14. Carole Lombard Collection II (Hands Across the Table/ Love Before Breakfast/ The Princess Comes Across)
One of the best parts about having a podcast about movies and friends with different tastes in film, you discover films/actors/directors that they recommend. Zach is a big Jack Benny fan (cue the violin) and he said you should watch To Be or Not to Be. Benny is great in the film, but the actor I could not take my eyes off was Carole Lombard. She absolute radiates every scene she is in. Lombard was unafraid to be silly, charming and beautiful, sometimes all at once.
My admiration for Lombard only grew. I discovered a couple more of her films when I watched all of Cary Grant’s films. Her small but unforgettable role in The Eagle and the Hawk and the against type powerful performance in the drama In Name Only solidified my love of Lombard.
Kino Lorber dropped a second volume of Lombard films and each film is really good.
Hands Across the Table
Lombard stars as Regi Allen, a manicurist who is looking for Mr. Right or rather marry a rich husband. Regi is dispatched to a hotel room where a wheelchair bound and wealthy Allen Macklyn (Ralph Bellamy) to give him a manicure. Allen is smitten with Regi but she does not feel that way with him, she confides in him that she is looking for a rich husband to marry as she grew up poor and believes money is the answer to happiness.
Regi leaves Allen and meets Theodore Drew III (Disney Legend, Fred MacMurray). Attracted to Regi, he makes an appointment to get a manicure. What Regi doesn’t know is Drew lost his money in the Great Depression and he too is marrying for money, a woman with a pineapple fortune.
Theodore was to be a cruise to the Bahamas but he drunkenly fell asleep at Regi’s apartment, and must stay there until his boat returns.
An early screwball comedy that showcases Lombard’s incredible timing and her acting chops as well as she commands the screen throughout the film’s runtime. The premise is silly and I couldn’t help feel sorry for poor Ralph Bellamy but Hands Across the Table is buoyed not only by the stars, but the incredible costumes, set design and direction.
Grade: B
Love Before Breakfast
Kay Colby (Lombard) is engaged to Bill Wadsworth (that dastardly Cesar Romero!). But she has another suiter, Scott Miller (Preston Foster). Miller buys the oil company Wadsworth works for, which in turn sends him to Japan, where he will be out of the way so Miller can woo Kay. Miller has a fiancé too, Countess Campanella (Betty Lawford) and sends her away to Honolulu. Will all this manipulation work on Kay, or will she send Miller down the river?
Another wacky set up but carried so well by Lombard. She was so gifted as an actress that you immediately fell in love with her on screen. Love Before Breakfast benefits as well with an A+ crew and actors. Costumes are fantastic and Director Walter Lang keeps the film moving at a brisk pace.
Grade: B+
The Princess Comes Across
Did you hear? Princess Olga (Lombard) is coming to New York aboard the cruise liner, Mammoth! Only Princess Olga is really a Brooklyn-born actor named Wanda Nash with the hopes of making it in Hollywood. Aboard the ship she meets Joe Mantell (MacMurray, again) a band leader and former criminal.
Also, on board the ship is Robert Darcy (Porter Hall) who knows both Nash and Mantell’s secret’s and attempts to blackmail them. Soon, Darcy turns up dead and Nash and Mantell are the prime suspects.
A high concept comedy/murder mystery that is a fun watch. MacMurray has good chemistry with Lombard. Although the premise is far-fetched it doesn’t matter. The comedy is spot on and so too is the tension.
Grade: B+
Carole Lombard Collection II Video Quality
All three movies look stunning in their blu-ray debut. The softness and clarity of the black and white film holds up remarkably well. Although a few scratches and blemishes do appear in all films, they look sharp.
Grade: B+
Carole Lombard Collection II Audio Quality
All three films sport a DTS-HD Master Mono Audio, and while they won’t blow your speakers away, they all are free from pops and other imperfections. Dialogue is clearly heard which in a Carole Lombard screwball comedy is the most important aspect.
Grade: B
Carole Lombard Collection II Bonus Features
Hands Across the Table
Audio Commentary with Filmmaker Allan Arkush and Filmmaker /Historian Daniel Kremer
Trailers
Love Before Breakfast
Audio Commentary with Film Historians Alexandra Heller-Nichols and Joshua Nelson
Trailers
The Princess Comes Across
Audio Commentary Filmmaker Allan Arkush and Filmmaker/ Historian Daniel Kremer
Trailers
The commentaries are wonderful and informative and well worth a listen.
Grade: A-
Carole Lombard is by far one of the greatest actors of all time. Although her life was tragically cut short in an airplane accident, excellent sets like this from Kino Lorber will keep her alive forever.
Overall: A