by the overwhelming righteousness of patriarchal adherence to the masculine preferences inherent in the typical happy ending. Gaynor does her variation on Young's innocent routine, only mixing in the eager submissiveness of the thoroughly indoctrinated practitioner of standard femininity. The stories are set in Budapest, harnessed together by one of old Hollywood's most beloved artifices, the "three girls rooming together in poverty searching for husbands" plot. We are instantly thrown into the three romantic story lines, with the astonishing economy of old Hollywood that I fervently wish were still practiced today. Bennett is engaged in a open, sensible affair with Paul Lukas, and is showily worldly and cynical, while using subtle cues to clue us into the real state of her heart. Young has a storybook romance going with a young nobleman, played by the preternaturally handsome Power, who could have used a bit more screen time, or so many of us might wish. Gaynor is in love with a irascible, jealous control freak doctor, Ameche, but is discharged by him when she starts to work for the pompous, self-centered Alan Mowbray, who is a conceited magician and who does a wonderful character turn in the typically delightful Mowbray style, which is to say, as gay as pink ink on scented paper.I expected absolute fidelity to the standard Hollywood tropes and was pleasantly surprised to find the ending quite mixed. Young and Bennett reprise Young's comments about independence after being properly chastened by the absolute freedom enjoyed by the men in their lives, and Lukas is boldly tempted away from Bennett's side by Simon, playing a French schoolgirl who steals every scene she is in with her precocious grasp of the values of sexual audacity. There is a priceless moment, after she gets him to kiss her, a lingering kiss fraught with expectation and lacking in any visible restraint, where she looks at him in delight and barks a little laugh of knowing disdain and triumphant glee. Excellently put together and directed with great timing and sensitive performances, this film greatly exceeded my modest expectations.

Michael_Elliott Ladies in Love (1936) ** (out of 4) Janet Gaynor, Loretta Young, Constance Bennett, Simone Simon, Don Ameche, Paul Lukas and Tyrone Power highlight this all-star cast but the final film doesn't do any of them justice. Set in Budapest, three women (Gaynor, Young, Bennett) move into an apartment and soon we see them struggle with love and work issues. The cast here is extremely good but the screenplay is extremely poor. It's clear Fox wanted to throw all their stars in the pot but it's too bad they didn't bother coming up with a better screenplay. The movie is pretty much all dialogue and there's way too much of it and none of it comes off too interesting. The actors all do fine work on their own but the screenplay doesn't give them too much to do and the relationships never come off believable. Gaynor steals the film as a poor girl who sells ties trying to make ends meet. Ameche is also very good as the doctor who doesn't realize he's in love with Gaynor's character.