At first glance one would think this meeting of Joan Crawford & Greer Garson would end up a camp classic. It doesn't, thanks largely to the presence of the classy (nearly regal) Garson and the absence of any real howlers in the script. Crawford is an author in love with her publisher (Herbert Marshall). Trouble making Robert Taylor creates a situation that allows Crawford to meet Marshall's wife and what could have been a Cukoresque bitch-fest is instead a fairly involving romantic comedy. Director Robert Z. Leonard keeps a tight reign on things, with Garson's even keeled performance rubbing off on the usually over-the-top Crawford. These ladies actually have real chemistry and their abetted by an unusually strong cast. In addition to Marshall and Taylor, there's the inimitable Spring Byington as Crawford's confidante, a flighty society doyenne who turns out to be a bit brighter than expected. Byington also appeared in the 1932 stage production.
Review of When Ladies Meet
