I think you have to be a fan of exuberant musical numbers. You also have to be a fan of Jessie Matthews and her husband Sonnie Hale in order to enjoy this film. The duo's eccentric over the top stage performances are often manic, and to be honest, are probably an acquired taste. But they also know how to skillfully play the story's more tender dramatic moments.
They are at their best in the early segment where their impoverished characters meet and come up with the idea for a very original act. He has lost his singing voice due to a bad cold bordering on laryngitis, so she fills in for him. His routine usually consists of him appearing before a music hall crowd as a bawdy impersonator. So when she substitutes during his illness, she becomes a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. A short-cropped haircut helps fools people.
The clever ruse works and their act is a large success. The travel from England across the European continent. Several times they bump into a glamorous princess (Anna Lee, who does some fine supporting work) and a self-absorbed prince (Griffith Jones). Of course, this leads to a quadrangle with outrageous mishaps occurring. They're all decidedly heterosexual here which means they have a morally correct ending at the film's conclusion, after Matthews' masquerade is exposed.
Favorite bit is a swimming scene along the Riviera. Jones needs to determine if the object of his desire has male or female anatomy. When he realizes she's actually a she and not a he, then he is able to pursue her. But the first thing he does upon learning her true gender is to apologize!
The 1982 remake by Blake Edwards features dialogue using the words 'gay' and 'homosexual.' It allows the male part of the act (Robert Preston) to be openly gay. So maybe that later version gets a few extra points for being a bit more daring, but this 1935 British production is also quite risqué. And a whole lot of fun to watch.
They are at their best in the early segment where their impoverished characters meet and come up with the idea for a very original act. He has lost his singing voice due to a bad cold bordering on laryngitis, so she fills in for him. His routine usually consists of him appearing before a music hall crowd as a bawdy impersonator. So when she substitutes during his illness, she becomes a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. A short-cropped haircut helps fools people.
The clever ruse works and their act is a large success. The travel from England across the European continent. Several times they bump into a glamorous princess (Anna Lee, who does some fine supporting work) and a self-absorbed prince (Griffith Jones). Of course, this leads to a quadrangle with outrageous mishaps occurring. They're all decidedly heterosexual here which means they have a morally correct ending at the film's conclusion, after Matthews' masquerade is exposed.
Favorite bit is a swimming scene along the Riviera. Jones needs to determine if the object of his desire has male or female anatomy. When he realizes she's actually a she and not a he, then he is able to pursue her. But the first thing he does upon learning her true gender is to apologize!
The 1982 remake by Blake Edwards features dialogue using the words 'gay' and 'homosexual.' It allows the male part of the act (Robert Preston) to be openly gay. So maybe that later version gets a few extra points for being a bit more daring, but this 1935 British production is also quite risqué. And a whole lot of fun to watch.