QUICKIE: Lame-O loser is made a celebrity by his girl and when she leaves his world crashes.
PLOT: (from IMDB): In Panama, Maggie King (Carole Lombard) meets soldier Skid Johnson (Fred MacMurray) on his last day in the army and reluctantly agrees to a date to celebrate. The two become involved in a nightclub brawl which causes Maggie to miss her ship back to the States. Now stranded, she's forced to move in with Skid and his pal Harry (Charles Butterworth). She soon falls in love with Skid. Skid gets a job playing the trumpet at a local club and becomes a big success. Fame and fortune go to his head which eventually destroys his relationship with Maggie and his career.
SUMMARY: God help us, it's another Fred MacMurrary movie. Remarkably though, MacMurray is somewhat tolerable in this film. I think it's the genius of Carole Lombard that makes him raise his game and actually act a little bit. He's usually so deadpan that all I can think about is what a rotten actor he is instead of getting lost in the story.
The story is good, although I don't understand why his character Skid, who is such a cockey braggart, won't admit that he has talent at playing the trumpet? He's tooting his horn about everything else about himself. Ugh, sorry for that.
So, Skid gets Maggie stuck in Panama and she returns the favor by getting him a job playing his horn at a local club. His career takes off and he goes to New York ahead of his girl to "get things set". Now, what kind of dummy lets her man move to a big city to work at a club where his ex just happens to be the main attraction? I'd be stuck like glue to my dude, not waiting it out in Panama wondering if he's being faithfull. And Maggie has a rich fiance waiting for her in California as well too. Why she gives him up for a loser like Skid is beyond sensible. But, love makes one do stupid things. Maggie gets tired of waiting in Panama and goes to New York to surprise Skid and catches him in a compromising situation, and of course, instead of letting him explain and trusting her man, she files for divorce and plans to marry her ex-fiance.
Having lost his girl, Skid hits the skids, and Maggie bails him out once again leaving her rich boyfriend for the loser one more time. The story is good enough, although not very buyable. Carole Lombard gives a good performance and I was impressed with MacMurrays' trumpet playing. Having played coronet as a kid, I can spot fake horn blowing a mile away, and his looked legit. I was amazed that he could do anything well.
Swing High Swing Low ~ 1937 -BW
My Love for Yours ~ 1939 -BW
QUICKIE: Ugh, even Madeleine Carroll's great acting and the good plot can't save this film from the horribly boring Fred MacMurray.
PLOT: Madeleine Carroll plays Gail Allen, the president of Morrisey's department store. She has no time for love and is annoyed when a fortune teller predicts adventure, romance and children in her future. She promptly finds Bill Burnett (Fred MacMurray) and they fall for each other, yet she refuses to face her feelings. They go back and forth to Bali where Burnett lives. A misunderstanding that he has many other women, drives Gail back to her previous life. Burnett follows, determined to win her over.
SUMMARY: Fred MacMurray is the worst actor of this time. He's so monotone, similar to a saltine cracker. He never displays any emotion and every line is completely deadpan. He is so flat that I get angry over his continual lack of emotion. Make no mistake, it's not acting aloof, it's just bad acting, period. And to add insult to injury he usually plays the ukulele while singing. The story is good, the females are, again, exceptional characters, but MacMurray's acting is so horrible it ruins an otherwise good film for me.
