6/10
A Sari affair that could have used "The Lubitsch Touch"
22 June 2014
Herbert Marshall, in his follow-up to TROUBLE IN PARADISE, stars as an impoverished Count who finds the girl of his dreams (Sari Maritza) the very night his former butler (Charlie Ruggles) gets him a job as a gigolo. She finds out what he does and isn't happy and the ditzy rich dame he's "romancing" (Mary Boland) doesn't find out and couldn't be happier.

A masked ball, a Viennese castle, "The Blue Danube", a duel... all the ingredients are there and "The Lubitsch touch" might have turned this romantic trifle into a risqué soufflé but, alas, it is what it is.

"Fair entertainment but extremely doubtful on the draw." -Variety

Paramount superstar Mae West once quipped, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful" and the studio must have taken it to heart when they signed Sari Maritza in 1932 as the new Marlene Dietrich when the troublesome Teuton insisted on working only with director Josef von Sternberg. The NY Times hailed Sari as a "vivacious Continental actress" but when it came out she was English (born Dora Detering-Nathan in China to a British Army officer and his Austrian wife) the public resented the ruse and "stayed away in droves". Unperturbed, Ms. Maritza upped and married MGM producer Sam Katz and retired from the screen in 1934.
6 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed