User Reviews

While many of his future films would be unintentionally funny, Vincent Price, already a veteran of the Broadway stage, would make his screen debut as the romantic lead in that popular genre of 30's comedy known as screwball. Here, he works with a master actress of the art of screwball comedy: Constance Bennett, playing a wealthy businesswoman who tangles with Price's tractor inventor, and finds herself in a battle of the sexes. Price, believing a woman would be happier as a wife than as a businesswoman, struggles to be in control in relationships after a lifetime of being controlled by women, now having a fiancée (Joy Page) who seems intent on doing just that.

Bennett and Price exchange tons of witty dialog with acerbic side comments from her aide-de-camp (the always officious Helen Broderick) and deal with interferences from outside parties until they are free to admit how they feel. Charlie Ruggles and Mischa Auer add to the already eccentric mix of characters by tossing out dialog like a stripper tosses gloves and a chef tosses salad. There certainly have been much funnier screwball comedies, particularly those which perfected that art form ("My Man Godfrey", "The Awful Truth"), but combining intelligent dialog with wit and an element of truth, this ends up an almost forgotten "sleeper" of the genre.

Constance Bennett had reinvented herself with several Hal Roach comedies. She went from precode vamp to screwball comedienne. TOPPER, its first sequel and MERRILY WE LIVE re-established her in Hollywood. Other actresses were not able to transition from one-note talkies to more sophisticated fare, but Constance Bennett did. She left those squalid tearjerkers behind but she didn't drop the glamour. So what we have in something like Universal's SERVICE DE LUXE is a serviceable farce where Miss Bennett retains a sense of grace and elegance.

It all starts in a most amusing way. We learn, without a lot of stilted exposition, that Bennett is a Martha Stewart for the upper classes. She has gone into business doling out advice and providing fixes for wealthy clients whose lives are in disarray.

Mostly she gives advice over the phone and has a fleet of operators carry out her instructions when she is not in the office. Sometimes she goes directly to the client if they are in an awful jam. The film starts with her arriving to help poor schmuck Chester Clute on his wedding day. He will not be able to stand up straight, walk down the aisle or even utter those two simple words without Miss Bennett's encouragement and help in saying "I do."

Clute's best man, a manufacturer of farm equipment played by Charlie Ruggles, is impressed with Bennett and hires her to look after some of his domestic affairs. He is widowed and needs help with his unruly daughter (Joy Hodges). Of course the daughter resents Bennett the buttinsky and tries to appeal to daddy's logical side. But Ruggles isn't listening...he is most pleased with a Russian cook (Mischa Auer) that Bennett sent over to teach him how to make omelets.

The main plot gets underway when another client (Lionel Bemore) prevails upon Bennett and her trusted right hand (Helen Broderick) to help with a domestic issue of his own. Belmore's namesake nephew is coming for a visit, and he suspects the young man is after his money. He implores Bennett to intercept the nephew on a boat en route to the city and send him back where he belongs.

In a hilarious mix-up Bennett assumes a bum on the boat is the nephew and sends him 'home.' A short time later she strikes up a conversation with the actual nephew (Vincent Price in his motion picture debut) and of course they fall for each other.

Part of the humor involves them assuming the wrong things about each other. For instance, Price thinks Bennett is a submissive female who needs a bossy man to tell her what to do. He is completely unaware that she is a career girl who tells others how to live their lives! She allows him to believe what he wants to believe about her, because he is assertive in a way that her clients fail to be which she finds kind of refreshing. She doesn't tell him upfront what she does for a living, and the 'game' continues for quite awhile.

Mr. Price is very good at playing romantic comedy, and it's a shame he would become typecast in the horror genre. Though his character is obviously a sexist, we still find him charming...probably because of the chemistry he has with Miss Bennett. Price also works well the fine supporting players and this picture is a lot of fun to watch. Even if the ultimate message will be that Bennett can only be happy surrendering her career and becoming a housewife.

In stark contrast to the role that Bennett is playing, we have the character played by Hodges. She is a vapid society girl and is probably the submissive type of female Price's character would enjoy. And in fact the writers do go in that direction for a bit. The middle section of the film has Price pitching an idea for a new tractor to Ruggles, then his going to work for Ruggles and getting acquainted with the daughter. However, she is clingy and has no real sense of self the way Bennett's character does.

In a cute twist, Auer's character is revealed to be displaced Russian royalty. He has developed feelings for Hodges and conspires to get Hodges for himself, even after Hodges and Price have become engaged. Auer wears his medals to a dance and sweeps the girl of his dreams off her feet. Meanwhile Price has to get over the fact that Bennett misrepresented herself.

The film ends the way it starts...with Bennett showing up at a wedding. She has been hired to oversee the nuptials between Price and Hodges, not realizing Hodges just dumped Price for Auer. Of course, Price will have her as his wife, if she agrees. It is no surprise that she does. We can be sure their marriage will be a series of power struggles and compromises. Somewhere in all that domestic madness they might even find happiness.